A conversation at the salon

A while ago, I was getting my hair cut by my regular hair stylist, expecting to go through the usual exchange of questions and answers about work and family and such. This time, my hair stylist was already engaged in a discussion with another customer or friend who was sitting in the corner of the room. So as she began to snip and the scissors skip around me, I just sat, relaxed, and listened in.

The ongoing conversation was interesting - it seemed like the customer was explaining why she was a Christian and trying to convince the hair stylist that she should be too. I hadn't heard a conversation like this at the hair salon, and especially have not heard this type of conversation in Chinese before.

The conversation quickly went downhill as the customer didn't seem to be able to respond adequately to my hair stylist's statements. My hair stylist believed that most religions are good and are basically the same - they teach people good morals and to do good. She didn't have a problem with any person believing in any specific religion, but she also didn’t seem to believe there was only one true religion.

I wanted to chime in and say that religions may all seem superficially the same, but if you really study them, they are extremely different. I wanted to say that religion isn’t just about teaching people morals. It explains a lot more – why we’re here, how we got here, what/why is there evil, what is the purpose of life, etc.

I didn’t though. I wasn’t able to say all those things in Chinese. (Plus, she was the one cutting my hair, and I was already getting a bit nervous because she was getting a bit animated in her conversation with her friend.) She seemed like she already made up her mind and was unopen to exploring her friend's thoughts at that moment anyway. Perhaps asking her about her beliefs and how she arrived at them would have been more productive.

Your outlook

How we choose to live our lives is dependent upon how we view ourselves and the world. Some may call this a "worldview."

Dictionary.com proposes the following two meanings for the noun worldview.

1. The overall perspective from which one sees and interprets the world.
   
2. A collection of beliefs about life and the universe held by an individual or a group.
   

We all live according to something (consciously or subconsciously), whether or not we can articulate that something. What are the beliefs that you live according to?

Knowing and Trusting - Part 3 - Importance, Urgency (or Non-urgency), and Impact

Whether a child knows and can trust his or her parents definitely has a very large impact upon his or her day-to-day life as well as individual development. It affects their confidence, their wholeness, their security, and how they view other relationships and the world. In the same way, if God, a supreme, all-knowing, all-powerful being, exists, wouldn't our knowledge of God and whether or not we can trust God have a great impact upon how we view ourselves and live our lives?

In the US, it seems like many people go through life without ever really thoroughly examining the question of God. Or, if they say they believe in God, many live their lives in ways that don't reflect that they really believe in God (including many self-proclaimed Christians.) Why? Here's my guess: Perhaps, most of us are pretty well-off and don't need anything, and we have a lot of freedom (unlike many other countries.) We have enough things going on in life (career, family, television, going on vacation, soccer practice, etc) that maybe we don't even ever think about what life really is about or where it comes from. I believe the question of God is of great importance, but to many of us in the US, it's not critical or urgent, so we never really look it in the face.. until perhaps death, suffering, emptiness, or something like that comes close.

Some people say they'll think about God and figure out whether God exists later on. However, if you postpone the decision, you are already making a decision that the decision isn't important enough to figure out now and/or that you just don't want it to affect your life now. Even though you may be missing out on something good, you think life is good enough for now, and so the question isn't that urgent to you. Either way, whatever you believe definitely has an impact on how you view yourself and live your life.

Knowing and Trusting - Part 2 - Steps of faith

As discussed in the last entry, knowing and trusting are basic actions we exercise everyday. That's obvious. So, why do I point that out?

Some people say they won't believe in God because there isn't complete proof, and they don't want to take that leap of faith. What I'm saying is, we take leaps of faith every day, whether large or small. Drinking water from the water fountain - that's a little step of faith. Giving the daycare facility the responsibility of caring for your children - that's not easy. Marriage, that's a big step of faith. Some things we just can't know for sure, but based upon our knowledge, we make a decision to exercise trust and take a little step of faith.

Actually when it comes to the question of whether God exists, either way you decide takes faith. You can't 100% prove for sure that God exists or doesn't exist.  So, if you decide that God doesn't exist, you are also taking a leap of faith.

Knowing and Trusting - Part 1 - Breathing

Stop.... and take a deep breath. Think about your breathing.

Breathing is crucial to the ongoing functioning of our physical bodies (the average human takes somewhere around 25,000 breaths a day!), yet it happens without us having to actively think about it. One time in which we may be more aware of our breathing is when we run or exercise intensely.

Similarly, two actions that seem crucial to our everyday functioning are knowing and trusting.

Let's stop, and think about that.

If you really think about, we exercise our knowledge and trust all the time without actively thinking about it. I trust that my alarm clock will wake me up at the right time each morning. I trust that the toothpaste I use is what its label says it is. I drink water from the water fountain trusting that it is safe to drink and that the food at the grocery store has not been poisoned. I trust my chair will support my weight, that the floor I am on won't collapse, or the ceiling fall in on me. When I get on an airplane, I trust it will take me from point A to point B safely and (roughly) on time. Driving involves a ton of trust! I have to trust all the other drivers, that they know and will obey the rules. And that the traffic signals won't get messed up (and show two 2 green lights when one should be red,) that my steering wheel and brakes will work fine, and simply that my car won't explode. I trust what I have read in the history books and what I have seen on the news is accurate. Based upon the laws of this country, I trust the bank won't and can't run off with my money. Based upon experience and the laws of physics, I trust Earth will continue exerting its gravitational pull.

