Just some thoughts on religion...not poetry but still really interesting.
So Blaise Pascal is really smart. About 350 years ago he comes up with this chart that basically says this. we have four choices : either we believe or don't believe in god, and there either is or is not a god in reality. If we believe in god and are correct, the reward is great, while if we believe in god and there is none, or likewise if we don't believe in god and there is none we have sort of a wash, no loss on our part. the last scenario however is the most intriguing. If you reject god and are wrong, then the eternal fire awaits you. We see that simple logic can be persuasive in the theist's cause. To show that I am not engaging in mere sophistry here and employing specious arguments, let us look at some evidence. Albert Einstein, most likely the greatest scientific mind ever, said this "I believe in God. there comes a point where you're mind can only take you so far, after that, the only explanation is God." You will not hear that from any college professor today; nor in the hooplah surrounding racially charged events when the image of Dr. Martin Luther King is called upon will you hear of the phenomenal presence of faith in the life of that great leader of men. Modern secular scholars like to treat religion as though it were transient, changing always to meet the capricious demands of the people in the moment. They fail to see the unity between a group of southern baptists praying in the aftermath of Katrina and those Christians who held prayer vigils when the great Saint and church father Paul was held for execution under Nero. Even before that Abraham called out in the wild to Yaweh, I am that I am, the same as I do when I undertake a long journey or feel lost in the great maze of my existence. What takes more faith, investing all in science, in reason, in the capacity for man to justify himself, or in accepting that that there are things out there so great and powerful that we will never understand them? As for me, I take the path of per solam fidem. There are truths in this universe that cannot be undone.
Bolivar and San Martin: Guayaquil, Ecuador
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Beleiving in God if He isn't real is a horrible thing to imagine.You say there is no loss, but I disagree. Following Him requires letting yourself go through unbearable pain for the sake of other people. It takes a lot of effort to be a good person. But the possibilty that all of these good people's efforts could be in vain doesn't bother me too much. They do it for themselves, mostly. The thought of heaven as a reward is nice, but I think they are really looking for peace and purity inside themselves. I think that some of them, even if they knew that they would die and that would be that, would still try their best to not hurt others simply because they are caring people. It's still worse for the hell-bent people though.
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