Anyone is welcome to submit a Guest Blog Entry to torontomike.com. I received the following entry earlier today.
Re: Reflex Or Will
A Parable.
She: Why don't you believe in a God?
He: Well, let me answer it this way. I have a friend, a farmer up in Victoria. He has the most amazing tractor, an enormous bloody thing, eight wheels, each wheel as high as me. It pulls his combine harvester, plow and other farm machines. It is an unbelievable thing. Do you have one?
She: No...
He: Why not?
She: I don't need one.
I do not consider myself a religious person but I like most people struggle with issues like: What is good? What does it mean to live a good life? What is the nature of reality? Why are we here and what should we be doing? How should we treat each other? What is really most important in life? As a person without a structured belief system, I choose to use reason and critical thinking whereas religions may make use of reason, but at the very least they also rely on faith, or even use faith to the exclusion of reason. Some people get a lot of comfort from religion, either from the faith itself or from the pleasure of rituals and inherent structure. I would never try to deny them this, and probably am a little jealous at some levels. I do however commandeer such rituals as I want, especially if there is food involved. I tend to avoid any fasting festivals, though...ha,ha.
Jill
Am I to graze the great buffet of Catholicism and pick and choose the foods I like? What if I'm not hungry, do I still have to eat? This reminds me, it's time for breakfast. Rice Krispies, here I come!
