Our God says there ain't no other
(from Dumb all Over by Frank Zappa)
A long rambling on my personal thoughts on religion: My official position on the existence of God - on a rational level - is that there is no way I can know if God exists. I can never know if there is an afterlife either - until I am put in the position of finding out anyways. Technically though - we rely on our senses for information and have to go on faith that whatever they tell us is really what we are seeing, and hearing. Something inside me in faith on a non-rational level tells me that there is something magical, spiritual, and powerful out there and based on my Judaic upbringing, it makes it a lot easier for me to refer to that entity or being as God - so I do. It seems to make my life better as well, and gives me a sense of relation to the rest of the world. The local miserable couple I once referred to makes it a point to not believe and mock this notion, and the man seems to think the whole world revolves him, that he is entitled to have everything he has instead of being grateful for it, and that is serving as his downfall. Even on a psychological level, the ego has a relation to its much larger and broader self, so that is mirrored in the human/God relationship. It just works for me - and maybe it is my opiate of the masses, but it makes for good song writing material. So - in short - on a non-rational heart level, God exists for me in my heart, but rationally - I can only go by science, which has not proven anything and is also ultimately based on a series of assumptions - and that is where I stand. I guess living out in such an incredibly scenic series of mountains out here, and getting to travel through the Sierras, it is hard not to believe in something mighty powerful.
I cannot quantify or label something that I ultimately can never really know, so to write a book about it to me would be pointless. My religious book is a series of blank empty pages - we can all fill in the blanks. That is why the notion of following any book as the explicit word of God to me is ridiculous, and why I will never subscribe to or belong to any one religion. I think the more you try to write about it and describe it, the further you get from it per the "statements just seem vain at last" line from Terrapin Station.
That being said - I believe that everyone is entitled to believe whatever the heck they want to, as long as no harm is being imposed on others. That is part of my value system - that others should not be hurt and that we should all do our part to get along and make the world a better place. So - ultimately - that is why I have a problem with a lot of Christian people. It probably does not help that in my religious school days us Jews were taught to look at Christians with a lot of suspicion. From what I know about Christianity, I like a lot of the teachings. "Living Buddha, Living Christ" is a book by a Vietnamese Buddhist monk that draws the parallel of the two religions, and suggests Christ was influenced by Buddhism, a religion that has a lot of nice teachings as well. Getting along, loving one's neighbor, serving humanity - who can complain about any of that. The problem I have - not with the religion - but a lot of people practicing it - is the notion that they are right, and everyone else is wrong - and those of us not fortunate enough to get it are spending an eternity in hell. Sure - it is a built in conversion mechanism that allows those who believe to try to convince others through emotional blackmail, but I find that aspect very offensive. I personally think it is a twisted notion that Jesus Christ personally would have never actually stated himself if he is the wise man we think he is. Also - the you're not one of us notion that if you don't go to church, you are excluded - as we often find ourselves - I find to be pretty insulting. I won't even get into the sin and hurt people all you want, as long as you go to church, you can be absolved so that you can continue to hurt - but I have seen a lot of that too. I don't think "God" or Jesus is there to absolve one of personal responsibility and consequences. Yet - there are a lot of great Christian people who really care about helping others more than imposing their beliefs, so - like with any group, there are some bad apples in there.
There are more religions than we can count according to Joesph Campbell, and a lot of them borrow upon the same symbols (like the serpent) and for one to say that they are the right one, and the exclusive one is kind of like walking into Baskin Robbins and being told you can only have vanilla ice cream. I saw a shirt that says God is too big to fit inside one religion. Whatever you believe in, if people could have the ability and security within themselves to respect themselves and others, regardless of the difference of beliefs, than think about how many wars, genocides, tortures (in the name of religious crusades) and hurt could be or could have been avoided. Maybe even people would not find it necessary to blow themselves up in a crowd of people.
Anyway - I am thankful and grateful for my existence, and that being said - it is time for breakfast.
