religious and my opinion of religion is shaped through my own
experiences and beliefs as are all of our personal opinions are. All I
ask is that others respect my opinions and I would love to have a
discussion with you about religion and other various and sundry things
because I have an open mind and love talking about life, religion and
morality.
I cannot accept a religion that does not accept me.
I know that several different groups interpret the bible in different
ways, and some might be more accepting of my lifestyle, and even
though those who speak out against my lifestyle "choices" might be in
the minority (but because the extremeists seem to be the ones who get
the most media attention and traction), I still cannot accept it.
If "god" created me and he is perfect, and being a homosexual is
considered, through the interpretation of the bible by even a small
minority, to be imperfect, and %10 of people are homosexuals, "god" is
therefore imperfect because a %10 error rate is not perfection (at
least in my book).
To me, religion is about sacrifice. The people who deem themselves the
purest and truest believers make sacrafices in order to be true
christains. They have to sacrafice their freedom of thought because
they are taught to believe what the bible says instead of what their
brain or science might be saying. They put themselves in a box which
creates barriers that make it hard for them to interact with others of
differing belief systems.
What do I believe in, you might ask...
"Character is higher than intellect... A great soul will be strong to
live, as well as to think."
-Ralph Waldo Emerson
Ralph Waldo Emerson is certaintly a huge inspiration. Self Reliance.
That is what I believe in. I believe in the laws of nature and what I
can see, feel, touch, taste and smell. I'm a very sensory person, I
like facts and being able to have answers for relatively everything,
and be able to understand how things came to be. I cannot have faith.
I must see to believe and that is why I cannot be religious.
But then that begs the question: Let's say that half the world (at
least) is religious and believes in god (or gods). They must not all
be crazy. It's easy to feel superior to a small group of people
because of their faith, but when it's at least half of the globe, it's
a different issue.
Please stay tuned for more stories of this average life.
In saying that all Christians "put themselves in a box which creates barriers that make it hard for them to interact with others of differing belief systems" is in turn putting yourself in a much smaller, confining box. This is called stereotyping. If I think of the stereotypical gay person, I'm sure plenty of things will come up that you don't agree with or that doesn't fit you. I'm sure that there are more Christians that support homosexuality than not, as you yourself stated in this blog. I am Christian, and I fully support homosexuality. In reading the bible, where does Jesus once say homosexuality is wrong? He didn't. Usually, the Christians who preach this are the same who are hateful, damning everyone to hell, standing on street corners with their signs and yelling at everyone. The same people that deeply hurt Christians like myself, knowing that they are only driving people away. And now, because I am a Christian, people will automatically think that me and the hate spewer have the same beliefs. And apparently they do from reading this blog. Is that homosexual hating, hate preaching, damnation condeming man with a sign doing God's work? I think not. He does not live through Christ, and is turning more people away from God than he is bringing. Just because he's the complete extreme, of course he's going to get the most media attention. But they are in the minority. The vast minority. This is not Christianity. And it pains me to think that just because a very tiny minority, a minority the Christian population wants nothing to do with, we are catagorized with them.
ReplyDeleteFurthermore, I do not put myself in a box making it hard for me to interact with those who believe differently. The majority of my friends are not Christian. I never preach to them or shove bibles down there throats. Religion is a personal endeavor. Now, lets look at every religion. What do they have in common? They give a lifestyle that preaches things like don't steal, don't kill, love everyone, and in turn, giving thanks to some God or Gods. Even the stories told in there religious books tend to be very, very similiar. The only differences are lifestyle differences, or ways of doing this, depending on where you live in the world. Each religion usually has some kind of prophet. I don't think it's that hard to believe that all religions are just the same religion, preaching the same values, giving thanks to the same God, just in different ways, depending on the culture of their country. Do I think Muslims or Jews or Hindus are going to hell, just because they call there God by a different name? Even though we believe the same basic principles? That's preposterous. In growing up, I went to a Catholic church, and the priest said this himself. Heres a man who has dedicated his life to God and the Catholic church, yet he believed that there really wasn't one religion. They all teach the same thing, they just call their Gods by a different name. It's just important to awknowledge that some supieror being exists, and to give thanks to him while being a good person. Which I couldn't see how all of this complex life around us could have just sprouted out of nothing.
So in short, I am Christian. I do not hate other religions. I do not think I am any better than anyone else. I do not disaprove of homosexuals, and I think they should embrace there sexuality and be who God create them to be. I think the stereotypical Christians that you are catagorizing all Christians as are in the vast minority, and most Christians want nothing to do with those people.
One last thought, seeing as this is in text over the internet, I'm not sure how this message will come across. In no way is this mad, upset, angry, hateful, or anything like that. I am simply sharing my thoughts on the matter. :)
I really appreciate your comment. Religion intrigues me. I want to take a comparative religions class.
ReplyDeleteAs I said, I respect all religions and these are the types of discussions I love having. As I said, religion intrigues me and I do not understand it. I love hearing people's perspectives and feelings.
Thank you.