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I loved the joke posted by Rob Kall in his report today, entitled, "The Atheist and the Bear" (June 19). In a serious vein, however, it does bring reference to a hidden truth: "Many times you do not realize that God is all you need until God is all you have." Now, my best friend is an atheist and one of the nicest human beings I've ever met. We seldom talk about religion, but when we do it is not a "me-you" heated discussion. It is a dialog with mutual respect for one's feelings and a quest to understand their origins and their foundation. I hope this message will be received in-kind.
It is more than just a choice that one makes to believe in God, but a changed heart, if you will, that leads to something better (the "universal moral). Coming to realize that there is something more to life than just a brief wisp of mortality without real "meaning" or "purpose" is more a revelation, many times discovered when you are stripped bare of worldly things and only then contemplate the issues of life and death and the trivialities that tend to clutter our lives. I believe this is an important reason that many of our youth today lack meaning and direction, succumb to the pleasures of immediate gratification, and are left searching for "truth": the generation that birthed them was the "feel good," "What's in it for me" set. For the first time in our county's history, youth are not sure that there is hope for things being better for them in the future. Where is hope?
So while I feel "To each his own," I, along with many others have found the answer to life as well as peace and happiness only after "finding" God: "One minute you are one thing and the next minute you are something [one] else." It is much more an individual thing than collective, although many are passionate about their new found perspectives and find joy in fellowship with others and giving praise to God via "the church." It does not mean being better than a non-believer or chastising them for non-belief. Feeling good about oneself in a sincere pursuit of "purity of heart" not egoistically driven but feeling "sent" to help alleviating the suffering of others, namely the poor and minority populations in our country, is a positive outcome. "Love one another as I have loved you." It is the final step ascending to the apex of Maslow's Hierarchy of Needs: self-esteem then self-actualization. Taken in the universal perspective, I believe it is an answer to the many problems we face in the world today.
Independent of what you believe about God, working toward the common good of mankind is a worthy pursuit. And as for the stimulus to do same, what difference does it make if the calling to do so is from God or some other (or none other) entity or being? For believers, hope is also the promise of salvation and eternal life; there will be "something better" here on earth and something perfect after that. Here on earth perfection is not possible. Upon attaining the "better," however, we can then elevate our goals to achieve "the best possible," a real earthly possibility. That to me gives meaning to the word, "hope," and no one has an exclusive on that!
