i googled blessing

[amw]

I am fairly interested in theology. I even considered doing a masters in it, briefly. I find the history and sociology of religion fascinating. I have been to church a few times and know plenty of Bible stories. At some point in my life i used to recite the Lord's Prayer before bed each night, though i can't remember who told me to do it or why. I

Comments

[benicek]

As you probably know, Hong Kong served as a kind of accidental refuge for Chinese traditional religion during the communist period. As a child there I was an aloof foreigner observing the ‘locals’ and their funny customs, and yet it was impossible not to feel the attraction of some of these beliefs. The idea of ‘luck’ giving you an edge (which is true, of course) and there being supernatural means of somehow slightly increasing your quota of luck, and of ancestors maybe helping you a tiny bit. Even though I don’t believe it, it’s still cheering to pretend. It’s so much more immediate than Christian salvation at the end of the world.

Having said that, I’m going to try and read the King James Bible in a heavily annotated academic version. I am NOT attracted to Christianity. But I feel very ignorant not knowing this book. It underlies so much European history and the English language. I feel I must read the whole thing and try to understand, at least a bit, the bewildering complexities of its translation.

[amw]

I find ancestor and spirit worship quite appealing in its grassroots nature. I like that you can build a tiny shrine with an orange and a joss stick. Or a bottle of baijiu and some cigarettes. It feels like a lot less pomp and circumstance than the Abrahamic religions or even the more formal Eastern religions

[benicek]

I suppose lighting a candle in a church for a dead relative is the same thing, just disguised under layers of judeo-Christianity.

Even in the first pages of that Old Testament I’m finding amusing details. “The Spirit of God moved upon the face of the waters” and the academics in the footnote point out that the Hebrew is more like “the wind of the divine being swept over...”. That people place so much trust in this English version is remarkable. Also the Garden of Eden was vegetarian.

[jenndolari]

I lost my sister about two years ago. It was sudden, devastating, and mostly out of the blue (she was morbidly obese, but otherwise, didn't seem to have any problems). My family is DEEPLY Roman Catholic. I'm Wiccan. Some friends of mine showed up who were Comanche Indian. It's funny, how I felt the ceremony of it all felt flat for me. My sister is dead, her spirit gone to the winds, and there's all this pomp and circumstance going on. My personal beliefs are that she is gone, let's bury her with dignity, and hope her spirit moves on to better places. The Comanches were praying for us very very deeply and there were a few spiritual things they did with me, that I appreciated because they weren't Big Things

[amw]

Thanks for posting this 💕

I think i need some time off work where i am not looking for another job to process. It feels like there is too much going on for me right now to really think about it. I think that's okay. I don't think she's hovering around, waiting for me to deal. I'll deal how and when i need to.

[bennuheron]

MY Mom became all I have left after my Dad walked out on me...

[meowmensteen]

Oh my god, I can totally see your face in her face. You both have very different faces, but relation is uncanny.

I've told my family that it doesn't really matter what they do for me after I die. The most important thing would be to do what helps them the best to cope.

[tsuki_no_bara]

hi mom! that's a really nice picture. and i too can kind of see your face in her face, altho it's entirely possible that's just because i know she's your mom.

obviously i don't know your aunt r, but my guess is she was trying to comfort you in a way that made the most sense to her, namely the way that she'd find comforting. i would've been completely confused about the blessing too, tho.