Metaphor: Religion is fast food
I don't know how well anybody understands my thoughts about religion. Furthermore, I'll tell why I decided to bank with the Catholic religion in the face of much ridicule and why your religion does NOT offend me.
To me, religion is essentially founded upon one word. Hope.
Religion is a cure for existentialism. Why do we live? "Well, simply this and that, and while you're living you should accomplish some of these and those, and to avoid confusion don't do any of thats and thiss." Every religion believes in something. Not necessarily deities or spiritual powers, but at least in one's self. Every religion puts some sort of power within the individual. Be you of a Christian religion where everyone is called forth to make disciples, or the Wiccan religion which focuses one's self upon the quest of knowledge from the earth. YOU are a vital part of the religion and so, no matter what religion you belong to, once you're in, YOU belong. Some religions throw disfavor upon those not of that religion such as Wiccan and Judism. If you're not born Jewish, don't bother trying. Now, to help you understand MY view of these powerful systems of belief (because belief is powerful), I put forth this metaphor. Religion is fast food.
We'll start with my religion. Catholocism is large and has been around longer than any other Christian religion. It has taken a strong grasp of the world. I'll hereinafter refer to the Catholic church as McDonald's. Fast food existed before McDonalds but it really launched and took over. Made mistakes, but still has an overwhelming number of followers. However there are still those who disagree with McDonalds.
We're ditching the historical timeline for sake of aurguement. Some think things are better done differently and what better way to do things differently then to start your own chain (religion). Protestants include all your burger places, Wendy's, Sonic, Burker King, Backyard Burger, and, however not limited to, Rallys (Checkers). Every place is different from the rest. How they cook, what they offer, and how they present it. However, its all essentially the same. You're going, you're getting your burger and fries with a drink. So, these very different entities serve very much the SAME PURPOSE. They are similar enough to accomplish the same goals, however different enough for some people to go to one place exclusively over the others.
That just covers those that are obviously similar. Their burgers (god) take the same form. Three parts, Bottom bun, patty, top bun (God[the father], Jesus, and the Holy Spirit). They're obviously the same. Now how about Wiccans, hereinafter referred to as Smoothie King. I don't know much about the pagan umbrella, so I'll just take Smoothie King to represent herself and her sisters.
Smoothie King is all about nature. 100% natural ingredients for a 100% natural life. From earth to earth. Life cycles. Burgers will destroy us. We must celebrate what's natural. But the idea is not different. You're still fueling your life. Religions fuel life. You still have your not so much good elements, (as we all know, nature has produced many elements that can harm us and some of them make us feel unique during the process). Those energy drinks are designed to get us through the day, not our entire lifetime.
And still others exist yet that don't even follow the same guidelines.
Subway. They still preach of the earth, however carbohydrates and protein are what they strive off of unlike the foolish Smoothie King and their fiber and protein and supplements.
Steakhouses. Not everyone can come here. Rich in protein, and quite uninviting to those who don't like protein.
And the list goes on.
Some base themselves in simplicity. "Stupidity should hurt." is a founding moral of a religion. And so they've given themselves something to do in life. Have common sense and respect. That's the entire religion. Nothing can be wrong with something so simple but a lot of people want and need something more.
Every fast food chain (still talking religions, excuse my break in the metaphor a moment ago), has thier oddballs. The ones who go to McDonalds but eat salads. The ones that go to every fast food place on the street. The ones that'll take their McDonalds with them to Burger King and tell the people at Burger King how they're making their fries wrong. Some just go to McDonalds BECAUSE it was first. The people who did it first MUST have done it right and all the people who abandoned ship when we made a mistake was just foolish. (This is an actual belief by many Catholics. Since Catholism was first, it is by default correct, and the rest are chickens that couldn't stick through the rough times) There's those who go to Burger King because their mother took them to Burger King as a child and so Burger King is the natural choice. There are those that go to Smoothie King because they don't aggree with burgers and they find nothing the can disaggree with at Smoothie King. Some choose Subway for the peace so they don't have to face burgers and fries or quite have to call themselves a child of the earth with smoothies. Some go to Mom and Pop's shop because they were born at Mom and Pop's shop and that's all they ever knew. Its all the same.
And here is where they ALL bear as much standing as the next. Their guesses. This is why I eat at McDonalds. They stand for what they stood for in the beginning. They were first. Their guess never changed and never will. They dress it up differently, they make mistakes, but their guess is what I buy into. Their brand of hope is what I want to place my bet on.
Because with these religions, its a game a roulette. We don't know where the ball will land, but we only got one chip to put on the table. Doesn't really matter where you put it. But you gotta know where you put it for when that ball falls you gotta know if you had it in the right spot.
What's the guess? The afterlife. What happens when you die. That's what everyone guesses. Some people choose not to even put their chip down. Some say what happens will happen. And suppose I'm wrong about where I put my chip? Well, the same that happened to them who didn't place it, will also happen to me. So I didn't lose worse than him. But say I put my chip in the right square. Say I'm right. I wanna be right with the one worth being right on. That's why I invest as I do. My only problem is, I still kinda got my chip on the line. Its not all the way in that Catholic box. I'm looking at the other boxes with a little doubt in my heart. Would they be a bad bet? I absorb the knowledge I can about the rest. Wiccan doesn't look all that bad on the serfice. They've been around longer than the Christian religions. Why chose a new space? People long ago had to be either right or wrong. Without this space here, what's to say it'll suddenly become right now that time has changed? Well, this group is all the same, so if it lands on any of these over here, I'm still good because my chip is in the group with them. But they're all new spaces, shouldn't I go for the oldest space on the board? Shouldn't that be the right one since at one time that was the only option? Or was that the age of ignorance and they just didn't know to add the other spaces? See, its hard to say, but they all have hope. And until I find a greater hope, I'm keeping my chip closest to the hope I like best so far.
