The Heaviest Sword

“Belief is a beautiful armor, but makes for the heaviest sword” – John Mayer

            What makes us believe in something? Why do we feel that we must believe in anything? Is there anyone out there who truly believes in nothing?  Or better yet, is there anyone in the world who truly believes in something? 

            Most children believe in Santa Claus.  I never did.  I pretended to for the sake of my parents, but by the time I was six years old, I told them I didn’t believe in him.  Many of my friends believed in Santa well beyond six years old and I didn’t let them know I knew the truth. I did often wonder how my friends never caught on though. Maybe they did and were just pretending, as to not ruin anyone else’s belief in the magic of good ole St. Nick.

The truth.  As children, we are told many different things while growing up through stories, our parents and other relatives, and of course through media.  How are we, as young children, supposed to decipher what is true and what is not?  Believing in Santa, the Easter Bunny, or the Tooth Fairy helps develop a child’s imagination, right?  Unfortunately, many children are heartbroken when they find out that their parents were always the ones playing these roles.  I remember a friend of mine saying to me one day in school, “Did you know that Santa isn’t real?”  I replied that I did and she began to cry.  It was as if her whole world had come crashing down because a man did not break into her house once a year and drop off presents. Now that I think about it, Santa is a bit creepy with his being able to see our actions year round and being able to get into our houses on one day of the year…couldn’t he, if he really wanted to, get in our houses at any time?

            Parents lie to their children often.  When something is wrong with their marriage, they often pretend as if it is ok in front of their kids.  When a pet dies, they might say they dropped it off at a farm so it could be with other animals, or perhaps even try to replace the pet without the child realizing that it is a different animal.  Maybe that only happens in movies. 

            Movies influence what people believe constantly.  Documentaries are made about any subject you can possibly imagine. Michael Moore wants his audience to look at things from a very leftist, albeit critical point of view.  Other documentaries take everything that Moore has to say and turns it all around in order to make the viewer believe differently.  Who is actually telling the truth?  How can we even know?  Do we really want to know?

            I want to know everything.  I want to know why I didn’t believe in Santa, why I can’t believe in a God, and why Michael Moore always seems to have the right agenda.  I want to know how an Atheist becomes an Atheist and how a Christian becomes a Christian.  Someday I might accept that I will never know the answers to these questions, but not today.  I want to know why lying is something that is done so often.  Why is it so hard to tell the truth?  No matter how small the lie is, it is still a lie.  What makes some of these lies ok, while other lies are often viewed as horrendous acts?  We are taught not to lie as children, yet we are taught to believe in lies.

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“Assume nothing. Question everything. Challenge the opposition” – Seth Andrews, The Thinking Atheist

Atheism: Disbelief in, or denial of, the existence of a God. Also, disregard of duty to God, godlessness (practical atheism). What is it about this word that scares so many people? Atheism is just another way of looking at the world.  Instead of giving all credit to a God, the atheist believes that she controls her own destiny.  The atheist believes that he is logical; therefore, believing in something that he cannot see, feel, or hear is not something he is able to do. 

Christian: Of persons and communities: Believing, professing, or belonging to the religion of Christ.  I’ve asked my friends who are of the Christian religion what made them believe in what they believe.  I received many answers, but my two favorites are from one of my closest friends, whom I’ve known since we were five years old.  She said, “I believe in the Bible because it is millions of years old” and “Christianity is the only thing that makes sense”.  I was confused by both of these answers.  First, the bible has not been around for millions of years.  It was created by many different men and written in many different languages within the last 4000 years.  Someone must have told my friend this and she assumed it to be true because why would someone lie about something that is so important to them.  Most likely, whomever told her this, had no idea it wasn’t true.  Secondly, if Christianity is the only thing that makes sense, then I shall argue that witches, werewolves, fairies, and the like, all exist as well.  Many throughout history have often believed in such supernatural beings.

Belief: The trust that the believer places in God; the Christian virtue of faith.  What an interesting definition.  Apparently belief is all about God according to the Oxford English Dictionary.  How about another definition? Belief: Confidence in the truth or existence of something not immediately susceptible to rigorous proof.  That one is from Dictionary.com and I think that’s what we’ll go with because there are so many other things to believe in besides a God.

