"You can change an idea. Changing a belief is trickier. Life should be malleable and progressive; working from idea to idea permits that. Beliefs anchor you to certain points and limit growth; new ideas can't generate. Life becomes stagnant." - Dogma (1999)
What are your religious beliefs? Do you believe some people are born gay? Do you believe conspiracy theories? 9/11? Did we land on the moon? When does life begin? Is there life after death? Is there a personal God who answers prayers? Does everything happen for a reason? Do you believe in childish things? Santa Clause, the easter bunny, unicorns, fairy tales?
I ask these questions not to offend you, but to get you to think about all your beliefs... now lets attack religion:
"I have never seen the slightest scientific proof of the religious theories of heaven and hell, of future life for individuals, or of a personal God." -Thomas Edison"A man's ethical behavior should be based effectively on sympathy, education, and social ties; no religious basis is necessary. Man would indeed be in a poor way if he had to be restrained by fear of punishment and hope of reward after death." - Albert Einstein"I cannot conceive otherwise than that He, the Infinite Father, expects or requires no worship or praise from us, but that He is even infinitely above it." - Benjamin Franklin"I have recently been examining all the known superstitions of the world, and do not find in our particular superstition [Christianity] one redeeming feature. They are all alike, founded on fables and mythologies." - Thomas Jefferson
A person's belief is what's real to them. If we believe what isn't true, then we have deceived ourselves. And this deception feels real because we believe it. Its circular. This is how religion works. Why believe anything we cannot prove? Instead, have an idea. You can change an idea.
