mostly off-topic (was Re: Setting the record straight...)

[Guest guest]

>

> Likewise, ye intolerant religious fanatics drive me crazy.

Well, I wouldn`t think in those terms...

But we mustn`t forget that all religions also have their own dietary

taboos, don`t they? Pork for Islam, the combination meat + dairy for

Jews, beef for Hindus and Christians during Lent, something

was saying for Jainism, etc... Isn`t this curious? If all food

ultimately comes from God, why do religions prohibit such and such?

What is really behind a taboo?

By the way, how similar religions and nutritional systems (ns) are,

aren`t they? You follow a ns in order to save your body, a religion

to save your soul. Both religions and ns have rules. If you fail to

observe them, you are either sinning or cheating. Religions and ns

differ from one another, but also have much in common. All religions

seem to rely on love, whereas ns on the pure source.

Can I go on? What follows is rather too personal, but maybe someone

can relate to it. It is the admission of a weakness.

A and B are two persons. A knows me rather well, but A didn`t know

everything about me. When I recently told A that I was an agnostic, A

replied – Oh, you don`t know what you are missing! But then, I

remember how hard it was to believe.

I was very much impressed by A`s words. I have many reasons to

appreciate them deeply. Firstly, they are impartial, for A isn`t

trying to convince me to embrace any religion. Secondly, they are

honest, for A reminds me of how demanding a religion or faith can be.

Thirdly, they are clarifying, for A, even maybe unaware of it,

recognizes that if you are an agnostic, or if you have no religion,

you sort of create a gap in your life. I think this can be very true.

B doesn`t seem to know me very well. Nevertheless, B recently told me

that I might be ill because I was saying so much (asking so many

questions) but actually adding very little. According to B, this

would be sheer agitation, a sign of lack of inner peace. I was

initially shocked by B`s words. I told myself I didn`t deserve them,

but now I am trying to reframe them. Maybe B was right to choose

those words.

Maybe the main purpose of a religion is not so much to save your soul

as to bring serenity and perspective into your life. When you don`t

follow any given ns, you may end up eating junk food. Likewise, when

you don`t believe in something greater than you, your life may appear

meaningless.

Is it because I don`t have a religion at present that my life seems

now and then ... meaningless? What do you people think about this? Do

you experience the same dilemma as I do, like badly wanting to

believe in something, but not being able to do so, and thus

dismissing religion as something irrational or inessential?

I don`t expect anyone to answer these difficult questions, moreover

because they are typically off-topic, but let me quickly round this

off.

A is my dear friend (I like A a lot), B might become one, I don`t

know, I shouldn`t have any expectations with B. But suddenly it

dawned on me that maybe they were talking about the very same thing,

using different words and approaches. Maybe both of them perceived

there was something lacking in my life. What B calls " lack of inner

peace " is maybe in the eyes of A what I missing by remaining an

agnostic.

I don`t know if I will change in the near future as far as religions

are concerned, but I am thankful to both A and B for simultaneously

making me gain this profound insight into my life.