David MiIller has started writing a weekly column at SFGate.com about people’s spiritual lives. He interviews different subjects each week in an effort to understand the religious dimension of life a bit better. It’s a good idea, and hopefully this type of thing will become more common.
The first interview is with a Christian named Brook. It is interesting and Miller even asks a few tough questions (such as "Why did God allow the Holocaust?"). Unfortunately, he never asks the main questions you should ask of any religious believer: "Why should I accept that what you believe is true? How do you know that your understanding of reality is the correct one?" Maybe these will come up in future interviews, but I won’t hold my breath.
In today’s culture, unfortunately, religion and spirituality are viewed as pragmatic tools for personal development, not as true or false worldviews. In finding a religion, any one will do, as long as it works for you. This is simply the wrong way to approach it. So what if Brook is happy not believing in reincarnation. If reincarnation is true, that is what she will get. Spending her life in ignorant bliss will have been a waste of time. Now I don’t happen to believe reincarnation is true, but the point remains the same. What you believe matters and the most important thing to decide about that belief is whether or not it is true.