Como cojo a cielo?
heaven
HEH-vun
the place in which eternal happiness is held; the spirit world to which those souls who are deserving - namely those who are merciful, moral, forgiving, ethical, nonjudgmental, virtuous, and righteous people - ascend to after their time on Earth has finished; the congregation of such souls ...
What do we/you stand to lose if there were no God? I can admit that I hold a lot of security in the thought that a higher power exists. Largely because I want to believe that I'll see my mother, grandmother and sister again. It's hard to think that I'll never hug and kiss them again. But I do recognize it as an option.
That being said I can see why millions of people are Christians/Muslims/[insert religion that has one "God" here]. It's nice and comforting to think of some all-knowing, omnipotent being looking down over us, making sure all is well, metaphorically tucking us in at night, stopping the bullets, turning the staff into a snake & water to blood (to PROVE "his" existence/power!!! oh my..... I can really stop the entry HERE!............ but I won't) providing when we can't and assuring we are ok so long as we have faith. But what about those born in the "wrong" religion?
I once asked my grandmother how God would treat those who don't worship him, not because of "defiance", but because they simply were brought up in a nation that doesn't recognize Christianity and have little to no exposure to it. I'd always been taught that the bible [oh and we're gonna get to the bible in a sec] says that if you "recognize Jesus Christ as your Lord and saviour" then you're cool. Which seems that all you need to do is pray and thank Jesus for getting whipped and you've pretty much made your reservations in Heaven. And I can see why people would (want to) believe this. It's nice and comforting to think that if you just pray, you'll be ok and will be rewarded later. But I just never understood how in one instant God is all-knowing, merciful, pure and good yet simultaneously he's jealous and can't understand if someone doesn't worship him because they were born in India. And my gramma never gave me a sufficient answer. So I guess I'll just have to pray FOR my Buddhist friends. Or wait and hope that He has a change of heart.
Some responses I've encountered when questioning the bible and organized religion in general are "don't fly in the face of God" or "Don't question God's plan. That's insulting to him" Things along that line. Why is it insulting to want to know why certain things happen? I can't imagine a benevolent being that only wants/does the best for us worrying about us questioning it's divine plan. That type of mentality is reminiscent of slave masters in regards to slaves learning to read (or gaining any other type of knowledge). Only those doing questionable activities or with questionable motives don't want you to question them (haha!).
And I don't think anyone will ever be able to convince me that God is so selective in his "stepping in" decisions. God personally helped Moses free the Hebrew slaves from the Egyptians, but never blinked while Africans and African Americans suffered for hundreds of years? Nah, I will NEVER believe that. And I'm not accepting "he worked through the abolitionists and freedom fighters. so he freed them vicariously" as an excuse. No! Were our ancestors not worthy of a miracle similar to a Red Sea parting? I'd like to think so. What warrants God's personal attention and assistance? As I mentioned above, he turned water to blood and a staff into a snake to "show them who's boss." How can an all powerful being fall for such insecure emotional (i.e. human-like) pitfalls? I mean really, god really strutted his stuff like some little boy showing off the combos he learned for Mortal Kombat? "Oooh look what I can do?" Ok.... AND it was so important for God to step in and show the Egyptians who's got the biggest balls, but didn't lift a "finger" when almost 3000 folks died downtown a few years ago. Right.... (Maybe the lawd took a vacation day before my birthday)
How was God popping up occasionally for a spot of tea ALL THE TIME before Christ was born, then all of sudden decides to become a hermit? When's the last time you saw a talking, burning bush? And make no mistake, I'm not refuting the notion that God could appear as a burning bush. I'm referring to the notion that God would appear to us at one point in time, then just decided he didn't wanna hang out anymore. Am I to liken God to the kid that I hung out with in elementary school? We ain't cool no more? And conveniently none of the people who witnessed these miracles are available for confirmation. But I guess that's a coincidence.
And yes I have to be feminist for a moment. God is a man, right? Hmmm. Logically if we were to assign a sex to god shouldn't it be female since females are the ones who give birth and life in our species? But I guess we can just go along with what it says in that book written by men and not think they wrote it to their advantage. That's an option. Again, in case it's misunderstood, my argument is not whether god is male or female (but logic does dictate that if god had a sex it should be female). We could be here forever on that topic and it's not even important (although why people would make god male is something worth diving into, but it's painfully obvious anyway).What is important is why this notion is just accepted as truth.
One thing I never understood was why the devil exists. If God has all of the power why does he allow a totally evil being to exist? Is almighty setting some of us up for a fall? Either that or he knows that some of us are gonna fall and doesn't step in (again, his flightiness with our destinies is killin' me. npi). This whole notion of god being selective, spiteful, envious (and to admit it. wow) and vengeful all sound (again) humanesque. I'd like to think he'd be above these types of things.
I used to believe in Jesus. And I was so bluntly honest (despite being rather ludicrous about it) I would proclaim that I believed in Jesus because I wanted to believe there was a heaven. You can't get anymore honest than that. lol But now that I've changed my mind I find it odd to believe a Jew is the Christian's savior. In all seriousness and respect for all of my Christian friends, I'd really like an answer to this. I don't understand how it works that he was Jewish and most Jews don't believe in him [and when I say "believe" in him, I'm basically saying people who believe he was the son of god and was sent here to die for our sins. because I do believe this man existed]. Yet most Christians do. So please, I sincerely hope someone can shed some light on this for me.
