On God.
Now is as good a time to write all this down as any.
To set the stage for why I feel I must write this now, I figure that I should give some kind of backstory. The other day, walking around campus, there were a bunch of protesters, Christian extremists, holding up signs, shouting loud accusatory insults at all who passed, telling them to accept Christ as their Lord, or face hellfire for all eternity. It was strange to see beliefs that I've grown up with twisted into such hatred and unnecessary rage. In the eyes of these zealots, all who are not with them are against them, and face damnation if they do not believe as they do. They denounced all that is in this world, with the exception of the Bible. All who stray are in the power of Satan, or so they say.
It pains me to see this. It hurts to see what religion and ethics have become in today's world. Christianity seems to be personified by these protesters, or, in a more mainstream sense, evangelicals like Pat Robertson, who seem to care more about the politics of religion than the actual faith that they should care about. Seeing what the image of the religion has become, it is no wonder why so many people seem to stray away from the Church.
And can you blame them? With so many "mega-churches" popping up across the country, and movements to teach religion in schools (creationism) and diminish the separation of church and state (gay marriage ban, vouchers for parochial schools), one can't help but think that modern Christianity is power hungry. Faith has become business.
With that said, I feel that I need to clearly state my views on faith and religion. I was raised Christian (more specifically, Methodist), and I still very much see myself as one. However, I do not count myself among those whose faith blinds them to the world around them. I feel that fighting wars to spread religion, ignoring discoveries in science in place of religious beliefs, and persecuting anyone else based on their beliefs is, in every way, uncalled for. Jesus came to save us, and teach us to love each other, yet it seems that so much hatred has evolved from twisting what He taught. It makes my heart sink to see what some people do in the name of faith, not just in Christianity, but in every religion.
I once heard that any religion will get you into Heaven if you truly believe it. This statement pretty much sums up my beliefs concerning religion. God wants us love one another, and treat each other with respect and dignity. No matter if you call Him Allah, Jehovah, Jesus, or any other name, He remains the same. "Do not kill, do not rape, do not steal- these are principles that every man of every faith can embrace." The Boondock Saints had it right. It's what you do on this Earth that God will judge you by, not the Book that you base your image of Him on.
But don't get me wrong. I do think that religion is important. But to blindly believe every single word without your own personal analysis is depriving yourself of any kind of enlightenment. Explore faith, find what is important to you, and in that, you will find God. He's a cool dude, trust me.
End of sermon.
To set the stage for why I feel I must write this now, I figure that I should give some kind of backstory. The other day, walking around campus, there were a bunch of protesters, Christian extremists, holding up signs, shouting loud accusatory insults at all who passed, telling them to accept Christ as their Lord, or face hellfire for all eternity. It was strange to see beliefs that I've grown up with twisted into such hatred and unnecessary rage. In the eyes of these zealots, all who are not with them are against them, and face damnation if they do not believe as they do. They denounced all that is in this world, with the exception of the Bible. All who stray are in the power of Satan, or so they say.
It pains me to see this. It hurts to see what religion and ethics have become in today's world. Christianity seems to be personified by these protesters, or, in a more mainstream sense, evangelicals like Pat Robertson, who seem to care more about the politics of religion than the actual faith that they should care about. Seeing what the image of the religion has become, it is no wonder why so many people seem to stray away from the Church.
And can you blame them? With so many "mega-churches" popping up across the country, and movements to teach religion in schools (creationism) and diminish the separation of church and state (gay marriage ban, vouchers for parochial schools), one can't help but think that modern Christianity is power hungry. Faith has become business.
With that said, I feel that I need to clearly state my views on faith and religion. I was raised Christian (more specifically, Methodist), and I still very much see myself as one. However, I do not count myself among those whose faith blinds them to the world around them. I feel that fighting wars to spread religion, ignoring discoveries in science in place of religious beliefs, and persecuting anyone else based on their beliefs is, in every way, uncalled for. Jesus came to save us, and teach us to love each other, yet it seems that so much hatred has evolved from twisting what He taught. It makes my heart sink to see what some people do in the name of faith, not just in Christianity, but in every religion.
I once heard that any religion will get you into Heaven if you truly believe it. This statement pretty much sums up my beliefs concerning religion. God wants us love one another, and treat each other with respect and dignity. No matter if you call Him Allah, Jehovah, Jesus, or any other name, He remains the same. "Do not kill, do not rape, do not steal- these are principles that every man of every faith can embrace." The Boondock Saints had it right. It's what you do on this Earth that God will judge you by, not the Book that you base your image of Him on.
But don't get me wrong. I do think that religion is important. But to blindly believe every single word without your own personal analysis is depriving yourself of any kind of enlightenment. Explore faith, find what is important to you, and in that, you will find God. He's a cool dude, trust me.
End of sermon.