@Vince 12: Basing the argument on the thought that the question was "Christianity" vs. "White Magic." If you want to be a Christian, you have to study the Bible. But when you study the Bible, you can say "Oh, look, there's rather quite a bit of truth here" or "oh, look, this is completely ludicrous and contradictory" rather than "Oh, look, this says what the preacher said it said, so he and it must be right."
If you want to choose a religion, you have to study something. I would prefer people study everything they have available to them and then choose what they believe rather than select one particular "group," "religion," "cult," or "denomination" and then study it exclusively, but that's not what was asked.
Eranan: Albert Einstein would tend to disagree with you, as would many scientists, religionists, and occult masters. The only truth is the truth you find yourself. I know what I believe, and I believe it strongly, because I have proven it to myself. And yes, there is a long road for people who decide such a following. Tibetan monks spend their entire life in search of truth. In the case of belief, would you rather randomly accept something because it seems okay to you, or would you rather know for a fact that what you believe is true? Some people may be lazy in such matters, because those matters don't concern them. However, I would rather devote my life to the study of truth than allow truth to be presented to me and accept it.
Some things are pointless to investigate. For example, in the matter of the world being round... There are the logs of sailors who have circumnavigated the globe, there are the aerial and orbital photographs taken of the planet, there are the jillions of airplane flights that circle the globe daily, and there is the continuous cycle of astronomy and orbital celestial objects that prove the world is round. I believe it's round, although I've never circumnavigated it myself. However, it doesn't matter to me if the world is round or not. It could be conical and full of cream cheese for all I care, as long as life continues properly around me the geometry of the universe doesn't matter to me. To paraphrase what Sherlock Holmes said to Dr. Watson shortly after their initial meeting, "Thanks for letting me know the world is round. I'll try my best to forget it now so I can use the part of my brain it's stored in for things that matter to me."
My ultimate destiny is very important to me, and if I want to dedicate my life to the investigation of the immaterial factors that work into that equation, it is the best thing for me to do. Not everyone feels that way, and that's their prerogative, and I respect that. However, for a searcher such as the originator of this post, such investigation is of the utmost importance. No man has the right to tell me what to believe. I have a close friend that I go to in times when I need guidance, and he comes to me when he needs it as well. But neither of us would ever presume to say "God is an elderly white-haired gentleman who sits on a throne of pure white light and sends you into a pit of burning fire if you don't believe exactly what I'm saying." That is grounds for cannibalization.
If you want to choose a religion, you have to study something. I would prefer people study everything they have available to them and then choose what they believe rather than select one particular "group," "religion," "cult," or "denomination" and then study it exclusively, but that's not what was asked.
Eranan: Albert Einstein would tend to disagree with you, as would many scientists, religionists, and occult masters. The only truth is the truth you find yourself. I know what I believe, and I believe it strongly, because I have proven it to myself. And yes, there is a long road for people who decide such a following. Tibetan monks spend their entire life in search of truth. In the case of belief, would you rather randomly accept something because it seems okay to you, or would you rather know for a fact that what you believe is true? Some people may be lazy in such matters, because those matters don't concern them. However, I would rather devote my life to the study of truth than allow truth to be presented to me and accept it.
Some things are pointless to investigate. For example, in the matter of the world being round... There are the logs of sailors who have circumnavigated the globe, there are the aerial and orbital photographs taken of the planet, there are the jillions of airplane flights that circle the globe daily, and there is the continuous cycle of astronomy and orbital celestial objects that prove the world is round. I believe it's round, although I've never circumnavigated it myself. However, it doesn't matter to me if the world is round or not. It could be conical and full of cream cheese for all I care, as long as life continues properly around me the geometry of the universe doesn't matter to me. To paraphrase what Sherlock Holmes said to Dr. Watson shortly after their initial meeting, "Thanks for letting me know the world is round. I'll try my best to forget it now so I can use the part of my brain it's stored in for things that matter to me."
My ultimate destiny is very important to me, and if I want to dedicate my life to the investigation of the immaterial factors that work into that equation, it is the best thing for me to do. Not everyone feels that way, and that's their prerogative, and I respect that. However, for a searcher such as the originator of this post, such investigation is of the utmost importance. No man has the right to tell me what to believe. I have a close friend that I go to in times when I need guidance, and he comes to me when he needs it as well. But neither of us would ever presume to say "God is an elderly white-haired gentleman who sits on a throne of pure white light and sends you into a pit of burning fire if you don't believe exactly what I'm saying." That is grounds for cannibalization.
