I am not religious or at least not what most people would consider religious, but before I tell you about that, a little background first…Once upon a time, not so long ago, I used to do a regular feature called, I Comment Therefore I Am, in which I put together a weekly post from either comments I had left on other blogs or comments that were left on this blog. I’ve stopped doing it as a regular feature, but sometimes it begs to be revived and this is one of those times.
One of the best parts of blogging and reading blogs is the conversation and exchange of ideas that is made possible by commenting. Sometimes a post can be so thought-provoking that I end up leaving a comment that could be a post of its own. That’s exactly what happened when I read Mrs. 4444’s post, In Which I Am Enlightened by Athiests. Now, I wouldn’t call myself an atheist, I am much more of an agnostic. This is the comment I left on that post…
I have a deep and abiding belief in the oneness of all of us. I call it the Universe. I do not pretend to know what came before or what comes after (if anything at all) and I’m not really concerned because I am more concerned and invested in the now. Now is all we have for sure. I believe we are responsible for ourselves, but being that we are all one and all in this together we can not pretend that we are not responsible for all. I’m not sure if I am making sense, but it makes sense to me. I feel that many people think you have to be religious to have morals, I disagree. I think of the whole Judeo-Christian tradition/story as another mythology. I heard a college professor say, “Christian mythology” and to me a huge light bulb went off and I understood that for me that is exactly what it is: mythology. All mythologies have useful stories and guides by which to live our lives. I think that at our core there is humanity and our morality stems from our humanity or our lack of it. Of course it is more complicated than that because some of us are truly insane and that is when the whole being responsible for each other thing plays out. Too many people are not well or whole and we just leave them be because they are not our problem, but they are our problem. Apparently, I have much to say on the subject. Thanks for the opportunity to express some of it.
I have many readers who have a deep and abiding faith and I respect them and their faith and have no problem reading about it, but I do not share it. For a long time I didn’t write about my beliefs or lack thereof, but then one day I decided that I shouldn’t have to keep my beliefs a secret so I wrote, Are You There God? It’s Me Mami and I explained myself and no one got mad at me, no one called me a heathen.
I profoundly appreciate being able to be challenged by others. I appreciate that we can share our beliefs whether they are the same or not. I appreciate blog posts that make me think and examine where I’m at spiritually and I appreciate being able to leave comments on those posts.
What about you? Comment to share?
I’ve come to the conclusion that there are many different belief systems and whatever people believe is their choice. Making the world better is the ultimate goal for me. What path we take to get there is an individualistic choice.
I was raised Catholic, but I haven’t been to church in about 30 years; I lost interest when my first husband cheated on me and the church insisted I was going to hell for getting a divorce. I try to live by the golden rule..do unto others as you would have them do unto you. I have no problem with different belief systems, as long as no one tries to force theirs on me.
I think you would have been living in hell if you didn’t divorce him. I was raised Catholic as well.
thanks for sharing that Eva. I have a similar experience. Long established churches do have a hard time with changing. The accepted relationship between men and women has changed (about time and maybe not enough yet – different topic) but the Catholic church which has a bias toward men hasn’t changed much. Regarding divorce, I was amazed that the Catholic church could annul a marriage that took place in another religion. To me the whole annulment process was all about giving them money. It really turned me off.
That was a great post that Mrs 4444 did. If I understand you correctly (this stuff can get confusing) you are not worried about how we got here or what was responsible for us being here. Your concern is the present and making it better. I agree. “what comes after” – you mean death, heaven, hell, doomsday, etc? Because what comes after now is the future. Every parent should be concerned about the future at some level. I suspect you are. I also agree about responsibility which can be tricky thing to teach and implement. Some look for answers in old translated books. You can find good guidance there but our knowledge has advanced so translating those ideas to our language and our modern culture could produce some errors.
thanks for a thought provoking post.
I tried commenting on said post but I couldn’t find the words, I thought it was a very good post but I didn’t feel like I had anything to add. As far as believing goes, I was raised Christian by parents who have been a little on the extreme side but I was given the freedom (even though ultimately it’s been hard for them to accept) to decide how I believe for myself. I don’t feel bound by believing in God and knowing he’s there, praying, trying to live right, those type of things. But I do feel bound by the Christian lifestyle and by other Christians, which is why I’m very picky about the Christians I’m actually friends with and I tend to sway towards atheists and agnostics because for the most part they don’t say one thing and do another. I do tend to stay away from anyone of any religion or non-religion who is EXTREME.
