Granny said, \u201cIt\u2019s no good you trying to make me believe in Om, though\u2026 People you can believe in, sometimes, but not gods. And I\u2019ll tell you this Mister Oats\u2026\u201d<\/p>\n
He sighed. \u201cYes?\u201d<\/p>\n
She turned to face him, suddenly alive. \u201cIt\u2019d be as well for you if I didn\u2019t believe,\u201d she said, prodding him with a sharp finger. \u201cThis Om\u2026 anyone seen him?\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cIt is said three thousand people witnessed his manifestation at the Great Temple when he made the Covenant with the prophet Brutha and saved him from death by torture on the iron turtle-\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cBut I bet that now they\u2019re arguing about what they actually saw, eh?\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cWell, indeed, yes, there are many opinions-\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cRight. Right. That\u2019s people for you. Now if I\u2019d seen him, really there, really alive, it\u2019d be in me like a fever. If I thought there was some god who really did care two hoots about people, and who watched \u2019em like a father and cared for \u2019em like a mother\u2026 well, you wouldn\u2019t catch me saying things like \u2018There are two sides to every question,\u2019 and \u2018We must respect other people\u2019s beliefs.\u2019 You wouldn\u2019t find me just being gen\u2019rally nice in the hope that it\u2019d all turn out right in the end, not if that flame was burning in me like an unforgivin\u2019 sword. And I did say burnin\u2019, Mister Oats, cos that\u2019s what it\u2019d be. You say that your people don\u2019t burn folk and sacrifice people any more, but that\u2019s what true faith would mean, y\u2019see? Sacrificin\u2019 your own life, one day at a time, to the flame, declarin\u2019 the truth of it, workin\u2019 for it, breathin\u2019 the soul of it. THAT\u2019S religion. Anything else is just\u2026 is just bein\u2019 nice. And a way of keepin\u2019 in touch with the neighbours.<\/p>\n
She relaxed slightly, and went on in a quieter voice. \u201cAnyway, that\u2019s what I\u2019d be, if I really believed. And I don\u2019t think that\u2019s fashionable right now, \u2018cos it seems that if you sees evil now you have to wring your hands and say, \u2018Oh deary me, we must debate this.\u2019 That\u2019s my two penn\u2019orth, Mister Oats. You be happy to let things lie. Don\u2019t chase faith, \u2018cos you\u2019ll never catch it.\u201d She added, almost as an aside, \u201cBut, perhaps, you can live faithfully.\u201d<\/p>\n
[Oats] thought: my god, if she ever finds a religion, what would come out of those mountains and sweep across the plains?\u201d<\/p><\/blockquote>\n
One argument against the truth of religious claims, or, at least, the validity of various churches is the behavior of their followers. Most Christians I know, with some notable exceptions, rarely reference their religion, or, if they do, they speak of it as a private matter, a personal spirituality.<\/p>\n
In most other areas, people are eager to share information they find to be true or helpful. I, myself, am a fervent evangelist for the casual study of mathematics and will eagerly pitch books like Flatland<\/a><\/em> given even the smallest opening. And, although I think that missing out on mathematics is a pretty awful loss, I don\u2019t equate it with eternal torment with wailing and gnashing of teeth.<\/p>\nWhy then don\u2019t many Christians put even the same amount of effort into evangelization as they do into recommending books or music? I can only conclude it is because they don\u2019t truly believe the tenets to which they ostensibly subscribe. Possibly they don\u2019t believe in Hell (universalists being a prime example) or maybe Christianity isn\u2019t any kind of force in their lives, so they don\u2019t see any reason it might be needed by their friends.<\/p>\n
Either way, they more closely resemble cultural, secular Jews than true believers. If people want to treat churchgoing as \u2018a way of keeping in touch with the neighbors,\u2019 that\u2019s their prerogative, but to call it a religion cheapens the meaning of the word.<\/p>\n<\/body><\/html>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"
For an explanation of what Weatherwax Wednesdays are all about, read the introduction post. This week\u2019s quote is from Carpe Jugulum. In the passage below, Granny is speaking to an Omnian missionary named Oats. (For more about Om, check out the excellent Small Gods). Granny said, \u201cIt\u2019s no good you trying to make me believe […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":127,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[48],"tags":[96,14],"class_list":["post-413","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","hentry","category-morality-in-practice","tag-proselytizing-is-just-polite","tag-weatherwax-wednesday"],"yoast_head":"\n
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<\/a><\/p>\n