The process. (Also I am proud)

[A Mask Among Many]

Honestly, I'm a catholic, and I agree with the declaration that many not only just sit at church and call themselves christian or Catholic. I won't get into how the catholic church is actually the root and founder of christianity itself and how christians split off from it about 400-500 years ago, but I do have to say this; if the universe is all just a big cycle, what is the purpose of existance? If there is no intelligent design and randomness has generated life and the universe as we know it, then I have lived a very sad and depressing life until now. I have wasted God knows how many hours sitting in a pew and protesting against the evils that I see in our culture today.

I don't believe that my life until now has been a waste.
I see intelligent design in the universe, in flowers, in everything from the smallest iota to the largest galaxy.
The beauty and majesty of our universe is no accident. There is no way that I can accept that there is no God.
I do believe that there are beings of great evil. They exist to corrupt and they have done very well.

If you disagree please post and explain.

Sorry If I was a bit forceful or forward, but I feel the need to witness, not just sit in a pew for an hour.

[Zoom]

Yeah, I'm sort of thinking that there ISN'T an inherent point to anything. Why should there be? It would be nice if there was, sure, really nice, but "the world is not a wish-granting machine".
So then I think, make your own point. I've decided the point of my existence, my personal existence, is to live in a way I won't regret too much by the time I'm about to die. And so then the way I live is determined by the things I value and the person I want to be. I guess everybody does this, it's just that religious people have decided to value the values of their religion.

I don't exactly disagree with there being incredible beauty everywhere, I just don't think it's a God that did it. Kind of. How do I explain this. There is definitely...a pattern to everything, you can see this pattern on all scales. If I were to call anything 'God' it would be this pattern. Certainly it is the blueprint for the universe. But I definitely don't believe in any kind of God like people talk about, you know, what with Jesus and saints and angels and afterlives and all that. I remember realizing one day that the idea of this God is just such a human thing to do, invent it I mean, it almost couldn't NOT be invented. Humans being incredibly lonely and searching for meaning and never being able to find it. Plus where I couldn't find any reason TO believe in God, and finding several NOT to...maybe if I'd been raised in a religious household I'd have a different view, but that's a whole other can of beans...I'm thinking, I don't want to be part of anything I didn't consciously choose to be a part of.
I've learned over the years that there's no point to arguing about beliefs and feelings because ultimately the only sources you can cite are "I personally feel this" and that of course is not an 'argument' traditionally. It's just a statement of fact.

I have a question though, and I hope you don't find it offensive because that's not how it's meant. Why are you religious? I just realized I've never really sat down and talked with a religious person about why they decided to be, and I figured this was as good a time as any.

[A Mask Among Many]

I'm rather glad you asked, and no I'm not offended. It's a legitimate question from someone who wants to know.

I guess there are a couple of reasons that I'm religious.

#1 - I was raised that way.

This one is the easiest to see. I always have been a Catholic. From almost the minute of my birth, I have been immersed in a culture that values and loves the faith that I have. If I didn't believe, there would be something weird about me, or my parents didn't teach me well enough.

#2 - Think about history.

Now this might sound weird at first, but think about all the major powers (european, because that's the region I know about) in history. Greece, Babylon, Rome, then the current powers. Greece fell to Babylon, Babylon to Rome, Rome to the barbarians of the North, which eventually formed today's powers. Then think about how long the Catholic Church has been around. The Church has been around for almost two thousand years. That's almost a thousand years more than the longest surviving country. The church has had strife, corruption, and almost innumerable enemies throughout that time. Do you really think any human-based organization could last that long?

#3 - Explain Miracles to me, without talking about supernatural powers.

Explain why millions have been cured at holy places of the Church worldwide. Explain how a piece of unleavened bread has become a portion of a heart, still alive, on multiple occasions. Explain the amazing amount of other miracles that are out there. The Tilma, the shroud of Turin, and all those other amazing things. They can't be anything other than Miraculous.

Also, I agree that the invention of God is a very human thing to do. Just look at how many religions there are in the world.

This is a little personal, so you don't need to answer this question, but what are your reasons not to beleive in God?

Again, I'm sorry if I was a little forceful.