So many people have issues with religion. Perhaps you are one of them? It is no wonder that this happens, considering what we discussed previously. It almost seems that you can't find anyone who has not had a bad experience with religion. Why is it that religions seem so contradictory so often? Almost all organizations claiming a religious purpose for existence espouse goodwill, peace, hope, nirvana, joy... while many in one way or another create a rulership of tyrannical oppressors? How does this happen? Whether it is an individual or the majority of a population following blindly behind a charismatic leader, the end result is that God's name gets dragged through the mud so that someones agenda or motives can get advanced.
If God could step in at this point and say something in His defence, what would it be. It is impossible to suppose that He supports everything that has been done in His name. But what does He thinks about the way you were hurt? Does He care? If you were in God's shoes, what would you say to you about the pain that you have suffered. It is my belief that God loves us in a way that we can never possibly understand. He loved us enough to create us, design us in a special way that never existed before us. He layed out a special plan for us that would bring about more joy and fulfillment than we could hope to lay out for ourselves. However, if God forced us to follow His plan, He would be nothing more than a tyrant that forced His plan on us. I've said it once, I will say it again, God's ways are not within our ability to understand. So why did He allow the suffering that you have experienced? Why did you have to go through the things that you have gone through? Seen the things you have seen? I don't know. I may never know. I do know this though, He loves you in a way that you have never been loved before. The things that you do now to mask your pain will not gain you anything. The things that you are pouring yourself into accomplishing will not fulfill you. Your destiny is an interesting thing. It is simultaneously a thing of your choosing and a masterful design crafted by the Creator of all things. God has something He wants to tell you. He has tried many ways, and now He is using this blog to try once again to get your attention. Will you give Him a chance?
Wednesday, April 18, 2007
Saturday, April 14, 2007
What Does God Think About Religion?
Please note: This post is not even close to complete. It needs quite a bit more editing (and needs to be finished) However, I really just needed to post something because if I don't I am going to explode. This is just the beginning. If you are interested in this concept let me know.
DS
I think this is a very appropriate jumping off point for this exercise. After all, if God exists and provided that he doesn't have low self-esteem, than He believes in Himself. So, if God believes in God what religion does He follow? Is He Muslim? Buddhist? Christian? Jewish? Does He subscribe to all of them much the same way that we subscribe to magazines? Is every religion wrong? Would God sit through your religious ceremonies or would He sneak out the back door to go play golf? Many religions carry with them the belief that God is in fact in attendance for their services. What point would it be to pay homage to the One that you adore if He wasn’t paying attention? Before we attempt to come to a conclusion on this matter, we should come to a consensus on the definition of religion.
For starters, I am not referring here to the “Spear of Destiny” album Religion (1997). Also, since much debate and thought has been exchanged on this subject, I will not try to duplicate these efforts here. I will quote the introduction to the subject on Wikipedia (link to “what does God think about Wikipedia”). Included in this quote are all the original links to other Wiki-articles pertaining to this vastly complex subject. Please feel free to explore the subject as thoroughly or as briefly as you would like and then return here for the conclusion on the matter. Without any further ado, here is how Wikipedia defines religion…
Religion: “A religion is a set of beliefs and practices generally held by a human community, involving adherence to codified beliefs and rituals and study of ancestral or cultural traditions, writings, history, and mythology, as well as personal faith and mystic experience. The term "religion" refers to both the personal practices related to communal faith and to group rituals and communication stemming from shared conviction.
All patriarchal religions present a common quality, the "hallmark of patriarchal religious thought": the division of the world in two comprehensive domains, one sacred, the other profane. [1] Religion is often described as a communal system for the coherence of belief focusing on a system of thought, unseen being, person, or object, that is considered to be supernatural, sacred, divine, or of the highest truth. Moral codes, practices, values, institutions, tradition, rituals, and scriptures are often traditionally associated with the core belief, and these may have some overlap with concepts in secular philosophy. Religion is also often described as a "way of life".
The development of religion has taken many forms in various cultures. "Organized religion" generally refers to an organization of people supporting the exercise of some religion with a prescribed set of beliefs, often taking the form of a legal entity (see religion-supporting organization). Other religions believe in personal revelation and responsibility. "Religion" is sometimes used interchangeably with "faith" or "belief system,"[2] but is more socially defined than that of personal convictions.”
