Journal 12-18-04

Kyler

Why We Believe

Religion succeeds because of human guilt. Humans are inherently guilty about what they have and what they’ve done. Humans, when they find out that they have caused someone or something pain or suffering, feel guilty. They may try to make it up to that person or thing, but what they did cannot be taken away, so they turn to God, this all seeing deity who alone has the power to forgive. Humans seek asylum in religion, a hiding place from the world around them. Religion is a side effect of human self-conscience and self-image.

Humans are led to believe that we are unable to forgive, so God is our only hope of forgiveness. But why do we turn to God? Because he hold the key to the gates to heaven? He only holds that key because we have given it to him. What we cannot see is that humans can forgive, just as the almighty God does. Humans do it every day; they forgive each other and get on with their lives. People also ask for forgiveness from God every day, because they believe that they are incapable of forgiving on their own. The difference is guilt. If we believe that the “sin” that we have committed against another mortal is too great for us to handle, then we ask for forgiveness from the most powerful being that we know: God, who will always forgive, and is almighty. To say you believe only when you ask for forgiveness is oxymoronic, isn’t it? Or is it the most logical thing in the world? I believe that everyone will ask for help at one time or another, though it may be subconsciously. Based on these premises, ageless belief is improbably, and, in most cases, impossible.