Organized religion? Helpful or Harmful? My phaser is set on RANT MODE!
Today I read an article about the organizer of a summer youth camp for Harry Potter fans in Latvia. Apparently the organizer is getting threats from some militant Christians that want the camp shut down. When I read this I was totally outraged because if any of these so-called Christians that decry the evils of the HP books would actually read them they would see that the galvanizing themes of the HP books are good triumphing over evil, self-sacrifice, love being the truest power of all, having faith in the face of seemingly hopeless odds, facing your fears and overcoming them, and friendship. I would say those are some of the most Christian themes around!
But, this just brought up something that is on my mind a lot and I needed to rant about it. Growing up faith and spirituality were things that were always discussed in my home. My parents havwere always pretty free-thinking and never forced any particular religious affiliation on any of us. We came to have our own personal relationships with God in or own ways and I've always been thankful for that. My parents always encouraged their children to open their minds and not believe everything that was told to them. My mother in particular was never a fan of organized religion and I never really understood fully why until I got older. Because, I think for my mother, and I know particularly for myself, I see organized religion as just as much of a hinderance to it's followers as it can be a help to them.
Now, I don't think there is anything wrong with believing in God. I do and I consider myself a Christian. I do my best to live my life by Christ's example, trying to be the best person I can be, but I have never really liked the "them vs us" mentality that seems to permeate organized religion. Christianity was supposed to be an inclusive faith. Christ came not just to save the Jews but to save the gentiles. He was an equal opportunity Messiah. He wanted everyone to feel God's love and he also wanted everyone (regardless of class, occupation, religion or past sins) to find salvation through him.
Today, thsoe principles of Christianity seem to have gotten lost. Now, more often than not we hear about Christians or Christian groups that rather than being inclusive, want to silence everyone who doesn't believe exactly as they do or act like they do, or look like they do. I find it really hard to believe that Jesus would be down with that kind of behavior.
Lately my 2 biggest issues with organized religion have been the constant attacks on the HP books and the way organized religion as a whole treats the GLBT community. I think that if you have raised your children to have good morals, and to live thier lives by Christ's example than reading about an 11 year old boy doing spells and flying on a brooom isn't going to sway them to sin, or devil worship or whatever other horrible things their paranoid minds can come up with. Any child old enough to actually read the HP books on their own is old enough to know that magic and spells aren't real. It's fantasy and it teaches good, moral lessons in a way that kids can understand and relate to. How is that a bad thing?
As for the religious right's stand on GLBT that just makes me angry. I consider myself pretty conservative and I'm a registered republican, but unlike a lot of conservative, Christian republicans I don't think we have the right to tell consenting adults how they can and cannot live thier lives. If two men are in love and in a committed relationship and want to take it to the next level and marry, then they should have the right to do that. If they want to adopt children, they should have that right too.
Why should I be allowed to marry and raise a family simply because I happened to be born heterosexual? What makes me better than a gay couple? Straight people can get married in Vegas and get it annuled 3 days later, then do it again the next week and that's ok, but a gay couple that has been together for 10 years isn't allowed to stand up and say vows legally? How wrong is that?
I am so tired of narrow-minded Christians and Muslim extremists using the Bible and the Koran as weapons of hate. For the last 2000 years the Bible and the Koran have both been used to justify the personal hatred and bigotry of enumerable groups. And I have to wonder if we wouldn't be better off without organized religion period. Sure, churches and other religious grops do good works in ther communities, but when you hold those good works up against things like the Crusades, persecution of the Jews throughout the centuries,persecution of gays, persecution of blacks, suicide bombing, ethnic cleansing, random jihads and the subjegation of women is it really such a good thing?
I just wish we could get away from religious groups having so much influence on the world.I wish people would take the initiative to empower and educate themselves instead of letting their ministers or their rabbis or their clerics do it for them. I think if people had a better grasp of their own religious histories it would go a long way to making them think twice about their own behavior. We should all be free to believe what we want and we should all be free to live how we want as long as we don't hurt anyone else. Instead of trying to pass defense of marriage laws maybe we should spend a little time trying to pass a few laws that make everyone equal in this country instead.
