Dear Terrence,
I find no fault in your intellect. You are indeed very smart. I have asked in my mind all the same questions. They plagued me and still do. I have no answers. Logic eludes me. Reason is not my friend. Knowledge confronts me. Evidence abounds to despise me. But one thing that makes me accept the Biblical answer on how to get to Heaven some day -- I believe that there is more passed down evidence of Jesus' birth, death, and resurrection than evidence that George Washington was our first President. If I accept Washington as truth, then I certainly must accept Jesus' resurrection as well. If this is truth, then all the other inconsistencies that you bring up must take a back seat to this one truth. Then I must accept that He is God. If He is God, then I must accept that I am of a inferior intellect. Therefore, I willingly accept His teachings, even though they contradict my own intellect. How can I question my creator? He did NOT have to create me. By my mere existence, I must have one new part to my being that my intellect will never be able to grasp, and that is faith. Job said it best -- "though He slay me, yet will I trust Him". If He created me, how can I put MORE trust in anything else? It matters not what kind of "mind" He has.
Now you may say that He was the greatest mystic who ever lived. He fooled many. He continues to fool many today. Let's say you are right. What have I lost by following His teachings as best I know (summed up in two easy teachings -- love God first and others ahead of yourself) and accepting "by faith" His requirement (an acceptance "by faith" of Jesus as God and Savior) for entry into Heaven if it even exists at all? If everyone did these to the best of their ability, we would live in at least a much more peaceful world while we are here. Sure it goes against my own intellect and even my own God-given nature. Why? Seems like a cruel game to me, but I must remind myself that my creator is vastly superior in intellect (if that is even the correct word). If I follow His teachings, others will like me more. I will see more smiles while I live than frowns. What is your goal in this life? If there is something more after this life, what will you take with you? If there is nothing, what more will you get out of life by NOT following His teachings? And if my "faith" proves to be true, what will you have lost?
When one invests in penny stocks, a question that probably enters the minds of everyone at one time or another when they are faced with a decision of whether to put hard-earned money into a speculative issue, is this: "Will I be more upset (lose more) if I invest (on faith) and the company goes bust or if I don't invest, and the company skyrockets". This question has probably been responsible for more thrown away money than any other. But when faced with the destiny of your soul, if there is one, has your heart/spirit been so hardened, that you will automatically dismiss the question altogether? Tally the potential positives and potential negatives. I have, and I have made my choice. I hope you have not made yours.
I remain,
SOROS |
