Belief

[Az]

A man walks into a crowded store with a vest made to hold explosives. He believes that if he kills these nonbelievers he will be made a martyr and recieve blessings and glory in heaven. He believes that if he dies while killing others he is doing good.

A man devotes his life to serving those less fortunate and gives his all to improving their life. He does this because he believes that all are gods children and that what he does to the least of them he does to Jesus.

A woman eats a cup of apple sauce laced with poison because she believes this will allow her to transfer her spirit to the space ship travelling in the tail of a comet.

A man infaltrates Israel in the hopes of disrupting the peace talks because he believes that the end of the world is coming and that war in Israel is necissary for that end to come. He believes that 1/3 of the population will die in the coming battle but it heralds the return of Jesus. And this is a good thing.

Belief is a very powerful force. It can turn the world upside down. It can make a mother kill her own children and it can make another stand up and defend the world.

Other people's beliefs often seem insane to us. They drive them to do things that are beyond belief to us. But belief gives strength to peoples convictions. Thus we look for leaders that have strong beliefs to lend us their strength.

It is for this reason that we have historically wound up with leaders whose belief's so overwhelmed their followers that horrible paths were taken. People are generally good. They will do what they believe to be good. A powerful belief can pull a person so far from the path that they no longer see clearly. Thus a mother can kill her children to protect them from the demons.

Belief equals charisma. The certainty lent to their speach gives followers hope. The path of reason and science deliberately avoid belief as best they can. Thus those that try to lead from these stances lack the charismatic force true believers have. Following a true believer becomes a bit like the lottery. Sometimes you get a Rev Martin Luther King, sometimes you get a Rev Jim Jones.

[mouse7]

1. Nobody comes to my "Cathedral of Realistic Expectations"

It's not really a cathedral. It's a double wide. It was more realistic than a massive granite ediface. Don't get the big crowds at the Cathedral, though. We don't pray for miracles though at the Cathedral. We hope to beat the spread, especially as a favorite at home.