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.
# posted by chroi @ 14:11 
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I can't believe they would actually take it so completely literal. How can you love your neighbor as yourself and still not view women as equal? That's hypocritical.
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