I've been pondering the faith / religion issue lately as I do often. I guess after much thought I would have to say I have faith. I have faith in a higher power. I personally call this higher power God. What I don't think I have is a religion. I have tried many religions. I was a member of the Catholic Church, the Church of Christ and the Methodist Church. I have attended services at those churches and many more (Lutheran, Assembly of God, Pentecostal). I have also read about some non-Christian religions. So I guess you get the picture when I say I looked really hard for a religion to fit into.
I don't fit into any of them. I guess its because somewhere along the way when I was learning about Jesus I got the impression that he didn't judge people or force them into his beliefs. I thought he led by example. Now a lot of "religious" people I have come into contact with (not all but some) seem to think that if you aren't living exactly the way they do then you are not worthy of their time. Hence my reason for pretty much staying away from religion now.
I have always been able to get along with people even if we believed totally different things. Example: I don't drink alcohol but if someone else wants to do so its their body and their choice. I feel this way with just about every issue. I only ask that other people respect my right to live the way I choose to live.
Everyone makes mistakes and bad choices in their lives at some point and what may be a wrong choice for one person might be a right choice for another. I will never know why some people make the choices they make and having never been where they have been I can't say I would have made a different choice.
Quoting Locke from Lost "You can't MAKE anyone do anything." (That might not be the EXACT quote but it was something close to that.)
2 comments:
Hey Mortal one .... I know where you're coming from. Four years ago I decided to join the Catholic Church (even though I was technically Catholic already, having been baptized as one as an infant because Mom was Catholic) but before that I was FAR from church. But, I always believed in God, not "church." Too many people get caught up in the trappings of "church" and "religion" and lose sight of what's important - faith and belief and truly living Christ's teachings. I've known lots of "religious people" and they were some of the most bitter, mean people you can imagine. No wonder so many people get turned off by Christianity.
Amen A.W.
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