Belief

Well, I agree with this comic.

Cynicism aside, I believe in God but I also believe that he gave us brains for a reason. Faith doesn't (and shouldn't) preclude logic. There is an old Arabian adage that comes to mind: "Trust in God, but tether your sheep". A dogmatic view of the world, especially an unbending one, serves no purpose in this day an age (though for some reason many people still can't accept that). I believe that religion was put on this Earth to unify people and edify them, not cause disharmony and divide them. It is our differences that allow us to move forward. The only tragedy is that people often use it as a reason to hold each other back.

Clearly, my belief system is shaped by my parents and the schools that I have gone to. I am fortunate in that my religion has not gotten in the way of my learning. I don't have to struggle with the idea that the world is 6000 years old and that humans rode dinosaurs. My religion doesn't see knowledge as a sin, after all.

The time that I most vividly recall where my belief system was challenged was when I visited New York and was accosted by Scientologists. That was one of the few times I have ever come across a group of people who I wanted to smack based on their beliefs. It was not so much that I dismiss their belief system (though I do), but the fact that I was shocked that they tried to force that system down my throat. I'm all for a civil debate about religion, but they were just ridiculous!

In Oranges are not the Only Fruit it is apparent that the church Jeanette attends (and the close society that attends it) adheres to a very strict construction of the Bible. The belief that is immediately challenged (that comes to the top of my mind at any rate) concerns sexuality. Jeanette was ostracized for having "unnatural passions" (pg 89, 104-110...ish)and the society, though having outwardly forgiven Jeanette's mother, has not forgotten that "she knows the ways of the world".

She finally breaks away from the Church, unrepentant of her love choices in the face of the unbending rules of the Church and divorces herself emotionally from that society (can't remember where it is...I'll find it later).