Artist Chris Eckert uses the tattoo medium as a personal reaction against people being born into a religion rather than choosing one after research and reflection. This machine picks a religion at random and brands the willing subject with its symbol.
Auto Ink is a three axis numerically controlled sculpture. Once the main switch is triggered, the operator is assigned a religion and its corresponding symbol is tattooed onto the persons arm. The operator does not have control over the assigned symbol. It is assigned either randomly or through divine intervention, depending on your personal beliefs.
http://chriseckert.com/Sculpture/036_auto_ink/gallery.html - Via Book Of Joe
And yes, I know That's not a real tattoo there.
Which is artist speak for bucket-o-crap.
"Confirmed. Your name is Not Sure."
but it does a good job at illustrating the reality that most people don't choose their religious convictions at all, it's just random, but then they are willing to die for them?
people think they believe because they have faith...but they don't...they have something everybody has: impressionable childhoods.
A plurality of Hindus recognize the validity of other religions and see little point conversion to Hinduism for people who already have a perfectly good religion of their own.
Staying in the religion into which one was born and raised doesn't necessarily indicate a lack of thought and reflection. People who follow the religion they got from their parents still have to put a lot of thought into gaining a good understanding of their religion.
If this were a real tattoo machine using real needles and tat ink, most of the users would become converts to the First Church of Hepatitis.
It is often said "Free-Will" is the desire to do what one wants. But in the past, "Free-Will" has been the ability to want what one wants, and that is something that requires a lot of personal inquiry into self-hood. A lot of meditation and decision about what is ultimately true and just.
People who obey desires, are simply victims of desires, not free.