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Notes -
For other Christians on here, or seriously religious people, how do you handle the paradox of belief? I was talking to a friend today about my recent experience joining an Orthodox Christian church, and it's just so interesting. The 'logical' part of my brain relentlessly attacks what it sees as the foolishness of religion, ritual and sacrament.
And yet, when I partake and do my best to take it seriously, I feel healed. The spiritual water that Christ talks about in the Bible slakes my thirst. It's almost impossible to conceptualize, but damn it I've tried so many different ways to heal my inner wounds throughout my life, and this one works better than anything, by far.
How do you make sense of a serious religious practice, while keeping the ability to be seriously rational?
I think the rituals are meaningful and good to the extent that they're correct. As a member of a different denomination of Christianity, what I'd say is that the essence of Christ's teachings in Orthodox Christianity is generally correct, but the rituals which have sprung up around them vary in quality depending on how well they reflect those teachings and how much they've drifted from their intended purpose over the years. It's ok to find some things silly or even wrong while still mostly benefitting from church meetings. If anything this is better than the alternative, unless you believe your religion to be completely perfect.
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