Although it is necessary to have beliefs that you would be willing to fight, to die, to sacrifice all you have for, it is equally necessary, perhaps even more so, to have the frame of mind to call into question your most fundamental beliefs, and if need be to reject them entirely. One must never hold any belief, no matter how cherished or deeply felt, to be so true that you would be unwilling or unable to consider the possibility that you may in fact be wrong.
It is when one considers an opinion that isn’t supported by unquestionable facts to be absolute, undeniable, unalienable truth that you become an arrogant zealot without the ability to objectively think about and see the positions of others. Arrogance is bred from self assurance, the mind set that your beliefs are true and that no one else who holds a different point of view may be right, therefore you are a more rational being. It is this thought process which leads many to believe that they are somehow better then their fellow man. The most famous examples of evil in this world have spawned from someone’s beliefs that they were correct in their beliefs and so had a right to impose them upon others.
Do not deny proof, regardless of it that proof supports your beliefs or not. Seek out proof, look for evidence of your beliefs in this world, and if they are true they will shine like stars in the heavens; if they are false you MUST discard them entirely. To deny proof in favor of your own personal beliefs would be to sacrifice your rationality and your ability to self examine. Do not indulge in the “peace” one finds by closing their minds to the world, do not dwell in close mindedness and self glorification.
I believe in God, I believe in the natural rights of all men, but I do not hold any of these beliefs so close and so dear that I would be unable to call them in to question. Although I do believe in a universal truth and reject relativism altogether, I am not arrogant enough to believe that I KNOW to a certainty what that truth is.
It is when one considers an opinion that isn’t supported by unquestionable facts to be absolute, undeniable, unalienable truth that you become an arrogant zealot without the ability to objectively think about and see the positions of others. Arrogance is bred from self assurance, the mind set that your beliefs are true and that no one else who holds a different point of view may be right, therefore you are a more rational being. It is this thought process which leads many to believe that they are somehow better then their fellow man. The most famous examples of evil in this world have spawned from someone’s beliefs that they were correct in their beliefs and so had a right to impose them upon others.
Do not deny proof, regardless of it that proof supports your beliefs or not. Seek out proof, look for evidence of your beliefs in this world, and if they are true they will shine like stars in the heavens; if they are false you MUST discard them entirely. To deny proof in favor of your own personal beliefs would be to sacrifice your rationality and your ability to self examine. Do not indulge in the “peace” one finds by closing their minds to the world, do not dwell in close mindedness and self glorification.
I believe in God, I believe in the natural rights of all men, but I do not hold any of these beliefs so close and so dear that I would be unable to call them in to question. Although I do believe in a universal truth and reject relativism altogether, I am not arrogant enough to believe that I KNOW to a certainty what that truth is.
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