During the 1720’s in Hungary, many people believed in vampires.  Dr. Gomez Alonso found this fact interesting and in 1998 he published an article in the medical journal Neurology explaining away vampirism due to a rabies breakout.  Alonso made the connection to the outbreak and the sudden stories of vampires around that time and suddenly there was an explanation.  Low and behold, Vampires never existed.  They were not killing and drinking the blood of people.  In fact, these stories originated from a terrible epidemic called rabies.  Rabies gave people many of the symptoms that is involved in vampirism, such as sensitivity to the sun and the fact that someone who is infected with rabies is sensitive to certain smells, especially garlic.  Vampires have made a comeback into popular culture today and each story, movie, or television show gives vampires at least one of symptoms they were given back in the 1720’s.  I am a fan of quite a few of the television shows that involve vampires, but that certainly doesn’t mean I believe in them.  Do others that watch these shows believe that vampires do exist?  I do not believe they do, but then again, who knows. No one can be completely sure what exists and where. At least I don’t think they could.

Alonso used logic and critical thinking to determine his conclusion.  Atheism also uses these methods to explain what they believe, or what they don’t believe rather.  There is no faith involved in this process.  Scientist, atheist, and many other people, I am sure, use this kind of thinking to choose their beliefs.  But does this answer all questions of belief?  Of faith?  How can these questions even be answered if everyone in the world has a different view on how they should be answered?

***

“Everyone believes, In how they think it ought to be” – John Mayer

People often believe in whatever they were taught to believe in.  I was raised with the option of exploring any and all religions and/or beliefs that I wanted.  I eventually found that none of them were for me, but it wasn’t for lack of trying.  I wanted something to believe in.  I wanted that hope and faith that I saw in so many other people.  However, I had no idea as to how to find that hope or faith.

Faith: Confidence, reliance, trust (in the ability, goodness, etc., of a person; in the efficacy or worth of a thing; or in the truth of a statement or doctrine). My dad once told me that is what religion is about, faith.  I asked him how someone can have faith in something if they are not even sure it exists.  He replied that he isn’t sure, but he has some faith, just in case he needs it.  Reserving faith just in case is a concept that had never occurred to me. What a novel idea.  Is this something that we all should do? No matter what we believe, should we have faith in everything, just in case? I do not believe in a God, in ghosts, or anything else supernatural for that matter, but if I were to follow my dad’s thinking I would have some faith, in all of these things, reserved for use if needed.  Can you imagine?

“Do you believe in God?” Someone would ask me.

“Just in case.” I would reply. That just doesn’t seem fair.  “Just in case” seems like such a copout.  Would I also reply that I believe in werewolves too, “just in case”?  I do not think I believe in anything “just in case”.  Perhaps I am one of the few people who truly believes in nothing.

***

“We have always held to the hope, the belief, the conviction that there is a better life, a better world, beyond the horizon.” -Franklin D. Roosevelt

            Recently, I began watching the television series Fringe.  I highly recommend viewing this show, so I have no intention of any spoilers; however, I will say that the show’s focus is on parallel universes.  Parallel Universe: A universe conceived of as existing alongside or in addition to our own, having many similarities to it but usually differing from it in some significant way.  This is extremely intriguing.  Imagine it.  In some other “world” there is someone just like you, but different in some ways.  Perhaps you lost your mother when you were a child, but your doppelganger did not.  He actually lost his dog instead.  Therefore, even though physically you are the same person, your lives are completely different because of one significant difference in the way things played out in your respective universes. 

In 1954, a physicist studying for his Doctorate, Hugh Everett III, came up with the “Many Worlds Theory”.   I will not claim to understand physics, I do not.  I will say, however, that this theory is recognized by many scientist in the field as very plausible.  Why doesn’t the Bible talk about parallel universes? Does that mean they do not exist? Or perhaps The Bible does allude to such a mysterious thing as parallel universes and no one has realized it yet…

            The Bible: The Scriptures of the Old and New Testament. (Sometimes in early use, and still dial., used for the Old Testament; e.g. ‘neither in the Bible nor the Testament.’) the open Bible  : the Bible accessible to all in the vernacular.  Another definition from the Oxford English dictionary that doesn’t explain much.  To me, The Bible is just another book.  I am sure there is much to be learned from reading The Bible, but with that being said, I have learned from reading books written by Chelsea Handler and I do not believe that she is some sort of god.  Perhaps that is an unfair comparison.  Chelsea Handler and a god most certainly do not have anything in common, unless the god being compared has a drinking problem and has had more one night stands than is almost humanly possible, but my point is, books are just that, books.

