One cool fall Sunday afternoon, I was walking from the parking lot of Onnuri Church to my apartment four blocks away. Walking hand in hand with my parents, I noticed many other families and groups of people strolling by, also on their way home after church. They each had their Bibles either tucked under their arms or gripped in their hands. ‘An indispensable tome of words’ my mother once told me. I looked at my Bible askew. The tattered leather sheathing fluttered in the autumn breeze. Truly a timeless compilation, one of the oldest works in history. Yet, we still refer to it today. Why? How do religions persist in a world determined my logic, science and empirical evidence? What drives people to put faith in something so elusive as the divine spirit?
I felt sorry for myself for asking this question so late in the progression of my life. For all this time, I had obediently attended church and prayed to a god whose presence I took for granted. Not once had I questioned my parents or whomever else on whether a divine entity really had effect on our lives. Going to church and praying to god had become a ritualistic pantomime rather than a genuine spiritual pursuit. The church atmosphere was soothing; the thought that I was surrounded by people who sought the same god was comforting.
But, coming back to the question that had me befuddled-why do people believe in god? I read somewhere that only 1 out of 20 people 'connect' with god. And yet, people choose to spend hours of their time, heaps of money, on something so subtle.
This evokes my intellectual curiosity, for the modern world is one that is so driven by scientific reasoning; determined as either black and white. Yet, in this world whose very existence is corroborated by logic and sound evidence, exists the realm of divinity.
댓글 없음:
댓글 쓰기