AaronOz Posted June 14, 2011 Share Posted June 14, 2011 I was doing some pondering last night and came to an interesting conclusion. Being a Christian is simply an idea. We believe it has special spiritual connotations, we believe our soul is quickened, and the holy spirit dwells within us during our salvation. The truth however, is that nothing really changes. Our mind changes, our views slowly change, but physically nothing happens. We garb ourselves in invisible clothing and proclaim boldy that we are a Christian. It's a pointless construct that only has any meaning because we give it one. It's an ideal, a thought, and ultimately a mental chain around our necks. Baudrillard would call this a simulacrum. An idea of a god that we make real with our mind. In pondering this, I was thinking of other things that are like this also. The biggest one that came to mind was marriage. Now, I've been married for 6 years and love my wife dearly! But, the truth, in my mind at least, is that marriage in itself doesn't exist. Is not a thing, its a concept. It doesn't physically change a person, but it takes on it's own life, it's own ideals and it's own feelings. It's a purely mental construct that extends into our physical lives. While a wedding ceremony is an event, it's meaningfulness after that point is redundant. It's just a construct that we imagine to have some binding property that ties a couple together 'until death'. Which while highly romantic is a societal control to prevent population explosions, mixed with a religious obligation to control our sexuality. Now, we also believe it's a commitment, but even that is purely subjective to the person doing the committing. If there's no god, no absolute compass of right and wrong, then a promise in itself is only binding if the person agrees to fulfill it. I mean, millions of couples promise 'until death do we part' and divorce 6months later. I was chatting about this with my wife, and we both agree that being 'married' gives us a sense of identity. It gives us a place in society and it carries with it a binding that makes us feel closer. Pretty similar to Christianity! The funny thing is that without the construct, the companionship of a couple, their life and their physical intimacy are still absolutely amazing. I mean, think about it, the cosmos is still incredibly amazing without the story of creation. The turning of the seasons and the summer solstice are mind blowing without the fairytales of Easter and christmas. What am I getting at? Nothing really, I just thought it was interesting. In fact we actually joked about getting a divorce purely as a way of rebelling lol. What other things in life could this apply to? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Blue elephant Posted June 14, 2011 Share Posted June 14, 2011 Wise thoughts indeed, Aaron. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Galien Posted June 14, 2011 Share Posted June 14, 2011 Applies to just about everything Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
melonies Posted June 15, 2011 Share Posted June 15, 2011 Sounds like existentialism to me. The statement "I am a christian" has lost its meaning for me. What I still agree with is the statement "I am". That's all I need to know. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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