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“It's been my experience that people who make proclamations about themselves are usually the opposite of what they claim to be.” –Chelsea Handler

            Throughout my life, I have met many people that claim to be Christian, Atheist, Muslim, Wiccan, Republican, Liberal, along with many other things.  The thing I have found most interesting about all of these claims is that whatever it is the person is claiming to believe is tailored to fit what they want to believe.  In other words, no one I have ever met has followed what they chose to believe exactly as it is said that they should.

            I once had a boss who grew up practicing, and still says he does practice, Islam.  My Muslim boss was one of the cruelest and self-centered people I had ever met.  He only cared about himself and money, but pretended as if he was not selfish, and everything he did was for the good or betterment of his employees and customers.  It is my understanding that a Muslim is to live for and do everything in their power to please God.  If my boss was a Muslim, why then, did he do everything in his power to make others feel bad?  Is that pleasing his God?  Why then, did he care more about money than about what others were feeling?  Does that please his God?

            Capitalism:  The possession of capital or wealth; an economic system in which private capital or wealth is used in the production or distribution of goods and prices are determined mainly in a free market; the dominance of private owners of capital and of production for profit.  In theory this is fantastic; however, eventually people just start believing in money and what it can get them and forget that there is life to be lived.  I am guilty of this.

            “I cannot wait to graduate college and get a job, so we have more money.” I told my boyfriend recently.  He agreed, but probably for different reasons than I had.  I dream of the day that I can buy things whenever I want.  I long for the day that I am able to go shopping for new cloths as often as I would like.  It’s unfortunate, but I am a person that depends on money.  Honestly though, aren’t we all.  It’s hard to believe that anything is possible unless there is money involved.  Somewhere down the line, no matter what you chose to believe, money always enters the picture.  You donate to your church, or you donate to the Thinking Atheist, or even to a cause that you truly believe in, such as global warming, but usually it is about the money.  Sure, you can always donate your time, but usually money is better.  Isn’t it?

            Money: Any generally accepted medium of exchange which enables a society to trade goods without the need for barter; any objects or tokens regarded as a store of value and used as a medium of exchange.  So, in theory, if we all believed that a freshly picked dark green blade of grass was worth it, we could trade that for other goods?  Going to the grocery store with your bag of just cut grass in order to get you milk and eggs.  Now that is a belief I could get behind.  I am willing to bet if all the right people said that grass was the new currency, many others would start to believe it as well.

            There are so many things in the world for one to believe.  Whether it is a religion, a political view, a book, or even how you pay for your groceries, if enough people believe in relatively the same thing, it then becomes a reality in their world.

“Beliefs are whatever you want them to be.  Not one person believes in the exact same thing.”-Brandy Bohm

            Everyone I know believes in something.  Most of the people I know that have strong beliefs are not willing to listen to any other way things could be.  A person I considered a great friend just recently flat out told me that he did not respect my opinion.  I was in complete shock! Although he and I do not have the same beliefs, I had always respected that fact.  I suppose that some people cannot accept that they might not be correct in their beliefs, although it isn’t even possible to say who is right and who is wrong.  That is the point, belief in anything is just that.  A belief.  A form of faith.

            An Atheist friend of mine and I had a conversation recently.

            “People are born Atheist.” She said.

            I was slightly confused. “Can you explain what you mean?” I asked.

            “When we are born, we have no beliefs, therefore we are all Atheist.  It is only when we are taught about religion that this changes.”

            “But wouldn’t you agree that Atheism is a religion in itself?”

            “Absolutely not,” she replied. “It is the natural state into which we are brought into this world.”

            Although I do see where she was coming from, I cannot agree with most of what she was conveying.  Sure, it makes since to say that no one believes in anything when they are born.  That I do agree with; however, to say that Atheism is not a religion is unfathomable to me.  Religion: A pursuit, interest, or movement, followed with great devotion.  To me, this definition describes Atheism just as well as it does Christianity, which is considered a religion.  Yet, this is just my belief, which is exactly just that, mine.  Nobody else in the world has to agree with me.

            I don’t believe in a God.  I don’t believe in the supernatural.  I don’t believe in much really.  I do believe in nature and people though.  That is what I have faith in.  Perhaps my faith is misplaced, but these are things that I am sure exist.  These are things that I know, for a fact, will be in my life tomorrow.  For me, that is enough.  I do not need to believe in anything else.