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velvetpageI was reading this post: http://ursulav.livejournal.com/517250.html and it struck a cord with me.
For the most part, I'm pretty even-tempered. I rarely descend into fits of, "Why does this always happen to me?" I rarely ascribe malice to people without strong evidence of same. I don't assume the world is out to get me, or that God has given me a trial to overcome, or that the world is a vale of tears. I just don't. Also, I'm quite willing, generally, to admit when things have gone well and count my blessings. My life isn't perfect, but it's pretty darn good, and it's made better by being friendly to people and assuming that they are doing their best, just like I am, most of the time.
Now, Ursula ascribes this attitude to her atheism. I can't do that, obviously, since I'm not an atheist. So what's the difference between my faith and that of the people who see God and the world as being out to get them?
It's possible to see Christianity as a profoundly negative thing. It's possible to see yourself as a sinful supplicant of a judging God, and you won't be considered to be unChristian for doing so - in fact, many congregations see that attitude as the core of the faith.
I don't. I never have. The reason is that it's not the end of the story. To me, the important part is that God thought humanity was worth saving. We're valuable to him, special, worthy of a sacrifice so huge I can barely comprehend it. Why would a god who was willing to make such a sacrifice be out to get me?
The other side to the equation is my view of humanity, which almost exactly matches Ursula's. Most people are muddling along as best they can. If they do things that hurt me, it's probably by accident or because they are trying to protect themselves and I somehow got in the way of that. I can forgive that, because it's not about me. It's about them. So long as everyone is doing their best with occasional slip-ups, I can forgive the slip-ups. My life is not improved by assuming that random people are cackling evilly at the misfortune they've heaped on me by, for example, rushing to get into the check-out line two steps ahead of me. They're just trying to get home before their teenager trashes the house, or some such.
So, my even-temperedness has two sources: 1) God is good and loves me, and 2) everyone else is just trying to get by as best they can.
For the most part, I'm pretty even-tempered. I rarely descend into fits of, "Why does this always happen to me?" I rarely ascribe malice to people without strong evidence of same. I don't assume the world is out to get me, or that God has given me a trial to overcome, or that the world is a vale of tears. I just don't. Also, I'm quite willing, generally, to admit when things have gone well and count my blessings. My life isn't perfect, but it's pretty darn good, and it's made better by being friendly to people and assuming that they are doing their best, just like I am, most of the time.
Now, Ursula ascribes this attitude to her atheism. I can't do that, obviously, since I'm not an atheist. So what's the difference between my faith and that of the people who see God and the world as being out to get them?
It's possible to see Christianity as a profoundly negative thing. It's possible to see yourself as a sinful supplicant of a judging God, and you won't be considered to be unChristian for doing so - in fact, many congregations see that attitude as the core of the faith.
I don't. I never have. The reason is that it's not the end of the story. To me, the important part is that God thought humanity was worth saving. We're valuable to him, special, worthy of a sacrifice so huge I can barely comprehend it. Why would a god who was willing to make such a sacrifice be out to get me?
The other side to the equation is my view of humanity, which almost exactly matches Ursula's. Most people are muddling along as best they can. If they do things that hurt me, it's probably by accident or because they are trying to protect themselves and I somehow got in the way of that. I can forgive that, because it's not about me. It's about them. So long as everyone is doing their best with occasional slip-ups, I can forgive the slip-ups. My life is not improved by assuming that random people are cackling evilly at the misfortune they've heaped on me by, for example, rushing to get into the check-out line two steps ahead of me. They're just trying to get home before their teenager trashes the house, or some such.
So, my even-temperedness has two sources: 1) God is good and loves me, and 2) everyone else is just trying to get by as best they can.
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BTW
Date: 2006-08-23 03:37 pm (UTC)Re: BTW
Date: 2006-08-23 03:43 pm (UTC)