Dialogue Part III
-Stephen King
(The radio opens up)
Radio - Apocalypse One, This is Bushmaster X Ray Radio Check, over
J - Bushmaster X Ray this is Apocalypse One, Lima Charlie, over
Radio -Be advised, Wolvepack elements will be present in your sector in about five mikes, over
J -Roger,
R -Bushmaster out.
A -well, looks like Alpha company got the crappy end of the stick this time, I bet they are going to raid that shiek's place, he's supposed to be on our side, but I know he is one of THEM.
J -so, how do you know when something is true?
A -there's always clues, here and there.
J -but how do you know for sure?
A -At the end is hard to know for sure
J -how do you know you made a mistake?
A -there are ways to test out theories
J -Ok
A -I think I know where you are going with this one. You are going to say how come I believe in God since there is no proof. But there's no proof that he doesn't exists. So it's better to believe and be wrong than not to believe and be wrong. I believe without proof and that makes me a better person. I live better, so what if I was wrong? is it so bad to try to be a better person?
J -You brought two things Ali, I can only handle one thing at a time. First of all, I hope you are not saying that you NEED to be religious to be a good person, to live better. I can be a good person without having to believe in supernatural stuff, I can live a good life, with meaning without having to believe in imaginary friends that are watching us from the ski or something. Plus, there are so many choices of religion, how do you know which one to believe?
A -well, my family is protestant, so therefore I am protestant.
J -doesn't it bother you a bit that there are so many religions out there? They all claim to be true, surely they can't all be true.
A -I believe that they worship the same God, at the end, Allah, Jehova, Yahwe, they are all one and the same.
J -wait a minute, aren't you a Christian?
A -yes, I am
J -Jesus said that he is the only way to get to the father, right? doesn't that mean that if you are not a Christian you will not get to heaven?
A -yes, but I believe that God will make a special case for everyone
J - so then, I am good, since surely he knows that I am trying to be rightous
A -I am sure God loves you Corporal, even though you are a fool for not believing in him.
J -so you think I am going to go to heaven?
A -I don't know, because you rejected him, you know about him and reject him.
J -but why, if God is so powerful, so great, does he need us to worship him, why? is he insecure or something? Why does he say he wants to save us, but only if we believe him and worship him? why not just save us? and then why make it so hard to believe in him?
A -what do you mean?
J -I mean, I can't see any evidence man, I can't see any reason to say that yeah, there definitely is a God out there.
A -But that's the thing, it's called faith. And that makes you better.
J -it doesn't make sense to me to say that believing in something without any sort of evidence to back it up, is some kind of virtue or something. I don't see how that could even begin to make sense. I have looked, I have thought about it, is not that I don't want to believe, I mean, I would like to think that at the end the just will get a reward, I would like to survive my own death. I just don't see anything that makes me say that it's real. It looks to me like the whole thing is all in our heads.
A -I know that he exists.
J -really? How?
A -Because he answers my prayers.
J -what did you pray for Ali?
A - I pray for a bunch of things,
J -do you have all your prayers answered?
A -no, but that's because what I asked for was not his will, he knows better
J -I always thought that was funny that we had to pray, since he knows everything already, why do we have to remind him? doesn't he know? but anyway, I have tried praying myself, believe it or not, I used to believe back in the day. But I don't really see a difference otherwise, why don't you try it out? test it out for yourself, keep a tab of answered prayers, see if it works.
A -God doesn't work like that, Corporal
J -what does that mean? it's in the Bible, it's a claim that's made by many religious. If you can't test it, why do you believe in it?
A -I don't think you get it, that's not why we pray, I feel a sense of peace when I pray, like I am one with him...
J - I think you can get the same feeling by just meditating. Do you really think you can get God to bend the laws of nature for your request?
A -yes I do.
J - Oh boy, but why? I have not seen anything close to what you might say a miracle, everything that I have seen seems so underwhelming, I have been to a Benny Hinn or whatever his name is, my cousins in Fl swear he can do miracles, but I will be convinced when I see someone that can grow back a limb, why is it that you never see amputees growing their limbs back? every miracle is always this fuzzy thing, like a cancer test coming back negative after a previous positive result, when in practice that sort of thing happens all the time.
A -look, I just know what I believe in is true, ok? plus, why does it matter to you what I think? if I am happy with my beliefs, if it makes me a better person, who the fuck are you to tell me what I should believe? why does it bother you so much that I want to worship God? This is something very personal, and I don't see what can be so wrong with having the hope that I have someone watching over me, somebody protecting me, someone that will reward my faith and my good deeds, someone who will provide eternal salvation, someone who gives me peace, direction, and something that I can use to relate to everyone in my hometown. Why do you seek to destroy it? What good can come out that?
J - I know, I know, look, I don't care what you worship ok? remember that you asked ME why I am an atheist, my question is, don't you want to know if what you believe in is true? doesn't it matter? I just can't accept something without some kind of way of checking if it's real or not. Plus, one thing that irks me about religious people, is not that they believe is that they are so sure of their beliefs that they think that anyone who doesn't share their views is a fool. They want everyone to believe what they believe without providing a solid proof, but they are so confident, they are so cocksure, and I wonder, how can they claim to know what you can't know, nothing can be proved either way, I am not sure, I know that I could be wrong, so I don't go around trying to unconvert people out of their faith. But these people, and maybe you are one of them, they think that they know more, they have no idea what it means to know something, and yet, they sit there making statements based on faith, that they have no way of proving, like it's a fact of life.
A - well, I am not one of those people
J - hey, is that somebody on that roof top?
TO BE CONTINUED.....
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