Friday, June 17, 2005
Religious Woes Part 2
As mentioned in part 1, I have reached a pinnacle moment in my spirituality.
That pinnacle was recently reached while attending a Christian group with my Christian friends (a Baptist and Lutheran). After I told them I didn't want to attend a seminar on Christian marriage because I disagreed with their view of women in society and faith, an argument ensued. My friends believe in the bible word for word. So, women are to submit to whatever the man says. Now, they can give advice, but the man always has the last say... because God works through him, not the women. They went on to argue there is never a cause for divorce, no matter how bad the man treats the woman, although they hinted the other way around may be OK. I said that is just wrong. "But, Troy, it says so in the bible!" I argued that I doubt God would ever want someone to be in a bad relationship that left them unhappy and abused. "God works in mysterious ways." The ultimate cop out used by bible freaks, that I just hate.
Of course there was more to this than the women issue. Things like practicing homosexuals cannot be Christians, and that for the most part anyone involved in science cannot truly be faithful. The latter statement made by them resulted in a discussion on evolution. I said most of the scientists I knew were very religious and that when studying science you actually begin to see that with all the complexity and apparent coincidence, there has to be a higher power behind it. Nope, they are going to Hell. But, they are good people. "Only someone who truly lets Jesus into their heart can go to Heaven." I asked how they know they haven't and it goes something like, "Well, they aren't putting their faith and belief in the bible if they don't believe in Genesis. Jesus himself said he did not come to destroy the teachings of old. You can't believe just the parts of the Bible you want".
Which leads me to my pinnacle. I reject the Bible as a whole. I don't, however, reject all of it. The Bible, including the New Testament, was put together by man. Some group of people sat down and decided which books they considered to be inspired by God. But, these men were trying more to push their religion than the truth. I highly doubt they would feel the need to add a book that did not jive with what they thought, even if it was inspired by God. I don't believe the Bible tells the whole story, but the story that early Jews and later Christians wanted us to hear.
I HAVE DECIDED TO GO WITH MY HEART OVER ANYTHING WRITTEN OR TOLD TO ME!!!! I have a personal relationship with God and I consider him a better source. The extreme Religious Right seem to miss this at times. They believe 100% in a single interpretation of the Bible. That interpretation given by a man, not God.
All these religious groups (Jewish, Christian, and some others) in the world claim to follow the Bible, yet each one comes up with different 'rules' for their followers. That alone says something.
Thank you God for making me a free thinker so I can personally worship you as you intended.
That pinnacle was recently reached while attending a Christian group with my Christian friends (a Baptist and Lutheran). After I told them I didn't want to attend a seminar on Christian marriage because I disagreed with their view of women in society and faith, an argument ensued. My friends believe in the bible word for word. So, women are to submit to whatever the man says. Now, they can give advice, but the man always has the last say... because God works through him, not the women. They went on to argue there is never a cause for divorce, no matter how bad the man treats the woman, although they hinted the other way around may be OK. I said that is just wrong. "But, Troy, it says so in the bible!" I argued that I doubt God would ever want someone to be in a bad relationship that left them unhappy and abused. "God works in mysterious ways." The ultimate cop out used by bible freaks, that I just hate.
Of course there was more to this than the women issue. Things like practicing homosexuals cannot be Christians, and that for the most part anyone involved in science cannot truly be faithful. The latter statement made by them resulted in a discussion on evolution. I said most of the scientists I knew were very religious and that when studying science you actually begin to see that with all the complexity and apparent coincidence, there has to be a higher power behind it. Nope, they are going to Hell. But, they are good people. "Only someone who truly lets Jesus into their heart can go to Heaven." I asked how they know they haven't and it goes something like, "Well, they aren't putting their faith and belief in the bible if they don't believe in Genesis. Jesus himself said he did not come to destroy the teachings of old. You can't believe just the parts of the Bible you want".
Which leads me to my pinnacle. I reject the Bible as a whole. I don't, however, reject all of it. The Bible, including the New Testament, was put together by man. Some group of people sat down and decided which books they considered to be inspired by God. But, these men were trying more to push their religion than the truth. I highly doubt they would feel the need to add a book that did not jive with what they thought, even if it was inspired by God. I don't believe the Bible tells the whole story, but the story that early Jews and later Christians wanted us to hear.
I HAVE DECIDED TO GO WITH MY HEART OVER ANYTHING WRITTEN OR TOLD TO ME!!!! I have a personal relationship with God and I consider him a better source. The extreme Religious Right seem to miss this at times. They believe 100% in a single interpretation of the Bible. That interpretation given by a man, not God.
All these religious groups (Jewish, Christian, and some others) in the world claim to follow the Bible, yet each one comes up with different 'rules' for their followers. That alone says something.
Thank you God for making me a free thinker so I can personally worship you as you intended.
Thursday, June 09, 2005
Religious Woes part 1
I have recently come to a realization about religion that has been building in my brain since 1994.
1994 is a significant year in my spiritual growth, or lack of... depending how you look at it. In the summer of that year, the Catholic campus Church decided not to hold masses because a lot of students went home for the summer and they were doing some renovation of the grounds. So, I had to go to the church in town. At my first mass there I noted it as what I called an 'upity' church. People seemed to be more concerned on how they looked than the reason they were there. Suffice it to say that my denim shorts did not fit in. Nor did my long hair and earings it would seem. I could actually hear people talking about me. My good hearing picked up discussions wondering who I was. One mother actually asked her teen son if I was someone who went to his school. This was all going on after mass started, so I was pretty annoyed by it. Then came the homily. It was basically a fire and brimstone speech against gays. It went so far as to suggest not dealing with them in anyway, or in otherwords shut them out and discriminate against them. I almost walked out of there. For the first time ever, I left after receiving Communion, just kept on walking right out the church.