To me, religion is essentially founded upon one word. Hope.
Religion is a cure for existentialism. Why do we live? "Well, simply this and that, and while you're living you should accomplish some of these and those, and to avoid confusion don't do any of thats and thiss." Every religion believes in something. Not necessarily deities or spiritual powers, but at least in one's self. Every religion puts some sort of power within the individual. Be you of a Christian religion where everyone is called forth to make disciples, or the Wiccan religion which focuses one's self upon the quest of knowledge from the earth. YOU are a vital part of the religion and so, no matter what religion you belong to, once you're in, YOU belong. Some religions throw disfavor upon those not of that religion such as Wiccan and Judism. If you're not born Jewish, don't bother trying. Now, to help you understand MY view of these powerful systems of belief (because belief is powerful), I put forth this metaphor. Religion is fast food.
We'll start with my religion. Catholocism is large and has been around longer than any other Christian religion. It has taken a strong grasp of the world. I'll hereinafter refer to the Catholic church as McDonald's. Fast food existed before McDonalds but it really launched and took over. Made mistakes, but still has an overwhelming number of followers. However there are still those who disagree with McDonalds.
We're ditching the historical timeline for sake of aurguement. Some think things are better done differently and what better way to do things differently then to start your own chain (religion). Protestants include all your burger places, Wendy's, Sonic, Burker King, Backyard Burger, and, however not limited to, Rallys (Checkers). Every place is different from the rest. How they cook, what they offer, and how they present it. However, its all essentially the same. You're going, you're getting your burger and fries with a drink. So, these very different entities serve very much the SAME PURPOSE. They are similar enough to accomplish the same goals, however different enough for some people to go to one place exclusively over the others.
That just covers those that are obviously similar. Their burgers (god) take the same form. Three parts, Bottom bun, patty, top bun (God[the father], Jesus, and the Holy Spirit). They're obviously the same. Now how about Wiccans, hereinafter referred to as Smoothie King. I don't know much about the pagan umbrella, so I'll just take Smoothie King to represent herself and her sisters.
Smoothie King is all about nature. 100% natural ingredients for a 100% natural life. From earth to earth. Life cycles. Burgers will destroy us. We must celebrate what's natural. But the idea is not different. You're still fueling your life. Religions fuel life. You still have your not so much good elements, (as we all know, nature has produced many elements that can harm us and some of them make us feel unique during the process). Those energy drinks are designed to get us through the day, not our entire lifetime.
And still others exist yet that don't even follow the same guidelines.
Subway. They still preach of the earth, however carbohydrates and protein are what they strive off of unlike the foolish Smoothie King and their fiber and protein and supplements.
Steakhouses. Not everyone can come here. Rich in protein, and quite uninviting to those who don't like protein.
And the list goes on.
Some base themselves in simplicity. "Stupidity should hurt." is a founding moral of a religion. And so they've given themselves something to do in life. Have common sense and respect. That's the entire religion. Nothing can be wrong with something so simple but a lot of people want and need something more.
Every fast food chain (still talking religions, excuse my break in the metaphor a moment ago), has thier oddballs. The ones who go to McDonalds but eat salads. The ones that go to every fast food place on the street. The ones that'll take their McDonalds with them to Burger King and tell the people at Burger King how they're making their fries wrong. Some just go to McDonalds BECAUSE it was first. The people who did it first MUST have done it right and all the people who abandoned ship when we made a mistake was just foolish. (This is an actual belief by many Catholics. Since Catholism was first, it is by default correct, and the rest are chickens that couldn't stick through the rough times) There's those who go to Burger King because their mother took them to Burger King as a child and so Burger King is the natural choice. There are those that go to Smoothie King because they don't aggree with burgers and they find nothing the can disaggree with at Smoothie King. Some choose Subway for the peace so they don't have to face burgers and fries or quite have to call themselves a child of the earth with smoothies. Some go to Mom and Pop's shop because they were born at Mom and Pop's shop and that's all they ever knew. Its all the same.
And here is where they ALL bear as much standing as the next. Their guesses. This is why I eat at McDonalds. They stand for what they stood for in the beginning. They were first. Their guess never changed and never will. They dress it up differently, they make mistakes, but their guess is what I buy into. Their brand of hope is what I want to place my bet on.
Because with these religions, its a game a roulette. We don't know where the ball will land, but we only got one chip to put on the table. Doesn't really matter where you put it. But you gotta know where you put it for when that ball falls you gotta know if you had it in the right spot.
What's the guess? The afterlife. What happens when you die. That's what everyone guesses. Some people choose not to even put their chip down. Some say what happens will happen. And suppose I'm wrong about where I put my chip? Well, the same that happened to them who didn't place it, will also happen to me. So I didn't lose worse than him. But say I put my chip in the right square. Say I'm right. I wanna be right with the one worth being right on. That's why I invest as I do. My only problem is, I still kinda got my chip on the line. Its not all the way in that Catholic box. I'm looking at the other boxes with a little doubt in my heart. Would they be a bad bet? I absorb the knowledge I can about the rest. Wiccan doesn't look all that bad on the serfice. They've been around longer than the Christian religions. Why chose a new space? People long ago had to be either right or wrong. Without this space here, what's to say it'll suddenly become right now that time has changed? Well, this group is all the same, so if it lands on any of these over here, I'm still good because my chip is in the group with them. But they're all new spaces, shouldn't I go for the oldest space on the board? Shouldn't that be the right one since at one time that was the only option? Or was that the age of ignorance and they just didn't know to add the other spaces? See, its hard to say, but they all have hope. And until I find a greater hope, I'm keeping my chip closest to the hope I like best so far.