The self-righteous-religious-fanatic who keeps on using the name of God in almost all her sentences and yet gossips about the life of others.
A preacher who keeps on telling us about a merciful God and yet talks about punishment and how souls are hell-bound if ‘donations’ for the church are not made. (which gives me two points for reconsideration:
First, it’s an implicit way of saying that you must join their religion if you want to be saved,
and secondly, donations are defined with a specific percentage of your income.) ok, I don’t intend to wage a war against beliefs here, all I am trying to imply is that donations should be done wholeheartedly. Some does that, but I doubt if everyone really gives the ‘real’ percentage of their income.
Incidentally, faith without reason breeds mediocrity, and religions nowadays are doing the exact opposite of what Jesus preached. (or what they are really meant to do.)
Quoting the song Holy Wars by Megadeth:
How many times have religion been used to justify twisted and selfish goals? How many times has religion factionalized the unity that’s supposed to be attained? How many times has religion inflicted damage to the unwary and unwilling?
They claim that judgment belongs to God alone, but how come that some religions act as the accusers and judges at the same time? Is it because they ‘speak for God’?
The problem with religiosity is that we define ourselves with the standards of the religion we belong to and thus, we follow every doctrine and dogma just to attain salvation. We fail to see the real essence of our faith, i.e. spirituality. It’s like focusing on a marriage contract but there’s no love present, Or perhaps, doing something by the book even if we already are misfiring the real intent why we do such thing in the first place.
This is what I’ve been teaching my son earlier. We played the xbox “warriors of rock” to enjoy and have fun. When I told him that we will play, he started getting excited and he even change to his rock and roll clothes. (a fitted pants and a cute leather jacket, plus some clip earrings.) While playing, he became too engrossed in the game, until it reached the point that he became very competitive (and I mean VERY competitive.) since he is still too young to master the songs (as well as his hand, eye, ears coordination) he lost to me. I admit that I have the advantage, since those songs were my musical influences (plus I already know the beats of each song by heart.)
After playing 2 songs, he became very disappointed and said “I QUIT”. That’s the time that I gave him a heart to heart, father-son talk about sportsmanship. He didn’t get that part yet, but when I asked him what was the reason why we played the game, he stopped and think for a while. I tried to make him remember the real intent and the real goal that we want to achieve today. We want to have fun, and so we did. So when I asked him, what’s wrong then? Are we having fun or should we stop na lang? That moment was majestic as I saw the twinkling of his eyes which was more like an episode in a cartoons where a light bulb flashes on top a characters head whenever they get an amazing idea. (and don’t forget the DING! Sound effect)
Anyway, my point here is that, religions are meant to be instruments for people to attain spirituality (which is the primary goal of human beings in need of a divine.) But I will not also disregard those people who don’t have that need. I mean, I’ve been there and there’s nothing wrong with that. We all have different needs, we all have different interpretations, but what’s more important than all these, is whether we still respect humanity. Religions, race, organizations, society – these are all constructs to maximize the unity and bond of human beings. These things were made to make connections and not to destroy those connections.
We have to re-interpret the narratives already stated, we have to find those things that satisfy our needs (cognitive, physical, emotional or spiritual) but not in a twisted and selfish way where respect will be sacrificed.
I was smiling when I’ve read Pope Francis statement earlier, he mentioned:
"Through humility, soul searching, and prayerful contemplation we have gained a new understanding of certain dogmas. The church no longer believes in a literal hell where people suffer. This doctrine is incompatible with the infinite love of God. God is not a judge but a friend and a lover of humanity. God seeks not to condemn but only to embrace. Like the fable of Adam and Eve, we see hell as a literary device. Hell is merely a metaphor for the isolated soul, which like all souls ultimately will be united in love with God.”
In what seems like an act of excommunication to most traditional religious leaders, I think the Pope has a point. This is evolution at its best, ideas, thoughts, dogmas and doctrines must also evolve to answer the needs of an ever changing environment. Failure to do so would render faith extinct. Looking at it, we do have to focus on God’s mercy, forgiveness and the most important of all, Love. Heaven is not a place that we go to after we die, rather, it’s a place of peace which can be achieved in the here and the now. We have to do away with religious supernaturalism, where the body is seen as evil and that the spirit is good (in its most extreme interpretation: only when the soul leaves the body that we can find bliss.) If that’s the case, then all of us might as well have a death wish.
