Relay-Version: version B 2.10 5/3/83; site utzoo.UUCP
Posting-Version: version B 2.10.1 6/24/83; site pucc-h
Path: utzoo!watmath!clyde!burl!ulysses!mhuxj!ihnp4!inuxc!pur-ee!CS-Mordred!Pucc-H:aeq
From: aeq@pucc-h (Jeff Sargent)
Newsgroups: net.religion
Subject: Re: A Good Example of Religious Toleranc - (nf)
Message-ID: <1490@pucc-h>
Date: Fri, 16-Nov-84 09:47:15 EST
Article-I.D.: pucc-h.1490
Posted: Fri Nov 16 09:47:15 1984
Date-Received: Tue, 20-Nov-84 23:43:09 EST
References: <26400002@uicsl.UUCP>
Organization: Purdue University Computing Crypt
Lines: 32

From Gary Koob (uicsl!gmk):

> It seems that most people (including the most devout) inherit their faith
> from their parents and are perfectly willing to accept it without question.
> They insist that their religion is the "right" one, since they were lucky
> enough to have been born into it.  Never mind that they have never
> investigated alternative religions.  Why should they?
> They've already found "truth".

Hmm....  I was not born into Christianity.  I was not exposed to any real
Christian teachings until I was 15.  I quickly saw that Christianity (or
rather Christ) provided something which the melange of Easternish beliefs
wherein I had been raised did not:  a guarantee that I was accepted and
loved, no matter how badly I had sinned or failed to do good.  This is so
much better than anything else I've ever heard of that I would not want to
be without it.  It is so unlike most of the world's beliefs (apparently
including ECK) as to render the likelihood of its truth much greater; as
dear old C.S. Lewis says, Christianity is something you could never have
guessed; it has just that odd twist about it that real things have.  Mind you,
this doesn't mean I accept everything without question; I have lots of
struggles with God.  So many evangelists glibly say "You can have a personal
relationship with God!" without noticing what they are saying -- i.e. that it
is a personal relationship, with its moments of intense, joyous communion and
its moments of equally intense dispute.  It is like a marriage (in fact that
analogy is used in the Bible); it's a life, not just a set of doctrines, or
even just a path (it is both of those, but so much more).

-- 
-- Jeff Sargent
{decvax|harpo|ihnp4|inuxc|seismo|ucbvax}!pur-ee!pucc-h:aeq
"I'm not asking for anyone's bleeding charity."
"Then do.  At once.  Ask for the Bleeding Charity."