[ text - un: athelstan ]

[pietistic]

I'm curious how many people believe in fate here.

If you do, do you believe fates can be changed?

If you don't, what do you believe in?

Comments

[protectingthelight]

It can be. There are those who avail themselves only of the darkness within it. But then, water can revive a dying person or it can drown someone. It's not good or evil in and of itself. It's all in how it's used.

[pietistic]

That is a very interesting analogy. Is this what is believed in instead of gods?

[protectingthelight]

It is where I was born, and in other parts of the galaxy. But there are nearly as many belief systems as there are planets and societies—and there are very, very many of those.

[pietistic]

These concepts are very hard to take in.

[protectingthelight]

I'm sorry—I'm not doing a good job of remembering that not everyone has quite the same frame of reference as I do.

What about you? What do you believe in?

[pietistic]

it should be easier to imagine such things as planets and galaxies now but I still find it difficult.

I grew up believing in one God, the true God. But, I came to know others who believed in many gods and I have been conflicted for what I believe in for many years, even now.

[protectingthelight]

Do you find that there are commonalities across different systems of belief?

[pietistic]

Sometimes it seems that there is.

[protectingthelight]

It's interesting. One of my hobbies is astrology, and I've had the opportunity to compare systems across different planets. It's surprising how often there are similarities and connections.

I used to think it meant that there was something to astrology, but now I mostly think it's because people everywhere have the same sorts of hungers, to make sense of their worlds and their lives.

[pietistic]

I am not sure what astrology is exactly.

But, I think you are right about what people want.

[protectingthelight]

Astrology is a kind of divination—the idea that patterns in the stars determine or are reflective of our personalities and fates.

Which brings us back to your original question, in a way. Nowadays I don't think the stars determine your fate. But maybe,
if you're looking for it, you can find a suggestion or two.