I think the power of faith can be a beautiful thing, but blind faith scares the hell out of me. So many people seem to blindly go along with this notion of god w/o questioning it nor the bible nor the people telling you what the bible says. I'm more scared of that than I am that there is no higher power.
Also notions of purity disturb me greatly. Abstaining from sex supposedly makes one pure. It's interesting how religion claims to not be judgmental (at least in some cases because only god can judge right?). Yet conditions like this create a set up that makes it almost obligatory for one group of people to deem themselves better than another. [I could go on and on and ON about purity and the falsehoods of it and its psychological connections to Catholic priests, but this entry is already a mile long and I still don't think I'm even close to being done lol]
Something else I'm noticing is that over the years certain sins have become more acceptable while others have what I call "high sin priority." Weren't hair cutting and eating seafood considered abominations? Now they are acceptable, but the bible hasn't changed. However, homosexuality and fornication are still wrong. How is that so much worse than going to the barber?
Yes, this entry is rooted entirely in Christian philosophy (although I generally don't agree with the notion of organized religion period). This is because of where I live. "In God we trust" is printed on our money. "One nation under God" is in our y'alls' pledge of allegiance. Our piece of shit president is trying to amend the constitution to disallow gay marriage, which begs the question why a nation that claims to have a separation of church and state makes any mention of marriage (a fundamentally religion based ritual) in its "holy doctrine."
I'm starting to think a big reason why religion has caught on as it has is because of "what if." Fear of the unknown, wanting to feel watched over, a need for answers mixed with a lot of "but what if it's true?" I mean, I may as well follow the rules, adhere to this book and do as I'm told on the off chance that all of this is right? Don't wanna burn in hell on an off chance.
But how much would your life change if this was all one big ongoing bedtime story? There's a line in the movie "Dogma" (which I'm sure is blasphemous on many counts, but that may be why I like it) when Rufus, the forgotten, Black Disciple (LOL), essentially says it's better to have an idea than to believe. Ideas can be changed, but beliefs are a lot harder to alter. I couldn't agree more. And I'm not assuming for one moment that anything I write here can change someone's mind, but I do hope that it makes you think and question. And I leave much room for me to be wrong (I am human). And if I am wrong, then Heaven will forgive me, right?
hmm.
HEH-vun
the place in which eternal happiness is held; the spirit world to which those souls who are deserving - namely those who are merciful, moral, forgiving, ethical, nonjudgmental, virtuous, and righteous people - ascend to after their time on Earth has finished; the congregation of such souls ...
What do we/you stand to lose if there were no God? I can admit that I hold a lot of security in the thought that a higher power exists. Largely because I want to believe that I'll see my mother, grandmother and sister again. It's hard to think that I'll never hug and kiss them again. But I do recognize it as an option.
That being said I can see why millions of people are Christians/Muslims/[insert religion that has one "God" here]. It's nice and comforting to think of some all-knowing, omnipotent being looking down over us, making sure all is well, metaphorically tucking us in at night, stopping the bullets, turning the staff into a snake & water to blood (to PROVE "his" existence/power!!! oh my..... I can really stop the entry HERE!............ but I won't) providing when we can't and assuring we are ok so long as we have faith. But what about those born in the "wrong" religion?
I once asked my grandmother how God would treat those who don't worship him, not because of "defiance", but because they simply were brought up in a nation that doesn't recognize Christianity and have little to no exposure to it. I'd always been taught that the bible [oh and we're gonna get to the bible in a sec] says that if you "recognize Jesus Christ as your Lord and saviour" then you're cool. Which seems that all you need to do is pray and thank Jesus for getting whipped and you've pretty much made your reservations in Heaven. And I can see why people would (want to) believe this. It's nice and comforting to think that if you just pray, you'll be ok and will be rewarded later. But I just never understood how in one instant God is all-knowing, merciful, pure and good yet simultaneously he's jealous and can't understand if someone doesn't worship him because they were born in India. And my gramma never gave me a sufficient answer. So I guess I'll just have to pray FOR my Buddhist friends. Or wait and hope that He has a change of heart.
Some responses I've encountered when questioning the bible and organized religion in general are "don't fly in the face of God" or "Don't question God's plan. That's insulting to him" Things along that line. Why is it insulting to want to know why certain things happen? I can't imagine a benevolent being that only wants/does the best for us worrying about us questioning it's divine plan. That type of mentality is reminiscent of slave masters in regards to slaves learning to read (or gaining any other type of knowledge). Only those doing questionable activities or with questionable motives don't want you to question them (haha!).