A long rambling on my personal thoughts on religion: My official position on the existence of God - on a rational level - is that there is no way I can know if God exists. I can never know if there is an afterlife either - until I am put in the position of finding out anyways. Technically though - we rely on our senses for information and have to go on faith that whatever they tell us is really what we are seeing, and hearing. Something inside me in faith on a non-rational level tells me that there is something magical, spiritual, and powerful out there and based on my Judaic upbringing, it makes it a lot easier for me to refer to that entity or being as God - so I do. It seems to make my life better as well, and gives me a sense of relation to the rest of the world. The local miserable couple I once referred to makes it a point to not believe and mock this notion, and the man seems to think the whole world revolves him, that he is entitled to have everything he has instead of being grateful for it, and that is serving as his downfall. Even on a psychological level, the ego has a relation to its much larger and broader self, so that is mirrored in the human/God relationship. It just works for me - and maybe it is my opiate of the masses, but it makes for good song writing material. So - in short - on a non-rational heart level, God exists for me in my heart, but rationally - I can only go by science, which has not proven anything and is also ultimately based on a series of assumptions - and that is where I stand. I guess living out in such an incredibly scenic series of mountains out here, and getting to travel through the Sierras, it is hard not to believe in something mighty powerful.
I cannot quantify or label something that I ultimately can never really know, so to write a book about it to me would be pointless. My religious book is a series of blank empty pages - we can all fill in the blanks. That is why the notion of following any book as the explicit word of God to me is ridiculous, and why I will never subscribe to or belong to any one religion. I think the more you try to write about it and describe it, the further you get from it per the "statements just seem vain at last" line from Terrapin Station.
That being said - I believe that everyone is entitled to believe whatever the heck they want to, as long as no harm is being imposed on others. That is part of my value system - that others should not be hurt and that we should all do our part to get along and make the world a better place. So - ultimately - that is why I have a problem with a lot of Christian people. It probably does not help that in my religious school days us Jews were taught to look at Christians with a lot of suspicion. From what I know about Christianity, I like a lot of the teachings. "Living Buddha, Living Christ" is a book by a Vietnamese Buddhist monk that draws the parallel of the two religions, and suggests Christ was influenced by Buddhism, a religion that has a lot of nice teachings as well. Getting along, loving one's neighbor, serving humanity - who can complain about any of that. The problem I have - not with the religion - but a lot of people practicing it - is the notion that they are right, and everyone else is wrong - and those of us not fortunate enough to get it are spending an eternity in hell. Sure - it is a built in conversion mechanism that allows those who believe to try to convince others through emotional blackmail, but I find that aspect very offensive. I personally think it is a twisted notion that Jesus Christ personally would have never actually stated himself if he is the wise man we think he is. Also - the you're not one of us notion that if you don't go to church, you are excluded - as we often find ourselves - I find to be pretty insulting. I won't even get into the sin and hurt people all you want, as long as you go to church, you can be absolved so that you can continue to hurt - but I have seen a lot of that too. I don't think "God" or Jesus is there to absolve one of personal responsibility and consequences. Yet - there are a lot of great Christian people who really care about helping others more than imposing their beliefs, so - like with any group, there are some bad apples in there.
There are more religions than we can count according to Joesph Campbell, and a lot of them borrow upon the same symbols (like the serpent) and for one to say that they are the right one, and the exclusive one is kind of like walking into Baskin Robbins and being told you can only have vanilla ice cream. I saw a shirt that says God is too big to fit inside one religion. Whatever you believe in, if people could have the ability and security within themselves to respect themselves and others, regardless of the difference of beliefs, than think about how many wars, genocides, tortures (in the name of religious crusades) and hurt could be or could have been avoided. Maybe even people would not find it necessary to blow themselves up in a crowd of people.
Anyway - I am thankful and grateful for my existence, and that being said - it is time for breakfast.
posted by Zook at 5:44 AM
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