A Clarification; Most of you are probably wondering what the hell is happening to Anthony. Why did he suddenly become such a nerd and started reading so many books? Why is he constantly typing long posts at Facebook (I admit it can be irritating)? And most of all, why is Anthony constantly highlighting the Christians and Muslims? Initially I felt no need to address such issues. Recently, too many people have been misinterpreting my wrongly and I want to try and defend myself for once. A little background info first; I am striving to become a human rights defender(no, im not saying i definitely want to be a lawyer. Being a lawyer is not the only platform to fight for human rights) and I hope to put an end to prejudice, discrimination and injustice. Most of all, i want to stand up for the oppressed, the exploited. I advocate Liberty, Justice, Equality and Critical thinking. Every time I look at the world, I just feel very sad, and I want to do something to help, but I dont really know where to start. But I do know that in order for me to find any success or like-minded people to help me, I will have to first wage a war against Ignorance. Along the way, I hope to stumble upon people who have similar aspirations, people who can help me make this world a better place. No, im not doing it for popularity, even if the whole world hates me, I will still try and defend the world. Maybe now you may understand why im tirelessly reading, because I feel that reading can expose me to a wealth of information and information is the weapon Ill be using for the war against Ignorance. Okay serious stuff liao; To be honest, not too long ago, I hated religion. Because religion promotes ignorance as a virtue and it can spread very fast; like a virus. Education on the other hand, is a tool for liberation, thats why its not popular with oppressors of every sort. Historically, leaders strove to keep the people ignorant, to keep them obedient and submissive. Religious leaders are no different. After all, belief in God does not, can not stem from knowledge, from reason and logic, from experiment, from arguments, but from faith only. If you pursue knowledge, sooner or later your faith will start to waver, youll start asking yourself questions, youll realize that religion is like a boat full of holes, and youll be tempted to go without it. Now they wouldnt want that, would they? My initial plan was to eradicate Religion, like that Mao Zedong. Like me, Mao Zedong believes religion to be poisonous and wishes to eradicate religion (that is what he says, but im sure he did not kill in the name of atheism but for power and control, but thats another story). Though I did not agree with the methods that Mao Zedong use, I supported him because he was doing the world a great justice by eradicating religions. This is all before I had read The Brother Karamazov by Dostoevsky. Dostoevsky showed me that the problem is not religion, but that humans in general lack Universal Compassion. It is fear and stupidity that does most the damage in the world, religion just happens to be a fungus that grows in the darkness these things represent. Dont get me wrong, im still an anti-theist (which means I disagree with religion), but at least, now I can see the bigger picture; religion is not the problem, ignorance is. By the way, I never claimed that im smarter than any of you. I merely understand and accept my infallibility, limitations and ignorance better than most people, and that alone allows me to unlock my potential to a greater extend. It allows me to be liberated. Most people assume that acknowledge that you are ignorant is being pessimistic, but it is not! It is optimistic and jolly to admit that you are stupid, because once you do that, you can start learning more effectively. Regarding my opinions of religion; When I criticize religion, im not trying to blatantly offend you. Im trying to help you. Because believe me, give me another 50 - 100 years and the number of atheists will outnumber the religious (theist) and then YOU, the theist will be the minority and people will start ostracizing the God-believers. Trust me, that is not what I want. I believe in Liberty and To each his own. I dont really want to believe that anything in this world is universal or objective, because if that is really the case, then we will all become like robots. I want each and every human being to be authentic, to be true to his character, to stand up for what they believe in and to have the courage to say what they like and the power to do what they want (as long as it does not harm others be it directly or indirectly). I want this world to be interesting and different. When I wake up every morning and take a stroll in the street, I dont want to see everybody walking in the same stiff fashion like soldiers or robots. I want to see people dancing while they walk, singing while they walk, hopping, skipping, moonwalk or handstand their way to their destination. I want to see people who dares to sing at their top of their lungs(even if they cannot sing) in the train, in the bus, in school when they are walking to the canteen, in the office when people are working. I want people to be able to have the opportunity to fully express themselves, to push their boundaries of what it is like to be human, and I want them to savor and enjoy every moment. Because seriously, our time on earth is limited, and we will be dead soon enough. Try to learn to breathe deeply, really to taste food when you eat, and when you sleep, really to sleep. Try as much as possible to be wholly alive with all your might, and when you laugh, laugh like hell. And when you get angry, get good and angry. Try to be alive. You will be dead soon enough. Earnest Hemingway How can anybody truly be wholly alive with all their might if they believe in the