The Crutch of Religion

I got to thinking quite the opposite as Annebelle has reflected in her blog thoughts. I realize she's still pondering, but she got me thinking. The mere thought of religious being the tool for humanity to bare sufferings is the exact ideal that I believe leads Ivan to reject religion. If religion can allow an individual to endure their sufferings by allowing god to be their strength, then doesn't that make the individual weaker for not learning to bare the weight of suffering themselves. Like Annebelle said she learns from the sufferings of others as well as her own. What do we learn? I believe we learn the strength of our sole, the strength of our heart, the strength of our morals. I have always bore the weight of my sufferings and I know without a doubt that I still do not know the limits of my strengths or the boundaries of my weaknesses. I say this because along the way I grew stronger and stronger because I taught myself by learning from my experiences. By no means does this mean I don't have a breaking point, but it means just that my breaking point is that much stronger. Ivan may see religion as a crutch, a crutch by which to weaken him, by giving him false strength through excepting the mysterious ways that god himself works. Ivan may believe If he believes in God then he is not relying on himself, he may believe he will never know his true strengths or weaknesses if he excepts the ways god works. How do you know your own strength until you've flexed your own muscles? Ivan may even see it as religions way of keeping us from knowing our own strengths, keeping us weak, to keep us relying on religion, the church, Father Z  rather than ourselves. One might say it's Ivan's ego that got him thinking these thoughts. Ivan's portrayed ego, may be Ivan simply figuring out what he thinks by saying things he's thought. Now that's a thought.

Thoughts, just as were Annebelle's.