This Is This

I wrote a little bit yesterday about CS Lewis and his take on the existence of a soul. He became a Christian at thirty-one, joining his friend JRR Tolkein.

Lewis became an Anglican, which disappointed the erstwhile creator of Middle Earth, himself a Catholic. While perhaps not holier than CS Lewis, he certainly possessed more initials in his name, which seemed to carry him through in hard times.

But my point is that there may be a soul, and there may not. That’s the beauty of belief - it’s up to the individual.

Beliefs are fine when they bring comfort. I believe the building I work in will not fall down today, and this reassures me. It helps me through the day to think I’ll walk out and make my way home without a scratch on me. And sure enough, that’s what happens.

I know the building I work in will fall down, because they do. I believe that as well, but I don’t think it will happen today. I hang on to that belief so that I don’t skid off into thinking about the worst case scenario which probably isn’t going to happen. Probability always plays a big part of my belief system.

I think it’s great to believe in something as long as you are prepared at any moment to abandon your beliefs and do what you think is right.

It’s important to make sure your beliefs enhance your life, rather than the other way around.

And as soon as they don’t, you still have to do what you should.

Tomorrow: Scientists discover cure for Summertime Blues. Rock and roll puritans unavailable for comment.

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This entry was posted on Tuesday, January 30th, 2007 at 8:39 am. You can follow any responses to this entry through the RSS 2.0 feed, or you can skip to the end and leave a comment yourself.