Monday, December 16, 2013
Yes, I Am An Agnostic
What is an agnostic or agnosticism, which a lot of you may be asking yourself right about now. Well I will save you the Google search. An agnostic believes it is impossible to know if gods exist or feel that the answer is not important in their life. Now for the reason I bring this topic to attention is because I consider myself a good person without having a religion. Yes, a person who doesn't know or believe in a god is considered good.No I am not "saved" or will I ever be, but does that make me a bad person? I know there are people who believe they need to be "saved" and I don't disagree with them, some people need a crutch in life. A crutch, meaning an idea of some sort to set standards for themselves to become a better person. As for me I don't need a crutch. I believe in science, I believe in my family, I believe in myself; my beliefs are in what I know, not myths, rituals, or symbols. Now don't get me wrong, I have nothing against any religions of any sort. I would love to learn about different beliefs, but that doesn't mean I myself believe in a higher power. The point to all of this is I think its wrong for people to be able to USE something such as, a higher power, to make it okay to judge someone. For example, myself, people will criticize me for not believing in a god to make judgement on my character, thinking maybe i do things that are not highely thought of just because I don't have a religion. I rather be where I am knowing I am a good person at heart rather than be something I am not and take precautions as to "if" there is a god because I know I'm a good individual and if the higher power is as holy as others believe they'd understand where I was coming from. Don't judge others, be considerate to all opinions and beliefs because no one knows everything.
Subscribe to:
Post Comments (Atom)
Why do you consider yourself a good person, and why would you want to consider yourself a good person? What pushes you to be "good" if you don't have '"an idea of some sort to set standards" to judge yourself against?
ReplyDeleteTo answer your question, Thomas:
ReplyDeleteFrom an early age, I was set on being a good person. When my father left the house to go out for a bid on a job or go on one of his evening jogs, I would eat a snack with my dinner. It would be a granola bar or a cashew nut cluster or a piece of chewing gum. No matter what it was, I would call him up on the phone crying and tell him everything I had done from the moment he had left the house. I would sob and tell him that I didn't ask for the snack and that I wanted to be honest, that I wanted to be a good girl, and he would forgive me, usually with a soft laugh. Among other things, I would never take without giving back. I felt it was wrong. I think it was because I read a lot, and in the books that I read, honesty was important. I would always tell the truth, and if I didn't, I always ended up telling it eventually. In instances I actually did seek things that weren't good, I later redeemed myself, not to soothe the guilt that was so often making me sick (literally sick), but to make the ones I cared deeply about happier. I was and am an empathetic person, someone who naturally tries to feel and understand the world and peoples around me. Although my parents have given me knowledge and guidance as far as how to act in the real world, there are things that they did not have to teach me, things that were simply just there.
The point I am trying to make is that some people don't need a book or a person or a motto to follow in order to strive to be good. Some people, with minimal influence, are born with an instinct to create and to give rather than to destroy and to take. I admit that half of it is nurturing, but "an idea of some sort to set standards" doesn't always have to be from a single and sacred source. It can be derived from many places, people, experiences, words exchanged.
Feliz was just trying to make the point that she and I and many others have drawn morality and ethics from a place different than yours. Just because it is different doesn't make it any less significant and right. Just because it is different, doesn't mean it ought to be driven out and deemed inferior. It is the content that should be judged, not the place of its origin.