John Mayer: Belief
Is there anyone who
Ever remembers changing their mind from
The paint on a sign?
Is there anyone who really recalls
Ever breaking rank at all
For something someone yelled real loud one time?
Everyone believes
In how they think it ought to be
Everyone believes
And they're not going easily
Belief is a beautiful armor
But makes for the heaviest sword
Like punching under water
You never can hit who you're trying for
Some need the exhibition
And some have to know they tried
It's the chemical weapon
For the war that's raging on inside
Everyone believes
From emptiness to everything
Everyone believes
And no one's going quietly
We're never gonna win the world
We're never gonna stop the war
We're never gonna beat this
If belief is what we're fighting for
Is there anyone who
Can remember ever surrendering
With their life on the line?
What puts a hundred thousand children in the sand
Belief can
Belief can
What puts the folded flag inside his mother's hand
Belief can
Belief can
I’ve been on my own personal philosophical journey lately, and after reading tons of essays and Wikipedia postings and whatnot, I’ve come to realize that everyone does believe in how they think it ought to be, and they are not going quietly. Growing up in the church, I heard all the arguments for and against the existence of a God, and never once during the heated debates did I ever hear someone say, “You know, you’re right. I’m totally wrong.” Maybe it happened, in the heart or mind of someone in the room, but I never heard it uttered. If you throw in the countless discussions about the origin of man, morals, knowledge, and life itself, then you realize we’re all just reinventing the wheel and spinning around aimlessly.
When push comes to shove, whether you’re an atheist, Christian, agnostic, or you believe in The Theory of Evolution, or in Creation, I believe we’re all observing the same world. We’re all suffering from the same heartache and despair. We’re all longing for something, though we may not know what that is. No “true” science that can be observed and tested can say anything about the beginnings of this world, which is a total mystery. And no “religion” can necessarily offer up any empirical evidence. It’s all theories; equally unreasonable.
It seems to me that we all end up in a place where we must choose what to put our faith in. The two choices we’re commonly given in church and in the media are Science and Religion, both completely misrepresented by their followers. The atheists seem to resent Religion; either resenting it because they don’t want to be told what to do in their life, or they are scorned lovers who feel rejected and abused. Christians, on the other hand, just seemed scared to admit that the world, and their religion, might not be exactly what they grew up hearing it was, as somehow that disproves the very existence of God. Both are set on being right. It becomes a very personal battle; one that throws around the concepts of reason and logic, but are fueled by bias and emotion.
So many philosophies are looking back to what has happened and why. But what about today? What about tomorrow? Why are we so caught up in the past when we have so much to live for today? Aren’t we all just searching for love and acceptance? Aren’t the strongest arguments the atheists bring the ones where they ask in a very sincere way, “Why would a loving God allow such pain in this world?” and “Why would a loving God send me to Hell?” To me these questions manifest a longing to understand God and how to relate to Him. Relationships and love seem to defy the need to figure out why or how we got here, but instead bring us to the here and now.
Many question the merits of religion, saying it has no practical value. I can’t help but think that Jesus would agree, for He did not set up a religion (and in fact disputed the religions of His day), but as an alternative established a relationship between man and God, and between mankind itself. Jesus’ ministry was not a philosophical or religious one, but one of compassion, healing, and relationships. He came to reunite us with the love that we’re so desperately craving!
So, as the world around me argues and bickers about whether or not God exist, or if anything exists at all, I take the time to sit back and appreciate the blessings I have in my life. For no matter what anyone believes, it won’t take away from the beauty of love.
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