This subject was recently brought to me when I was reading Viktor E. Frankl’s book Man’s Search For Meaning. In the end, he says that love and faith can not be commanded or ordered. (source – page 61)
I have already, in my few years of thinking, thought about ability to force myself to have faith. In church, you hear that some things, probably because they are physically impossible, are just a matter of faith. You have to believe it and then you can understand. This thing resonated in me. How are you supposed to believe something that doesn’t make sense, especially when no one says why does it have to be true. Why would anyone believe a thing that another human made up, only to hold their religion.
I see this in most of the Christian Dogma. There are unnecessary, made up creations, that no one in the right mind can believe… Even though Christian message is good and has great potential to help people co-exist in this world. This Dogma is thus only in the way of discussing the matter that is really important. Maybe this clear, dogmatic approach was supposed to help move the discussion by creating the ‘no-go’ zones for discussion, maybe it is to give the message a certain supernatural sense, to embrace the idea of life after death. They are three and one at the same time, so if this is possible, why couldn’t you live after you die?
It is like if there was something wrong with saying: “Be good to each other, because if we all do that we will all benefit.” It would seem that people need to fear something to follow the rules. Fear the dictator, secret police or in this case fear Hell.
Don’t reject this thesis too early. The pragmatic atheist potentates are partly the proof that this seemingly ridiculous thought might not be entirely wrong after all.