My parents told me every day when I was growing up that this box contained a Golden Egg. I've never actually seen the Golden Egg. I've only heard stories about the Egg told to me by my parents, and my friends whose parents told them about the Golden Egg, and my church's minister, who preaches every Sunday about the Golden Egg.
Every Sunday my parents would take me to church, where we would view the box said to contain the Golden Egg. I noticed that those who believe in the Golden Egg tend to look down on people who have other boxes ("false boxes," as they're called) and don't believe the Golden Egg is in our box. Some people believe the Egg isn't even golden. Some think it's silver. Others think it's onyx. Some think it's jade. And all these people think the Egg is actually in their boxes. And then there are those who don't believe any of the boxes contain an Egg. Some of these people don't even believe an Egg exists! I knew they were all wrong, though. I mean, obviously the Egg exists, obviously the Egg is golden, and obviously the Egg is in our box.
"Our box is the only true box," members of my church would say. "Only our box contains the Golden Egg. All other boxes are empty." I believed the Golden Egg was in that box, because I didn't know I was supposed to question it, or that I even could question.
As I got older, I thought a lot about that box. "Why haven't we ever looked in the box? We've never actually seen the Golden Egg." My heart began to race, and I started to sweat from nervousness. "How do we know the Golden Egg is even in there?"
I panicked. I just wanted to return to the comfort of my child-like faith. I tried to ignore my thoughts and feelings. I tried to push the questions out of my mind. I couldn't. I lost sleep. I worried that others might discover that I had doubts about the Egg. Fear gripped me as I prayed every day that the Egg would reveal itself to me. I wanted to know the Golden Egg was real. I wanted to see that Egg.
My fear and worry grew, and I felt I couldn't talk to anyone in my church, not even my parents. I knew what they said about people who didn't believe in the Golden Egg, and I didn't want them to look at me that way. When I couldn't take it any more, I talked to my youth minister, and told him about my questions and doubts about the Golden Egg. He smiled, said it was okay, and gave me a few books to read.
I had never read books like these before. They contained arguments - reasons - why I should believe the Golden Egg is in our box. The books had cool titles, like "An Egg That Demands a Verdict," and "The Case for Egg." I never knew such arguments existed. I was introduced to a brand new world: a world in which defenders of the Golden Egg attempted to use logic to show that the Golden Egg was real and that our box really did contain this beloved Egg.
I fell in love with the Cosmological Argument for Egg's existence which is an attempt to prove that the Egg had to come first. I also enjoyed the Argument from Design. Truly, if we are not all the creations of the great Egg, then why does the universe itself testify that the Egg is our creator? We are created in Egg's image. Life begins as an egg, then springs forth, displaying the wondrous complexity and design of the creator Egg. And why do we consider gold to be such a precious metal? Certainly because the One True Egg is itself golden.
I found comfort in the arguments found in those books. To me, the discussion was over. My doubts were put to rest. We possessed the true box which contained the Golden Egg. The Egg was real.
Then I grew a little older, and ventured out into the world. Not only did I believe in the Golden Egg, I wanted the world to know the goodness of the Golden Egg. Although I never really talked to people who didn't believe in the Golden Egg, I knew they were out there. I was convinced that the reasons why they didn't believe in the Golden Egg were: 1) they never heard these awesome arguments; 2) they didn't care about truth, and were apathetic and so they never bothered to look and see that the Golden Egg is real; or 3) they really did know the Egg is real, but they refused to acknowledge the Egg because of their rebelliousness and wickedness. I knew they wouldn't be able to answer my amazing arguments for the Golden Egg. They would either be forced to repent or retreat.
I soon discovered how naïve I was. I encounter non-believers. I heard their arguments. Worse, I heard their responses to my arguments. They neither retreated nor repented. I was left confused, frustrated, and once again filled with doubts about the Golden Egg. The words of one skeptic continued to haunt me: "Why don't you just open the box and look inside?" So I asked my minister the same question.
"We must accept the existence of the Golden Egg on faith," my minister replied. "The arguments in your books are nice, but they won't convert anyone. Only the power of the Golden Egg at work in a person's heart can bring a person to accept the Golden Egg." I walked away from that conversation even more bewildered. Then something in my mind clicked: "The answer is so simple. Why don't I just open the box? Why should I just accept what people tell me as the truth without looking for evidence? I asked this question the first time I began to doubt the existence of the Golden Egg, but instead of having my question answered, I was thrust into the world of Egg apologetics. Now I realize that the arguments in those books just don't hold up under scrutiny. I see now that, if I lived in a different country, I would most likely assume the Egg was silver or onyx. I want to do better than that. I don't want to believe in the Golden Egg unless I have a reason to."
This is my box.
If I told you this box contained a Golden Egg, would you believe me? Would you just accept it as true without checking it out? What if I told you that you must believe the Golden Egg is in this box, and if you don't believe then you will burn forever in hell after you die. Would you believe then? Would you just accept it on faith that there's a Golden Egg in this box? You can't look inside. You must accept it on faith.
If you can't accept my Egg, then why do you expect me to accept your God?
Dead-Logic.com