I appreciate how open and honest you are and I feel like as long as someone has peace with what they believe, that’s what matters. We should be able to read someone’s perspective and respect it and for the hope of maintaining friendship ask questions if we don’t understand. I will have to go back to that post and read Are You There God, It’s Me Mami.
There are so many different beliefs and religions. They all have the similarity of goodness. No matter what your beliefs are – I think as long as you live a good life, treat others with respect and show kindness… then you make the world a better place.
Religion is definitely one of those hot button topics but it goes so much more smoothly when people aren’t trying to convince or convert one another. I happen to share a lot of your beliefs so I may be a bit biased in feeling that what you wrote is not at all incendiary.
I was raised Catholic but left religion many many years ago and currently live in the “Bible Belt” of California so it can be a little difficult for me at times. When I was younger I was very angry and outspoken about my thoughts on religion, which is not always positive. With age I’ve become a little more considerate (I hope) and can better see the positive aspects of religion (although it is still not for me). Thank you for sharing and starting a conversation.
This is exactly how I feel. I don’t often talk about it but when asked, I tell people I’m agnostic and I tend to get a “Oh… I’m sorry to hear that” type reactions. I respect religion and have come across many wonderful religious people. But I’m not ashamed to be agnostic and like you, I do not feel lost.
I grew up watching religion pull people apart and turn good people against each other, perhaps that’s why. I love how you talked about being more invested in the NOW. I believe that it doesn’t matter whether there is a higher power because we should all still live our lives to the best of our abilities; not because we seek good karma or a spot in heaven… just simply because we can and that’s the way it should be.
I am at peace with the world.
I’m with you 100%. Thanks for sharing. I don’t really get into it with my family very much because they are all very Catholic and my ideas are too out there as far as they are concerned, so I just respectfully listen to what they believe and keep my mouth shut (for the most part).
My relationship with God would be classified on Facebook as “it’s complicated”. Raised in church but as an adult, not fond of most organized religion. Considered myself spiritual but events of the last year have seriously shaken my faith.
But I do believe that above all we have a responsibility to take care of one another. And I also greatly identify with the Native American “Great Spirit” philosophy.
I am a Christian. However, I am put off by people who live for heaven, for some other day. It’s about now. It’s about living in the moment. My theology has changed over the years. I am a kingdom now sorta person, which I think means that I believe that God wants us to restore and renew the bits and pieces of creation around us. It’s not about the sweet by and by. It’s about what we do today that matters. I am not fond of rules, either. As other people have posted, religion often weighs people down with all sorts of stuff that is not about God at all. Jesus’ had his harshest words for the religious crowd, not the ordinary person who lived in his time. I wish more church people would think about their rigid belief systems and harsh judgments and how little that reflects the love of God as reflected in the Jesus of the Gospels.
I despise religion…..
That’s right I have hundreds of posts about my faith in God and Jesus, my “name” is Blessed So and So and I despise religion.
I am not religious, I don’t like to go on and on about what God is against – I am Christian – I do believe that Christ died for my sins and is my saviour and I do believe I am filled with the Holy Spirit and guided by that spirit every second of my life. I believe that being a Christian is nothing about morals and all about Christ’s love for everyone! An individual’s set of morals has little or nothing to do with their beliefs. Christians, Buddhists, Muslims, Atheists, Agonistics and so and so forth can all have excellent morals. Likewise – Christians, Buddhists, Muslims, Atheists, Agonistics and so and so forth can all have really horrible morals.
I also believe that your quality of character, whether or not you are a “good” person isn’t tied to your beliefs. I also believe that time spent trying to “convert” someone from one way or another is a waste. I know for me being a Christian I heard a Johnny Cash song line once – “You ain’t got no argument for what I feel inside.” To me that’s the foundation of it all – I can’t argue what I know in my heart and you can’t argue against it.
Does that make sense? Does it make me sound like a red neck, small town, bigot?? I sure hope not…..
No, I think this particular comment makes you seem more open-minded than most.