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It was suggested one time that my faith and belief was based on "any way the wind blows", or words to that effect, and that statement was not meant to be offensive. This did not offend me but it did clearly open my eyes to the ignorance of those who believe, not in their faith, but in their own sense of right when it comes to religious and spiritual matters.
I truly do not get offended all that easily anymore, and get mad even less/ I have come to realise that everyone has an opinion on everything their opinions are really of no consequence to me at all. Just as mine has no real impact on them.
Ever since I stepped outside of organised religion I have also come to realise that there are many people within organised religions who hold onto their faith with a closed mind and the truth is, if your mind is closed, you cannot, will not, see nor hear. The great pity is that those who are deaf and blind do not even realise that is what they are.
The truth is that there religion was made by man, not by God. That goes for all the religions too. They are all just one piece of a huge jigsaw puzzle, but each one thinks that only they can see the 'big picture'.
They think that because it is written in their books. They are told and taught from a very early age that the words in those books come from God and, if it comes from God, how could it possibly be wrong? What a pity they don't also teach them about indoctrination, brainwashing and propaganda too, isn't it?
The truth is that if children are to receive "religious education" then they should be taught about ALL religions, not just the beliefs of their parents. They should be taught the different beliefs of the many people who believe, around the world. They should be taught in an unbiased, factual manner. They should be encouraged to investigate later in life, to question everything and to find their own belief in life. If we only teach them what we want them to believe..... well, we've already done that and look at the mess that has caused!!!
God = Energy = Spirit. Spirit is in everything, so Energy is, so God is. There is no Jesus, Allah, Shiva, Bhudda, Krishna, etc., in there. There is NO name for God, other than that which men have chosen to label him with. Even the use of 'him' in reference to God is a misnomer as the Creator is asexual. I use the term here only because that is what many understand and to make the point.
Since the creator of all is asexual, it follows that patriarchal religion is wrong. Where did men get the idea that God is a male chauvinist? That God has a downer on women and sees them as second class? I know all the bible bashers are going to start quoting the stuff about Adam and Eve here but again, I point out that those are only words in a book written by men. If any man believes himself to be better than a woman then he needs to look at his beliefs again as women and men are complementary to each other. They were never meant to be equal. That is another concept of limited mortal thinking.
God made man, man made religion. God made the universe and put everythiung in it that was needed for all the different forms of life which he created there to thrive and survive. Man came along and screwed all that up of course. On earth at least.
It was inferred, I believe, that I may be close to ranting about religion. If that be the case, then I make no apologies for it and will never cease to 'rant'. Only by continung to debate the opinions, raise controversy and heated discussion, will anything change, and change is needed. The main change required is to have an open mind and an acceptance of all peoples beliefs, without feeling the need nor buying into the belief that they should be preached at or converted to one's own beliefs.
I have no book to present to others, no "word of god" to preach, no chapel or temple to take them to where we can sit in prayer and praise of God. If anyone asks me of my beliefs, I will answer truthfully, but they must seek that out. To any who do, I am no more than a guide, a signpost, to point them on their way to discovering for themselves. My word of god is personal experience, which words alone cannot do justice. My temple is those places in nature, created by God where we can sit in prayer and praise through honoring and interacting with the life, the Spirit there.
The more I see and read and hear about some aspects of organised religion, and especially from those who are once a week atendees at their place of worship, the more I have faith in my path. To survive, organised religions will have to do much better than offering mere blind faith and simply asking people to believe. If not for the present generations, then for those to come.
Perhaps it is only after organised, man made religions have deteriorated to the "nth" degree that the proclaimed armageddon and second coming will occur. Why would any God come before that, knowing that only some of the people here will believe in him - and even some of those who profess their belief, have their doubts. Far better to wait until the many have stopped listening to the words of men and started listening, without their ears, to the word of God, eh?
We shall see.....!
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Posted by scotslad60 on 2008-05-29 15:03:51 | Rating: | Views: 125
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hi scots...
i have to agree with you to a great extent: it is wrong to have the arrogance to believe that you (one) have a monopoly on truth...personally, i find that life is far more interesting when you recognise what you don't know.
and that from a guy who isn't religious at all but usually quite happy to listen to somebody else's views on the world....
good one!
:)
cheers!!
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Posted by badlydrawnstickman
on 2008-05-29 15:37:32
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hi, for some reason I just felt like running home to my old buddy scotslad tonight...my first real friend here and a faithful one too. So many new people have joined our thoughts.com community, Ben must be thrilled but tonight I am feeling a little like how Max and Molly, our puppies occasionaly feel..not sure how to describe it, a little shy? no, not really, oh, who knows...sometimes they just want to sit near me, not really wanting anything, they just want to be in the same room. Do you know what I mean?
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Posted by roe
on 2008-05-30 01:12:46
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I found this post very helpful to me at a stage in my life where to my surprise my beliefs are beginning to change...I just wrote a blog on it - your explanation on the difference between belief in God and religion is very helpful to me, so thank you x Cheb x
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Posted by chebtastic1
on 2008-05-30 06:33:22
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Thanks for that Stickman. Nice to know there are others like me out there. lol
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Posted by scotslad60
on 2008-05-30 09:26:35
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I know exactly what you mean Rose. Sometimes just being in the company of old friends is all we need, without any words even being spoken.
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Posted by scotslad60
on 2008-05-30 09:27:40
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Thanks for your comment Cheb. Glad you liked it.
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Posted by scotslad60
on 2008-05-30 09:28:14
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scotslad60 said. "Far better to wait until the many have stopped listening to the words of men and started listening, without their ears, to the word of God, eh?"
So do you believe in the Word of God?
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Posted by sharetheword
on 2008-06-06 23:48:02
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If your asking do I believe that what is written in the bible is the actual 'word of god' then that would be no, sharetheword.
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Posted by scotslad60
on 2008-06-09 09:51:45
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Then what are the "many" to listen to?
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Posted by sharetheword
on 2008-06-10 22:00:01
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The blog comments are not the place to have a discussion sharetheword, you should post in the forums section.
But in answer to yourqeustion, the many are not to listen to the words of men, whether they say they preach the word of god or not.
Peace friend.
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Posted by scotslad60
on 2008-06-11 10:01:52
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Your frustrated words remind me of some of the sermons of George MacDonald. I believe the goal is not to argue but to assert the right to express ourselves freely, without judgment. We also have the right not to defend ourself against the judgment of others. Thank you.
Bob Silber
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Posted by BobSilber
on 2008-06-22 10:47:09
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Perhaps those who judge are those most afraid of judgement Bob? Thank you for your comment. :)
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Posted by scotslad60
on 2008-06-23 09:52:58
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