a letter to a friend turned into this:
i decided today that i am religious and that spirituality is important to me; however, i hate that i should have to go through an intermediary--a church, temple, mosque, etc--to have a relationship with god. to me, that's like having a nanny raise your kids or an accountant do all your finances--yes, it's easier, but how can you claim ownership to the process or final product? how can you say that your relationship with god is your own if it is your pastor or rabbi or whoever telling you how you are doing it and, except when you show up sundays--"visiting days"--essentially having that relationship for you?
there's nothing worse than liars, sneaks, and hypocrites. right behind those are men who stand in a pulpit and preach to me my most personal relationship. this is a violation and a blasphemy. god should be insulted that so many take man's word for his own. how were they chosen? god said "hey you--tell everyone i said you're their spiritual boss"? that's bullshit. in god we trust, not in people who profess to have his word. if god wants to move me, he will.
visions? visions that are messages from god reminding us all of "H"is word? interpretting visions so that all can see that they are god's word? interpretting visions is nothing that a bright twelve-year-old can't do. anyone bright enough to make connections between two texts is bright enough to put a "vision"--more likely an indigestion induced dream--into religious terms. visions are only valuable to the ones that have them because they are a manipulation of the personal relationship with god. beyond that, convolution necessitates cynicism.
organized religion is like chaotic law--a contridiction in terms that, by its own definition, cancels itself into oblivion. in organized religion we see the idea that one cannot have a relationship with god without conferencing with others. but your relationship with god--essentially, your relationship with how the world works--should be more personal than even your marriage. you certainly aren't required to meet weekly in order to have a marriage. and certainly talking about your marriage with others--and letting them relay information to your spouse--will not cement your relationship. the fact that this relationship is "organized" negates the spirituality of it all.
a marriage isn't an organization--it is a union, a bond between two forces. how can this bond be strong if it relies on other bonds? the shortest distance between two points is a straight line. me to church to god--this is not a straight line.
religion has become bullshit--another capitalistic market, another political tool, another reality television program for us to tune in to and worship. don't misread--i'm not advocating atheism--even atheists must believe in the universe and, in turn, a form of god. i don't want to destroy religion. instead, it should be deconstructed and rebuilt, from the individual up. i advocate a reformation of the illustration of "holy" and taking god out of the streets and bringing him back into our hearts.
note: sorry for typos, rashness, etc, i'm typing and thinking and living very quickly.
there's nothing worse than liars, sneaks, and hypocrites. right behind those are men who stand in a pulpit and preach to me my most personal relationship. this is a violation and a blasphemy. god should be insulted that so many take man's word for his own. how were they chosen? god said "hey you--tell everyone i said you're their spiritual boss"? that's bullshit. in god we trust, not in people who profess to have his word. if god wants to move me, he will.
visions? visions that are messages from god reminding us all of "H"is word? interpretting visions so that all can see that they are god's word? interpretting visions is nothing that a bright twelve-year-old can't do. anyone bright enough to make connections between two texts is bright enough to put a "vision"--more likely an indigestion induced dream--into religious terms. visions are only valuable to the ones that have them because they are a manipulation of the personal relationship with god. beyond that, convolution necessitates cynicism.
organized religion is like chaotic law--a contridiction in terms that, by its own definition, cancels itself into oblivion. in organized religion we see the idea that one cannot have a relationship with god without conferencing with others. but your relationship with god--essentially, your relationship with how the world works--should be more personal than even your marriage. you certainly aren't required to meet weekly in order to have a marriage. and certainly talking about your marriage with others--and letting them relay information to your spouse--will not cement your relationship. the fact that this relationship is "organized" negates the spirituality of it all.
a marriage isn't an organization--it is a union, a bond between two forces. how can this bond be strong if it relies on other bonds? the shortest distance between two points is a straight line. me to church to god--this is not a straight line.
religion has become bullshit--another capitalistic market, another political tool, another reality television program for us to tune in to and worship. don't misread--i'm not advocating atheism--even atheists must believe in the universe and, in turn, a form of god. i don't want to destroy religion. instead, it should be deconstructed and rebuilt, from the individual up. i advocate a reformation of the illustration of "holy" and taking god out of the streets and bringing him back into our hearts.
note: sorry for typos, rashness, etc, i'm typing and thinking and living very quickly.