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RELIGIOUS? NOT ME!
"The exercise of vital powers along lines of excellence in a life affording them scope," --to quote the Greek definition of happiness. "There comes a time in the life of every human when he or she must decide to risk 'his life, his fortune, and his sacred honor' on an outcome dubious. Those who fail the challenge are merely overgrown children, can never be anything else." —Robert A. Heinlein (Stranger In A Strange Land) "Well . . . look at it this way. Religion is a solace to many people and it is even conceivable that some religion, somewhere, really is Ultimate Truth. But in many cases, being religious is merely a form of conceit. The Bible Belt faith in which I was brought up encouraged me to think that I was better than the rest of the world; I was 'saved' and they were 'damned'--we were in a state of grace and the rest of the world were 'heathens' . . . and by 'heathen' they meant such people as our brother Mahmoud. It meant that an ignorant, stupid lout who seldom bathed and planted his corn by the phase of the Moon could claim to know the final answers of the Universe. That entitled him to look down his nose at everybody else. Our hymn book was loaded with such arrogance--mindless, conceited, self-congratulation on how cozy we were with the Almighty and what a high opinion he had of us and us alone, and what hell everybody else was going to catch come Judgement Day." —Robert A. Heinlein (SIASL) RELIGIOUS? NOT ME! Historically, religion is man-made, and nearly always has a bloody history. If I were to generalize about all of man's religions, I would say: • Religion creates fear in its followers. • Religion is about control, and therefore, it excludes freedom of thought or expression. • Religion essentially demeans people, and is by its very nature is closed and exclusionary instead of open and diverse. • Religion teaches us to hate our neighbor, who is different, or who has different values, or who has another religion. Am I anti-religious? Yes, given these definitions. I see no value in the enslavement of people. Am I a Christian? Yes! You might ask how this can be, but the answer is very simple: Historically, Jesus never created a religion. He created a Community of diverse followers who had one command: "Love one another, the way I have loved you." Jesus cared for people. His ministry was typified as being to all the people groups that the mainstream religion of his day despised and rejected, such as the poor, the disabled, and the sick. He even loved tax collectors. Therefore, he taught and practiced diversity, and the inherent strength that comes from that. (BTW, "church" means assembly - nothing more. TAI.) His Good News was that people should be free. Freedom of thought and the asking of questions was not only permitted, it was expected. People were encouraged to think for themselves. This can be seen in how he taught people with parables, and how he did not always give the interpretation to them, but sometimes they had to riddle out his parables on their own to reach an understanding of them. No one taught this way, but it is the best way of all. He also was not confrontational. The early followers of Jesus did not practice cohersion or teach conformity to those they attempted to evangelize. Instead, they modeled his lifestyle to show people the peace and freedom that was available for the asking. Theirs was a community of love. If you wanted to join, you had to ask. There was never any bashing you either physically or verbally to make you join. Centuries later, men made his Community into religion. They controlled entrance into it. They used fear to control its membership. Freedom of thought and the ability to ask questions were forbidden. Acceptance of diversity was exchanged for a demanded conformity. Evangelism was usually waged with the sword. What a mess! This was not at all what Jesus created at the beginning. These are my own opinions, concluded from a years long study into the history of religion and the early church, and is the basis for my thesis for the completion of my doctorate in theology. This is not an attempt to evangelize you, either. --Remember. You have to ask to join. ;-) As for me, I do accept everyone's beliefs, or their lack. Jesus modeled the love and acceptance to all people. (As he said: "For God so loved the world!") Therefore, my relationship with you, and my admiration of you, is exactly the same regardless of whatever your beliefs might be, or even if you are, or are not, devoutly religious. I treasure our relationship, and I value the diversity that typifies all of us. You will never hear otherwise from me, nor will you hear it about me from any of our acquaintances. Since I follow Jesus, I intend to model his love and acceptance of all people, and to value our diversity. Thanks for your time! Glad to have gotten that off my chest! roger@borngraphics.com THE VERY BEST WRITING |