Statement of Belief
May. 10th, 2011 11:38 am![[personal profile]](https://www.dreamwidth.org/img/silk/identity/user.png){kind=small}
kilroyI've been doing some thinking over the last day or so, and this is the result. This is me.
Please note that God is referred to as "he" because it was convenient and not because I think said entity has a meaningful gender. Read it with whichever pronoun suits you best.
I recognize that what I believe can never be proven, and that it doesn’t need to be. What I choose to believe determines my life alone.
I believe that there is a God, creator of all things. The world is too beautiful and complex to have happened by accident.
I believe there is something in us besides flesh. We are more than the sum of our biology.
I believe in free will. I don’t believe in destiny or that God has an individual plan for each of us. Even if God can see the future I don’t think he would ever tell us, because choices where you know the outcome have no meaning.
I believe that God usually works in mysterious ways, not obvious ones. He trusts us to make our own lives.
I believe that we are judged by our actions and that we have a responsibility to do right. There is no justification for cruelty and no reward for passive belief.
I believe that God loves everyone who tries to be a good person. He doesn’t need us to worship him in any particular way, or even to believe in him at all.
I believe that diversity is strength. Every kind of person enriches us, and every new idea takes us further.
I believe that Jesus was a great teacher and that the Bible is a powerful tool of faith, but that men often use their words for evil. They provide wisdom, not authority.
I have no idea what happens to us after we die. I’d like to believe in reincarnation-- that we are meant for this world and called to keep growing in it forever. But I cannot believe in Hell, because I cannot believe in a God who is that vindictive about what he created.
I believe that we will never understand this world, but we are meant to keep trying; and that the world is unfair, but we are meant to make it better. We are measured best not by absolutes, but by looking back to see how far we’ve come.
Please note that God is referred to as "he" because it was convenient and not because I think said entity has a meaningful gender. Read it with whichever pronoun suits you best.
I recognize that what I believe can never be proven, and that it doesn’t need to be. What I choose to believe determines my life alone.
I believe that there is a God, creator of all things. The world is too beautiful and complex to have happened by accident.
I believe there is something in us besides flesh. We are more than the sum of our biology.
I believe in free will. I don’t believe in destiny or that God has an individual plan for each of us. Even if God can see the future I don’t think he would ever tell us, because choices where you know the outcome have no meaning.
I believe that God usually works in mysterious ways, not obvious ones. He trusts us to make our own lives.
I believe that we are judged by our actions and that we have a responsibility to do right. There is no justification for cruelty and no reward for passive belief.
I believe that God loves everyone who tries to be a good person. He doesn’t need us to worship him in any particular way, or even to believe in him at all.
I believe that diversity is strength. Every kind of person enriches us, and every new idea takes us further.
I believe that Jesus was a great teacher and that the Bible is a powerful tool of faith, but that men often use their words for evil. They provide wisdom, not authority.
I have no idea what happens to us after we die. I’d like to believe in reincarnation-- that we are meant for this world and called to keep growing in it forever. But I cannot believe in Hell, because I cannot believe in a God who is that vindictive about what he created.
I believe that we will never understand this world, but we are meant to keep trying; and that the world is unfair, but we are meant to make it better. We are measured best not by absolutes, but by looking back to see how far we’ve come.