Everybody has rules to live by, and I am no exception. Here, I discuss my philosophies, my religions, and my way of life.
My Rules:
Since I solidified them, I have lived by only three rules, and they have yet to fail me. I have been tempted and put into situations where the choice is unclear, and though it takes time to work out how my rules would apply in those situations, they still come through.
1. Avoid injury at all costs.
Never hurt anyone emotionally or physically on purpose.
If put in a position where one or more people will get hurt, attempt to do as little damage as possible.
If put in a position where more than one person must be saved (burning building scenario), save as many as possible always putting the largest number of lives above any smaller number.
Value no life above another.2. Always keep your word.
If you make a promise, it's eternally binding unless exceptions are specifically set out.
Never discuss other peoples actions without their permission unless directly affecting you.
If two promises conflict, always place priority on the one made first.3. Don't lie.
The only time lying is ok is when it's to avoid hurting someone, and then it's important to take long-term damage into consideration.
If someone asks a question, answer as truthfully as possible.
If no answer is possible because it conflicts rule one or two, tell them.
Religion:
Religion is an important part of life, from the time you're born until the time you die. Philosophy, sophism, and religion are all deeply intertwined, and as humnas, it's our job to decide what fits our life and beliefs.
God is the most difficult idea to deal with. Belief in God is based on either pure faith or on some sort of evidence. In my belief system, man creates the gods in his image.
So, if John believes in the classic Greek pantheon (12 major gods plus minor local deities, muses, and spirits), then he chooses one of those Gods to personify and create and believe in more than the others. If Sally also believes in the classic Greek pantheon, she can choose the same god as John or a different one. If they choose the same god, it's still not the same god because John and Sally each percieve that god differently. So even though they believe in the same god, there are two real gods between them.
It's possible to believe in no god as well.
To calculate the number of gods that exist, take the number of people on earth and subtract the number of true atheists on earth.
Very few people will agree with this idea of poly-monotheism, and even believing in one god is an incredably brave thing to do. I don't have the ability to put blind faith in something, and I'm not willing to decide on whether a god may exist for me at this point in time, but until I get proof that even one exists, I will profess my belief as poly-mono-atheism.
Now that we've gotten my belief in God out of the way, I will explain my views on organized (and disorganized) religion.
Religion is an important learning tool when you're young. You don't have enough experience to have morals and ethics yet, and the only way to learn is trial and error or from other people's experiences. So rather than having infants murder, steal, or lie until they realize its wrong, it makes more sense to use fables, past experiences, examples to teach them. Therefore religion, as a teaching tool, is necessary in youth.
As you grow, most of these values start to make sense from experiences and from observations about society. Therefore, as long as you have the strength and constitution to survive on your own morality after a certain maturity level, religion is no longer necessary.
It is important to continue to provide the same base that you recieved, and is therefore important to remain involved in the lives of your children, in your community, and in society as a whole.
In many senses, democracy as a government is a substitution religion. That, however is another discussion all together.
© Copyright 2001 Alamaria Productions.
