"I have no beliefs. Beliefs get in the way of learning."
I read this from Lazarus Long in Heinlein's wonderful saga of the
long-lived Howard Families - "Time Enough for Love", it sounds like the
title of a XXX movie but it's science-fiction and damned good one at
that.
This one made me think about my own beliefs, about God, about religion,
about a lot of other things. I had to accept that there was a lot of
truth in this simple statement. Once we acquire a certain belief we
close our minds towards other opinions or facts on that topic. That is
why science fiction is so dangerous. Not because of the way gadgests
change and improve but because of the way it shakes our beliefs -
cultural and personal. Whatever you think, whatever you believe,
everything is acquired from the society's conditioning, right from birth
to present moment. And once you start thinking on the lines of "I have
no beliefs..." you realize how many beliefs you had, what an astounding
number of beliefs that you thought your own you picked up from the
society and how many of them can bear to have a question mark against
them....
The topic is such that I am not sure I am making sense, but if anybody
can understand any part of it, I'd love to hear their opinion on this.
1 comment:
Oh Wow..i know what you are trying to say and I could not resist not to leave a comment..yes it immediately hit home the point!! It is a miracle, such simple truths,encountering them!in fact I always debate as to if I am an atheist or a theist. Being a Theist is to believe, have faith. This question in intellectual terms is absolutely welcome to me.However, when it comes to the spiritual part of me, I shudder to think these...Everyone is closed with a blanket of belief, I do believe that I think..err do i ? :)
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