And I don't think anyone will ever be able to convince me that God is so selective in his "stepping in" decisions. God personally helped Moses free the Hebrew slaves from the Egyptians, but never blinked while Africans and African Americans suffered for hundreds of years? Nah, I will NEVER believe that. And I'm not accepting "he worked through the abolitionists and freedom fighters. so he freed them vicariously" as an excuse. No! Were our ancestors not worthy of a miracle similar to a Red Sea parting? I'd like to think so. What warrants God's personal attention and assistance? As I mentioned above, he turned water to blood and a staff into a snake to "show them who's boss." How can an all powerful being fall for such insecure emotional (i.e. human-like) pitfalls? I mean really, god really strutted his stuff like some little boy showing off the combos he learned for Mortal Kombat? "Oooh look what I can do?" Ok.... AND it was so important for God to step in and show the Egyptians who's got the biggest balls, but didn't lift a "finger" when almost 3000 folks died downtown a few years ago. Right.... (Maybe the lawd took a vacation day before my birthday)
How was God popping up occasionally for a spot of tea ALL THE TIME before Christ was born, then all of sudden decides to become a hermit? When's the last time you saw a talking, burning bush? And make no mistake, I'm not refuting the notion that God could appear as a burning bush. I'm referring to the notion that God would appear to us at one point in time, then just decided he didn't wanna hang out anymore. Am I to liken God to the kid that I hung out with in elementary school? We ain't cool no more? And conveniently none of the people who witnessed these miracles are available for confirmation. But I guess that's a coincidence.
And yes I have to be feminist for a moment. God is a man, right? Hmmm. Logically if we were to assign a sex to god shouldn't it be female since females are the ones who give birth and life in our species? But I guess we can just go along with what it says in that book written by men and not think they wrote it to their advantage. That's an option. Again, in case it's misunderstood, my argument is not whether god is male or female (but logic does dictate that if god had a sex it should be female). We could be here forever on that topic and it's not even important (although why people would make god male is something worth diving into, but it's painfully obvious anyway).What is important is why this notion is just accepted as truth.
One thing I never understood was why the devil exists. If God has all of the power why does he allow a totally evil being to exist? Is almighty setting some of us up for a fall? Either that or he knows that some of us are gonna fall and doesn't step in (again, his flightiness with our destinies is killin' me. npi). This whole notion of god being selective, spiteful, envious (and to admit it. wow) and vengeful all sound (again) humanesque. I'd like to think he'd be above these types of things.
I used to believe in Jesus. And I was so bluntly honest (despite being rather ludicrous about it) I would proclaim that I believed in Jesus because I wanted to believe there was a heaven. You can't get anymore honest than that. lol But now that I've changed my mind I find it odd to believe a Jew is the Christian's savior. In all seriousness and respect for all of my Christian friends, I'd really like an answer to this. I don't understand how it works that he was Jewish and most Jews don't believe in him [and when I say "believe" in him, I'm basically saying people who believe he was the son of god and was sent here to die for our sins. because I do believe this man existed]. Yet most Christians do. So please, I sincerely hope someone can shed some light on this for me.
I think the power of faith can be a beautiful thing, but blind faith scares the hell out of me. So many people seem to blindly go along with this notion of god w/o questioning it nor the bible nor the people telling you what the bible says. I'm more scared of that than I am that there is no higher power.
- Why is homosexuality wrong?
- Because the bible says so.
- Why is masturbation wrong?
- The bible tells me so.
Also notions of purity disturb me greatly. Abstaining from sex supposedly makes one pure. It's interesting how religion claims to not be judgmental (at least in some cases because only god can judge right?). Yet conditions like this create a set up that makes it almost obligatory for one group of people to deem themselves better than another. [I could go on and on and ON about purity and the falsehoods of it and its psychological connections to Catholic priests, but this entry is already a mile long and I still don't think I'm even close to being done lol]
Something else I'm noticing is that over the years certain sins have become more acceptable while others have what I call "high sin priority." Weren't hair cutting and eating seafood considered abominations? Now they are acceptable, but the bible hasn't changed. However, homosexuality and fornication are still wrong. How is that so much worse than going to the barber?
Yes, this entry is rooted entirely in Christian philosophy (although I generally don't agree with the notion of organized religion period). This is because of where I live. "In God we trust" is printed on our money. "One nation under God" is in our y'alls' pledge of allegiance. Our piece of shit president is trying to amend the constitution to disallow gay marriage, which begs the question why a nation that claims to have a separation of church and state makes any mention of marriage (a fundamentally religion based ritual) in its "holy doctrine."
I'm starting to think a big reason why religion has caught on as it has is because of "what if." Fear of the unknown, wanting to feel watched over, a need for answers mixed with a lot of "but what if it's true?" I mean, I may as well follow the rules, adhere to this book and do as I'm told on the off chance that all of this is right? Don't wanna burn in hell on an off chance.
But how much would your life change if this was all one big ongoing bedtime story? There's a line in the movie "Dogma" (which I'm sure is blasphemous on many counts, but that may be why I like it) when Rufus, the forgotten, Black Disciple (LOL), essentially says it's better to have an idea than to believe. Ideas can be changed, but beliefs are a lot harder to alter. I couldn't agree more. And I'm not assuming for one moment that anything I write here can change someone's mind, but I do hope that it makes you think and question. And I leave much room for me to be wrong (I am human). And if I am wrong, then Heaven will forgive me, right?
hmm.