Ok, rant over. I'm tired and I need ice cream, damnit!
But, this just brought up something that is on my mind a lot and I needed to rant about it. Growing up faith and spirituality were things that were always discussed in my home. My parents havwere always pretty free-thinking and never forced any particular religious affiliation on any of us. We came to have our own personal relationships with God in or own ways and I've always been thankful for that. My parents always encouraged their children to open their minds and not believe everything that was told to them. My mother in particular was never a fan of organized religion and I never really understood fully why until I got older. Because, I think for my mother, and I know particularly for myself, I see organized religion as just as much of a hinderance to it's followers as it can be a help to them.
Now, I don't think there is anything wrong with believing in God. I do and I consider myself a Christian. I do my best to live my life by Christ's example, trying to be the best person I can be, but I have never really liked the "them vs us" mentality that seems to permeate organized religion. Christianity was supposed to be an inclusive faith. Christ came not just to save the Jews but to save the gentiles. He was an equal opportunity Messiah. He wanted everyone to feel God's love and he also wanted everyone (regardless of class, occupation, religion or past sins) to find salvation through him.
Today, thsoe principles of Christianity seem to have gotten lost. Now, more often than not we hear about Christians or Christian groups that rather than being inclusive, want to silence everyone who doesn't believe exactly as they do or act like they do, or look like they do. I find it really hard to believe that Jesus would be down with that kind of behavior.
Lately my 2 biggest issues with organized religion have been the constant attacks on the HP books and the way organized religion as a whole treats the GLBT community. I think that if you have raised your children to have good morals, and to live thier lives by Christ's example than reading about an 11 year old boy doing spells and flying on a brooom isn't going to sway them to sin, or devil worship or whatever other horrible things their paranoid minds can come up with. Any child old enough to actually read the HP books on their own is old enough to know that magic and spells aren't real. It's fantasy and it teaches good, moral lessons in a way that kids can understand and relate to. How is that a bad thing?
As for the religious right's stand on GLBT that just makes me angry. I consider myself pretty conservative and I'm a registered republican, but unlike a lot of conservative, Christian republicans I don't think we have the right to tell consenting adults how they can and cannot live thier lives. If two men are in love and in a committed relationship and want to take it to the next level and marry, then they should have the right to do that. If they want to adopt children, they should have that right too.
Why should I be allowed to marry and raise a family simply because I happened to be born heterosexual? What makes me better than a gay couple? Straight people can get married in Vegas and get it annuled 3 days later, then do it again the next week and that's ok, but a gay couple that has been together for 10 years isn't allowed to stand up and say vows legally? How wrong is that?
I am so tired of narrow-minded Christians and Muslim extremists using the Bible and the Koran as weapons of hate. For the last 2000 years the Bible and the Koran have both been used to justify the personal hatred and bigotry of enumerable groups. And I have to wonder if we wouldn't be better off without organized religion period. Sure, churches and other religious grops do good works in ther communities, but when you hold those good works up against things like the Crusades, persecution of the Jews throughout the centuries,persecution of gays, persecution of blacks, suicide bombing, ethnic cleansing, random jihads and the subjegation of women is it really such a good thing?
I just wish we could get away from religious groups having so much influence on the world.I wish people would take the initiative to empower and educate themselves instead of letting their ministers or their rabbis or their clerics do it for them. I think if people had a better grasp of their own religious histories it would go a long way to making them think twice about their own behavior. We should all be free to believe what we want and we should all be free to live how we want as long as we don't hurt anyone else. Instead of trying to pass defense of marriage laws maybe we should spend a little time trying to pass a few laws that make everyone equal in this country instead.
Ok, rant over. I'm tired and I need ice cream, damnit!