Wikipedia later summarizes several encyclopedias definition of religion as “A general term used... to designate all concepts concerning the belief in god(s) and goddess(es) as well as other spiritual beings or transcendental ultimate concerns"[5] and "human beings' relation to that which they regard as holy, sacred, spiritual, or divine”
To try to encapsulate every use of the word religion is futile. There are some things that simply aren’t worth the journey. The simple goal in this post is to answer the question, “What does God think about religion?” How does He feel about all of the actions that have been done, good or bad, in His Name? No matter how you define religion, the answer to that question cannot have a uniform answer. Is there any possible way that God could be simultaneously pleased with both sides of the medieval crusades? Both the Christians/Catholics and the Muslims claimed to fight in the name of God or Allah. So if we use “anything done in the Name of God” as our definition we cannot say that He approves or disapproves of religion. Quite literally we could spend as much time arguing about God’s thoughts toward religion as we could arguing about whether or not He exists. We could also spend a lot of time disagreeing about which particular religion has the most accurate understanding of who God is. Atheists, I don’t blame you for doubting the existence of God on this point alone. It is entirely possible to take two people from the same congregation of believers and find their opinion about what God is like to be diametrically opposed. One might consider God to be a loving and forgiving “daddy” that would never condemn even a single person to any punishment at all. Hell does not exist and everyone goes to heaven when they die. The other person preaches fire and brimstone to everyone he meets. He believes that only the perfectly righteous will make it into heaven. Recent studies have found that a great deal of our perception of what God is like is based on our relationship with our fathers. But, how can God... (to be continued)
DS
I think this is a very appropriate jumping off point for this exercise. After all, if God exists and provided that he doesn't have low self-esteem, than He believes in Himself. So, if God believes in God what religion does He follow? Is He Muslim? Buddhist? Christian? Jewish? Does He subscribe to all of them much the same way that we subscribe to magazines? Is every religion wrong? Would God sit through your religious ceremonies or would He sneak out the back door to go play golf? Many religions carry with them the belief that God is in fact in attendance for their services. What point would it be to pay homage to the One that you adore if He wasn’t paying attention? Before we attempt to come to a conclusion on this matter, we should come to a consensus on the definition of religion.
For starters, I am not referring here to the “Spear of Destiny” album Religion (1997). Also, since much debate and thought has been exchanged on this subject, I will not try to duplicate these efforts here. I will quote the introduction to the subject on Wikipedia (link to “what does God think about Wikipedia”). Included in this quote are all the original links to other Wiki-articles pertaining to this vastly complex subject. Please feel free to explore the subject as thoroughly or as briefly as you would like and then return here for the conclusion on the matter. Without any further ado, here is how Wikipedia defines religion…
Religion: “A religion is a set of beliefs and practices generally held by a human community, involving adherence to codified beliefs and rituals and study of ancestral or cultural traditions, writings, history, and mythology, as well as personal faith and mystic experience. The term "religion" refers to both the personal practices related to communal faith and to group rituals and communication stemming from shared conviction.
All patriarchal religions present a common quality, the "hallmark of patriarchal religious thought": the division of the world in two comprehensive domains, one sacred, the other profane. [1] Religion is often described as a communal system for the coherence of belief focusing on a system of thought, unseen being, person, or object, that is considered to be supernatural, sacred, divine, or of the highest truth. Moral codes, practices, values, institutions, tradition, rituals, and scriptures are often traditionally associated with the core belief, and these may have some overlap with concepts in secular philosophy. Religion is also often described as a "way of life".
The development of religion has taken many forms in various cultures. "Organized religion" generally refers to an organization of people supporting the exercise of some religion with a prescribed set of beliefs, often taking the form of a legal entity (see religion-supporting organization). Other religions believe in personal revelation and responsibility. "Religion" is sometimes used interchangeably with "faith" or "belief system,"[2] but is more socially defined than that of personal convictions.”
Wikipedia later summarizes several encyclopedias definition of religion as “A general term used... to designate all concepts concerning the belief in god(s) and goddess(es) as well as other spiritual beings or transcendental ultimate concerns"[5] and "human beings' relation to that which they regard as holy, sacred, spiritual, or divine”
To try to encapsulate every use of the word religion is futile. There are some things that simply aren’t worth the journey. The simple goal in this post is to answer the question, “What does God think about religion?” How does He feel about all of the actions that have been done, good or bad, in His Name? No matter how you define religion, the answer to that question cannot have a uniform answer. Is there any possible way that God could be simultaneously pleased with both sides of the medieval crusades? Both the Christians/Catholics and the Muslims claimed to fight in the name of God or Allah. So if we use “anything done in the Name of God” as our definition we cannot say that He approves or disapproves of religion. Quite literally we could spend as much time arguing about God’s thoughts toward religion as we could arguing about whether or not He exists. We could also spend a lot of time disagreeing about which particular religion has the most accurate understanding of who God is. Atheists, I don’t blame you for doubting the existence of God on this point alone. It is entirely possible to take two people from the same congregation of believers and find their opinion about what God is like to be diametrically opposed. One might consider God to be a loving and forgiving “daddy” that would never condemn even a single person to any punishment at all. Hell does not exist and everyone goes to heaven when they die. The other person preaches fire and brimstone to everyone he meets. He believes that only the perfectly righteous will make it into heaven. Recent studies have found that a great deal of our perception of what God is like is based on our relationship with our fathers. But, how can God... (to be continued)
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