or lack of.
I'm talking about the kind of faith that's usually linked to religions here.
Sometimes, I find my lack of faith in religions mildly disturbing when most people around me seem to be so in touch with their Gods.
I'm talking about the kind of faith that's usually linked to religions here.
Sometimes, I find my lack of faith in religions mildly disturbing when most people around me seem to be so in touch with their Gods.
I've just finished reading Mitch Albom's "Have A Little Faith" for the second time and what struck me was remembering how I'd been feeling the exact same way when I read the book the first time round.
People always say that reading a book for the subsequent times after the first usually bring about new perspectives/enjoyment on certain topics because subsequent readings would usually open up new strands of thoughts and allow one to gain a more in-depth understanding of whatever they're reading. Judging from how my second reading of this book went though, it looks like it can't really be applied here; I certainly enjoyed the reading, but I don't think I went away with many fresh perspectives.
I loved it how the author was always bringing up the point that it's absolutely possible for religions to exist in harmony; however explicit or implicit it may be, like how he could marry someone outside of his faith and still be very much in love, how his beloved rabbi and a Catholic priest walked hand-in-hand after a nasty dispute, how the rabbi was BFF with his Hindu caretaker, or lastly, how he as a man of the Jewish faith would help a Christian organization raise funds through his journal articles.
Some of my favourite quotes from the book:
"Faith is about doing. You are how you act, not just how you believe."
"You should be convinced of the authenticity of what you have, but you must also be humble enough to say that we don't know everything. And since we don't know everything, we must accept that another person may believe in something else."
"Nothing haunts like the things we don't say."
"Remember, the only difference between 'marital' and 'martial' is where you put the 'i'."
If you know me well enough, it's not hard to see why these are my favourite quotes (I think!). I hope that I won't forget why these are my favourite quotes in time to come, when life starts to get slightly busier with work.
Some ending thoughts on the topic:
Even though I'm not exactly the most faithful/religious person you may know (having scoffed a couple of times at some of the pious things that people do or say in the name of their Gods, I'm so going to hell for that), I understand the need for religions because of the hope they can give to their believers. Hope is such a powerful motivator; it not only gives people something to look forward to, but it also gives them the emotional strength to work towards that something.
That said, I find it lamentable that humans often need religion to remind us to give thanks and be appreciative of the wonderful things that we are exposed to in our lifetimes. That we need religion to tell us what is right or wrong, and that we become overly dependent on these moral compasses. I find it a little sad as well that people sometimes manipulate the words of religions to gain favour for their planned actions and believers simply buy them blindly.
Religion is good (for some), but I guess I'm not really part of that some. Not for now anyway.
While we're on the topic of this, the book somehow answered a questions I've always had in my mind: What should I say when someone says "God bless you!" but I don't exactly believe in god? Instead of letting things hang on an awkward note, I'm going to try saying "God bless you too!" when this happens again anytime soon.
People always say that reading a book for the subsequent times after the first usually bring about new perspectives/enjoyment on certain topics because subsequent readings would usually open up new strands of thoughts and allow one to gain a more in-depth understanding of whatever they're reading. Judging from how my second reading of this book went though, it looks like it can't really be applied here; I certainly enjoyed the reading, but I don't think I went away with many fresh perspectives.
I loved it how the author was always bringing up the point that it's absolutely possible for religions to exist in harmony; however explicit or implicit it may be, like how he could marry someone outside of his faith and still be very much in love, how his beloved rabbi and a Catholic priest walked hand-in-hand after a nasty dispute, how the rabbi was BFF with his Hindu caretaker, or lastly, how he as a man of the Jewish faith would help a Christian organization raise funds through his journal articles.
Some of my favourite quotes from the book:
"Faith is about doing. You are how you act, not just how you believe."
"You should be convinced of the authenticity of what you have, but you must also be humble enough to say that we don't know everything. And since we don't know everything, we must accept that another person may believe in something else."
"Nothing haunts like the things we don't say."
"Remember, the only difference between 'marital' and 'martial' is where you put the 'i'."
If you know me well enough, it's not hard to see why these are my favourite quotes (I think!). I hope that I won't forget why these are my favourite quotes in time to come, when life starts to get slightly busier with work.
Some ending thoughts on the topic:
Even though I'm not exactly the most faithful/religious person you may know (having scoffed a couple of times at some of the pious things that people do or say in the name of their Gods, I'm so going to hell for that), I understand the need for religions because of the hope they can give to their believers. Hope is such a powerful motivator; it not only gives people something to look forward to, but it also gives them the emotional strength to work towards that something.
That said, I find it lamentable that humans often need religion to remind us to give thanks and be appreciative of the wonderful things that we are exposed to in our lifetimes. That we need religion to tell us what is right or wrong, and that we become overly dependent on these moral compasses. I find it a little sad as well that people sometimes manipulate the words of religions to gain favour for their planned actions and believers simply buy them blindly.
Religion is good (for some), but I guess I'm not really part of that some. Not for now anyway.
While we're on the topic of this, the book somehow answered a questions I've always had in my mind: What should I say when someone says "God bless you!" but I don't exactly believe in god? Instead of letting things hang on an awkward note, I'm going to try saying "God bless you too!" when this happens again anytime soon.
2 comments:
"You should be convinced of the authenticity of what you have, but you must also be humble enough to say that we don't know everything. And since we don't know everything, we must accept that another person may believe in something else."
i love this most out of the few. one will be open to greater things if one simply adopts such thinking haha.
it's so true, but people often fail to see this.
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