afterlife? How can anybody savor and appreciate the sunset when they believe that they are going to be able to witness an infinite amount of sunset in heaven after they die? An innumerable amount of something, makes that something worthless. Likewise, life too has to be finite and not infinite in order for life to have any meaning. The afterlife is a thought not worth pursing my friends, please believe me. Anthony as a firm believer of the intangible and Faith; Yes, i oppose organized religion because I feel that it is harmful for you. For example, going to the church can help you understand some views that people have about religion. Once you roughly understand how do interpret the bible (with the help of your pastors), once you know what religion has to offer and how other people view religion, it is time to leave your church or temple or mosque. If you stay too long in the church or mosque, you are going to let the pastor and religious leaders define you. They are going to brainwash you, and you are going to lose your identity, your voice. Then they wont be any You left. You will be drowned in the voices of Them. Christianity, Islam, Hinduism, Buddhism, these are NOT religion. Maybe you can try to think of them as self-help books. The holy books such as the Bible, Quran, Upanishads, Book or Mormon (BS btw) are like a testimony of the people who experienced spiritual success, such as Jesus, Abraham and Buddha. They serve as a inspiration and can be look upon as spiritual teachers who are here to guide you on your pilgrimage. They are only here to show you where to look, not what to see. (theres a huge difference). You cannot!, cannot take the words of the holy books literally! The holy books are not meant to dictate your actions, they only serve as a guide. Spirituality is, i believe, something that is personal, a journey that a person must embark alone. Spirituality is not about making god happy, it is not asking god for forgiveness, nor is it asking god for help, it is definitely not praising gods name in city harvest church while rock music is being played by christians bands in the background, it is not exclusive, it is not about being perfect and finally, it is not pretending to cry while clenching a jesus christ being crucified on a cross neckless and offering penance to the god. There is no denying the fact that the holy books provides a crazy amount of information that is so critical to enlightenment. To eradicate religion would be considered a blasphemy and i dont want that. But the time will come when religion will start to lose against reason and science. (Ignore the bullshitters when they say that religion and science is compatible, it is not) And when the time comes, I, Anthony, want to fight for your right to Freedom of religion or Freedom of belief. I want to stand up for the Islam, and the Christians when the tables have turn, when Islam and the Christians becomes the minority. I do not agree with what you have to say, but Ill defend to the death your right to say it. And trust me, even if the whole world were to become atheistic and there is only one God-believer or Islam left, i will fight for this one person right to be an Islam because that is what Liberty means. Though the heavens may fall, i will not compromise nor betray my beliefs on liberty. Why am i fighting for freedom of religion? Can you imagine the world without religion? No more holidays, no more festivals, no more holy books. Do you know how many percent of the arts (paintings, statue, drawings etc) are influenced by religion? Do you know how many books today are inspired by religion as well? If the world never had religion, then there will be no Dante, no Michelangelo, no John Milton, no Martin Luther...the list goes on. What about music? And dont forget, if there is no religion, then there will be no atheist as well. Which means no Nietzsche, no Hitchens, no Marx, no Hume. Yes, these people would still have existed or exist, but their works, their art, their music, will not. It will be different. Once again, if there is no Freedom of Religion and everybody only put their faith in Science and reason, then the whole world will become like robots; predictable, boring and mundane. The conflict and contradiction of ideas can give rise to greater ideas. An idea without resistance will never grow, and will forever remain stagnant. I need your help; Hence, whenever you see me post something harsh about your religion, instead or feeling offended, try and remember that on your side. Im trying to point out your fallacies, your contradictions in your religion, so that you can think deeper and come up with better answers that your religious leaders failed to provide. Right now, religion is a force for evil (im sorry if you cant see it) and im trying to transform it to a force of good. Im trying to make you smarter, prompt you to think. You think this is not my business? I live in the same world as you do. And if the people are ignorant and refuse to permit liberty, then my world will suffer consequence. I have every right to say what i want to say to ensure that my children will have a better and more conducive environment to live in when I die. If i can convince myself that religion is a force for good, i will be able to better defend your right to Freedom of religion when the time comes. So if i make a mistake, correct me, dont judge me. Help me build my argument so that i can take them to greater heights. (Improve my grammar xD ) Ive only started studying the philosophy and theology and other stuff for 6 months and 4 days. Im bound to make mistake. Im only a human, there is only one Anthony .Let us work together, focus on our similarities instead of our differences. This is my philosophy.
Posted on: Fri, 04 Jul 2014 12:49:40 +0000
Trending Topics
Recently Viewed Topics
© 2015