So last year, although a really good year for me, it was a funny year when it came to religion/spirituality... you know that sort of stuff. I've always had a sort of peace knowing that God/Jesus is somewhere up there and that He knew me and heard my late night mutterings, and on our own terms we had a friendship. I always acknowledged the fact to say thank you and the notion to ask for help when times were rough. Last year for some reason for voices of religious opinion, interpretation and reasoning were extremely loud, nagging and depressing. I kind of felt like i was being told how to be, think and live and if i was outside that box....well my poor soul. In fact at one point i felt that i was not up to scratch. I guess i lost my footing and i let those voices confuse and get to me, making me forget the things I believe and almost just give up. Now this is MY opinion, some may say to each their own, some may pray for my soul (thanks I always appreciate prayers) and some may agree.
Firstly i dont agree or believe in religion it causes more separation than unity. And in religion i also group denominations and anything else that makes people who allegedly believe in the same thing feel divided. With that said although i go to church regularly i don't identify myself in terms of the name on the gate of a building.
I believe that the bible is a good guide book to life. However i think it is highly misinterpreted, tampered with and misused. From what i've grown up seeing the bible is used as a tool of convenience to instruct and control. My biggest problem is that it is used as the only way. You can't tell me that God is all a powerful being and then say that everything he intends for me is captured/explained in 1000 pages, don't sound logical. God is in our essence. The bible is used to justify everything. Oh there's a war- end of days, financial collapse- end of days, hole in the ozone-end of days.......umm how about you start taking care of the earth we were given and stop saying its ending so it doesn't matter....that's crap...its falling apart cuz we don't care. There are many issues outside of the bible/religion that we need to pay attention to instead of making the church a bubble that many people live in. Why were we placed on the earth? *sorry side note*
Remember the movie 'Book of Eli'? Remember how that bad guy was in search of the bible so he could use it to control people? That made so much sense, for in a way that is how it has been used. I think that people are truly like sheep we need guidance and someone to tell us what to do, where to go, how to act etc. Even if you don't believe in anything there is a prescribed way to atheism. I think we are born with an innate sense to believe in something and to follow. What you believe in and prescribe to depends on what part of the world you grew up in, your race, and your mindset.
I am told we are all sinners, we all make mistakes etc. But it bothers me that some claim to be better than others because they are more 'holy', if sin is sin is sin then what makes you different?
I believe in love, and since God is love then its all the same. Im convinced that if everyone loved each other more friend, foe or stranger the earth would be a better place. If we loved and respected each other there would be no reason to steal, to kill, to abuse or molest. There would be no greed, war or racism.
I am no where near perfect (last i heard no 1 is), some frown at me and give me side eyes and some appreciate me and the light i bring to being around them. I believe, i pray and i have faith. I don't hide who I am or what i do. I don't or can't tell people who is burning in hell and who is going heaven's way. I don't think we have the right to condemn because we are not all knowing. I don't think we should think or talk for God. I think that people should be real and stop hiding behind religion.
I don't know if i'm right or wrong who really know, because everyone thinks they are right. Everyone thinks their way is the right and only way..... *side note* why do we take pleasure in thinking we are right and the people on that side of the world are wrong -nah nah boo boo, ur going down. I think we are all different for a reason.
Ok I've said a lot .....just love, respect and give thanks.
once upon a long time ago my A level GP teacher gave us the topic "Religion is the opium of the people" and said "write" and we looked in awe and he said "just write what you feel". Although at the time I was sure that the rumours concerning this man's mental stability were undoubtably true...I did just that I "wrote". I began positive that as someone continuously exposed to religion and sure of the value of religion, I would be arguing against the said topic. Instead, by the time I finished the essay, I kept a steady look out for the lightning bolt whose target I was sure I had become...for I had argued in agreement with the topic. To date this topic is the only assignment (and trust me there were loads) that I remember from my GP class. I think it stayed with me because it began a turning point on how I viewed religion. It isn't that I do not believe that God exists..I mean I look around and there are moments that (to me) can only be explained by his presence. Yet because of our very human tendency to search, we spend time creating new things while (whether intentionally or unintentionally) destroying what already exists. In the same way we continue to create new religions to satisfy our hunger to believe in something, some of us decide to go against the grain and believe that God doesn't exist; we believe in science and through atheism etc we create our own "Religion". Something else to believe in. I believe that as human beings we must have something to believe in, some value to cling to (almost like the opium user believes in the power of the opium, or the crackhead believes in th epower of the drug..however you choose to look at it). When we lose these values whether religious or not, we lose our sense of self and we become destructive. In my opinion, religion is most often the choice in which to believe because it represents good and separates us from all which we think is evil,helping us feel better about ourselves and giving us something positive to look towards. On another note, I am happily married to someone of a different denomination (we both belong to the christian faith however)and I found it rather interesting how many deeply "religious" persons are quick to skin up their faces and whisper their 2 favourite words from 2Cor6:14, and conveniently forgetting that such obvious contempt and blatant judgement are in direct conflict with Mark 10:9. Ok so I rambled a bit and strayed a little but I guess my point is that sometimes we get so caught up in promoting or defending our religion that we forget what really matters and we act contrary to the teachings of the good book. if we spent more time practicing the principles of faith and love then the world would be a much better place indeed.
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