We make our decisions based upon what we know, either from what others have told us (which requires us to trust others), or what we have discovered or experienced on our own (which requires us to trust that our own interpretation of our experiences is accurate.) Consequently, what we know and trust will largely determine what we decide, how we will act, and how we will respond to our environment. (I had thought about naming this blog "Truth and Faith" but decided on "Knowing and Trusting" because our lives requires us to continually know and trust.)

Just as we are more aware of our breathing when running, we are more aware of what we know and can trust in more intense/critical situations. Sometimes we're not sure if we should trust, and will have to review what we know or gather more information before allowing ourselves to trust.

Almost comparable to the frequency and nonstop nature of our breathing, we make decisions involving trust all the time. Although it is crucial to our daily functioning, we oftentimes are not aware of it until we encounter a more critical/risky situation.

Truth is by nature exclusive

Thus far, it seems we have covered a couple ideas about truth that may be hard to accept.
First, the truth is true whether you like it or not.
Second, (in the entry about Halo and the Arbiter finding that what he believed was false) what you believe to be truth may not be true. (And so it is important that we continue to always seek truth, whatever our backgrounds may be - Atheist, Buddhist, Christian, etc., and in all [important] areas of life. If what we believe to be true is wrong, we'll move away from what is false and towards truth, and if what we believe to be true is true, we'll grow deeper in our understanding of that truth.)

Here's another truth about truth that I think can be hard to accept: Truth is by nature exclusive.
For example, if you paid your landlord for this month's rent already, but your landlord said you only paid half, both can't be true. Someone is wrong.

Sure, it'd be really nice if we could all be right. One popular religious belief is to say that everyone has their own way to God. I wanted to believe that myself. I really did. That way no one is left out. We can all be happy. No one is wrong. Everyone is right. We can all go merrily on our own ways.

However, if you think about, it's actually more likely that everyone is wrong rather than everyone is right. Religions strongly declare things (core beliefs) that contradict each other. How can two contradicting statements both be right? That would turn our world upside down.

Also, in the end, those that say every way is right (the inclusive group), are saying that those who say there is only one way (the exclusive group) are wrong. The inclusive group are excluding the exclusive group, and are exclusive themselves. It's kind of funny how that works. Those folks who criticize people for saying that they believe one way is right are themselves declaring that there is only one way to look at things.

Truth is by nature exclusive (...whether we like it or not.)

Halo & Religion?

It caught me by surprise to hear about the new Halo 3 ODST (Orbital Drop Shock Troopers) video game coming out on September 22. I recall becoming such a Halo junkie since the first of three Halo games launched back in November 2001. Yes, the culmination of superior graphics, first person shooter game play, computer artificial intelligence, and online multi-player mode definitely fed the cravings to this young male adult. Before the tease of all these breathtaking aesthetics, any Halo owner would first agree they became junkies of the Halo story.

Why was the Halo story so intriguing to me? Aside from the science fiction futuristic setting, the concept of a theocratic alliance of alien races (Covenant) driven by heresy from appointed alien prophets made me ponder how anybody can be so easily misled thinking they have the one true religion. It became so relevant for one of the key characters, who was once the antagonist to the main character, but later turned protagonist. They called him the "Arbiter" in the game. You see, the Arbiter was a high ranking Supreme Commander alien officer of the Elites who battled against humanity. He led missions to confront all life that the Covenant came across the universe to spread the news of the "Great Journey". Basically, anyone who refuses became an enemy and is to be eliminated. In Halo 2, the Arbiter horribly failed a mission and was branded a heretic and was ordered to be executed by the High Council. But the High Prophets of the Council knowing that he was not a heretic, spared his life and assigned the former Supreme Commander as the Arbiter. Pretty much, the role of the Arbiter was to go into suicide missions to atone for his failures.

Arbiter's first mission was to silence an Elite soldier who was spreading "heresy" against the religious belief of the "Great Journey" that the Halo ring device was not what the High Prophets thought it was to be, and ultimately it will spell their doom. Eventually, the Arbiter's eyes were open when he discovered that the religion he lived and fought for was a farce. Imagine what he felt and what went through his mind. He must have felt so betrayed, gullible, ignorant and downright angry. His true religion became unreasonable truth. His religious practices became illogical. Everything just seemed so very wrong. The good thing for the Arbiter (other than his ridiculous energy sword), is that he was not afraid to find out the truth for himself. Not just truth, but reasonable truth.

If there is a religion out there that has been tested through time, wouldn't you want to know the truth and test it for yourself? I think it is important to find out the truth. It is easier to go with the status quo and accept what today media tells us. There is so much fuzzy logic, bad sciences and situational truth out there that substitutes reasonable truth. If you have read this and now even more so curious, I encourage you to seek and find out the truth for yourself.

“Keep on asking, and you will receive what you ask for. Keep on seeking, and you will find. Keep on knocking, and the door will be opened to you. For everyone who asks, receives. Everyone who seeks, finds. And to everyone who knocks, the door will be opened." (Matthew 7:7-8)

On a little side note, should I get Halo 3: ODST??? =)

Links to related topics:
http://halo.wikia.com/wiki