Also in 1994, I lost my 'church' friends. I hung out with a lot of different groups in college, I was very social and known in a lot of groups. Since Frosh year, one of the groups were some people I knew in High School and their group of friends, all very religious but from different denomiations. I would meet up with them at mass or other church activities, ate with them at lunch, and hung out with them every third weekend or so. They were of course alcohol and smoke free, which was always fine by me. In the Spring of 2004 as I was joining a fraternity I was invited to join them less and less. By the Fall I had lost total contact. Late in the year I found out why through my cousin. She lived next to one of them and ate lunch with them one day when I came up as the discussion. They did not know she knew me. Basically, one of them (who I considered dating at one time) stated I was a lost cause now that I was in that fraternity and too far down the evil path of partying. Just as well I guess. I partied with computer nerds, physics geeks, pot heads, drunks, dance clubbers, theatre types, and fraternity preps. Only the church crowd ever rejected me.
From that point on I would be constantly questioning my religion. It is important to note I never questioned my faith or spirituality. As a student of history, in particular war history, I soon realized that religion played heavily into the death and destruction sown upon this planet. From the Crusades to Ireland, and even clashes among Eastern beliefs, not agreeing on the topic of religion was enough to start a war. And the Church went forth to spread the word of Jesus to the corners of the Earth... and killed anyone that said, "no thanks." The history of the Catholic Church is full of scandal and sin right up to the present day. Most other Christian groups split off at one time or another because of this. However, some of them warped into much worse things (I only need to point at some of the rich televangelists or suicidal groups to make my point).
I did try to rejoin the Catholic Church in the last few years because I now had kids and wanted them to grow up in the Church. But, I was really unhappy with the churches I went to. There was no sense of community. On top of that the molestation scandals were in full force and it sickened me to see how the Catholic Church was handling it.
I have always been at odds against some of the 'rules' established by Catholicism. But, now I am finding out they are much closer to what I believe in than that of anyone from the "Christian Right". More on that in part 2 as I reach a pinacle in my spirituality and rejection of the establishment.
1994 is a significant year in my spiritual growth, or lack of... depending how you look at it. In the summer of that year, the Catholic campus Church decided not to hold masses because a lot of students went home for the summer and they were doing some renovation of the grounds. So, I had to go to the church in town. At my first mass there I noted it as what I called an 'upity' church. People seemed to be more concerned on how they looked than the reason they were there. Suffice it to say that my denim shorts did not fit in. Nor did my long hair and earings it would seem. I could actually hear people talking about me. My good hearing picked up discussions wondering who I was. One mother actually asked her teen son if I was someone who went to his school. This was all going on after mass started, so I was pretty annoyed by it. Then came the homily. It was basically a fire and brimstone speech against gays. It went so far as to suggest not dealing with them in anyway, or in otherwords shut them out and discriminate against them. I almost walked out of there. For the first time ever, I left after receiving Communion, just kept on walking right out the church.
Also in 1994, I lost my 'church' friends. I hung out with a lot of different groups in college, I was very social and known in a lot of groups. Since Frosh year, one of the groups were some people I knew in High School and their group of friends, all very religious but from different denomiations. I would meet up with them at mass or other church activities, ate with them at lunch, and hung out with them every third weekend or so. They were of course alcohol and smoke free, which was always fine by me. In the Spring of 2004 as I was joining a fraternity I was invited to join them less and less. By the Fall I had lost total contact. Late in the year I found out why through my cousin. She lived next to one of them and ate lunch with them one day when I came up as the discussion. They did not know she knew me. Basically, one of them (who I considered dating at one time) stated I was a lost cause now that I was in that fraternity and too far down the evil path of partying. Just as well I guess. I partied with computer nerds, physics geeks, pot heads, drunks, dance clubbers, theatre types, and fraternity preps. Only the church crowd ever rejected me.
From that point on I would be constantly questioning my religion. It is important to note I never questioned my faith or spirituality. As a student of history, in particular war history, I soon realized that religion played heavily into the death and destruction sown upon this planet. From the Crusades to Ireland, and even clashes among Eastern beliefs, not agreeing on the topic of religion was enough to start a war. And the Church went forth to spread the word of Jesus to the corners of the Earth... and killed anyone that said, "no thanks." The history of the Catholic Church is full of scandal and sin right up to the present day. Most other Christian groups split off at one time or another because of this. However, some of them warped into much worse things (I only need to point at some of the rich televangelists or suicidal groups to make my point).
I did try to rejoin the Catholic Church in the last few years because I now had kids and wanted them to grow up in the Church. But, I was really unhappy with the churches I went to. There was no sense of community. On top of that the molestation scandals were in full force and it sickened me to see how the Catholic Church was handling it.
I have always been at odds against some of the 'rules' established by Catholicism. But, now I am finding out they are much closer to what I believe in than that of anyone from the "Christian Right". More on that in part 2 as I reach a pinacle in my spirituality and rejection of the establishment.