The Holy Bible is such an amazing mythological book, where the characters are not supposed to be taken literally. In as much as I consider it mythological, the moral lessons contained there are real and I admit, I do learn a lot from it. (it’s really not important to me if the books I am reading are historically accurate. My only concern is the content and how the stories affect me as an individual.) It’s like Lao Tzu, will it really matter if he existed or not? Will his teachings be different if we found out that he really didn’t exist and that his wisdom are just compilations of writings by some esoteric but sage dreamers? At least for me, nothings gonna change.
Furthermore, Pope Francis added:
“All religions are true, because they are true in the hearts of all those who believe in them. What other kind of truth is there? In the past, the church has been harsh on those it deemed morally wrong or sinful. Today, we no longer judge. Like a loving father, we never condemn our children. Our church is big enough for heterosexuals and homosexuals, for the pro-life and the pro-choice! For conservatives and liberals, even communists are welcome and have joined us. We all love and worship the same God.”
We all live under the same labyrinthine universe. We all breathe the same air, we all bleed red – and we all worship the same Cosmic Being. Names may change but these are but human constructs. We all acknowledge divine concepts like creator, vision, source of life, omnipotent and the like, and that’s where religions should focus on. They have to identify what are the needs of this violent world and instead of pissing on each other’s faults, they have to re-divert their judgments into something more similar to the God they preach, ipsum est: LOVE.
I am not a part of any religion, and I have no intention of being so. I am not even promulgating Catholicism as I don’t have that need to be a part of anything that makes me feel bounded. I mean, I am a free spirit, and I find meaning in my solitary faith, but I am not saying that people should also do the same. All I am subjectively stating here is that, if you feel your spirituality getting stronger because of your religion, then go on and touch that spark of faith in you – but please, respect also those people who are like me who feels Spirituality more when we are alone. As a matter of fact, I feel a greater connection when I am with nature than when I am inside a church.
And to Pope Francis, hats off to you!
Quoting the song Holy Wars by Megadeth:
Brothers will kill brothers,
Spilling blood across the land,
Killing for religion,
Something I don’t understand.
Fools like me, who cross the sea
Who come from foreign lands,
Ask the sheep for their beliefs,
Do you kill in God’s command?
How many times have religion been used to justify twisted and selfish goals? How many times has religion factionalized the unity that’s supposed to be attained? How many times has religion inflicted damage to the unwary and unwilling?
They claim that judgment belongs to God alone, but how come that some religions act as the accusers and judges at the same time? Is it because they ‘speak for God’?
The problem with religiosity is that we define ourselves with the standards of the religion we belong to and thus, we follow every doctrine and dogma just to attain salvation. We fail to see the real essence of our faith, i.e. spirituality. It’s like focusing on a marriage contract but there’s no love present, Or perhaps, doing something by the book even if we already are misfiring the real intent why we do such thing in the first place.
This is what I’ve been teaching my son earlier. We played the xbox “warriors of rock” to enjoy and have fun. When I told him that we will play, he started getting excited and he even change to his rock and roll clothes. (a fitted pants and a cute leather jacket, plus some clip earrings.) While playing, he became too engrossed in the game, until it reached the point that he became very competitive (and I mean VERY competitive.) since he is still too young to master the songs (as well as his hand, eye, ears coordination) he lost to me. I admit that I have the advantage, since those songs were my musical influences (plus I already know the beats of each song by heart.)
After playing 2 songs, he became very disappointed and said “I QUIT”. That’s the time that I gave him a heart to heart, father-son talk about sportsmanship. He didn’t get that part yet, but when I asked him what was the reason why we played the game, he stopped and think for a while. I tried to make him remember the real intent and the real goal that we want to achieve today. We want to have fun, and so we did. So when I asked him, what’s wrong then? Are we having fun or should we stop na lang? That moment was majestic as I saw the twinkling of his eyes which was more like an episode in a cartoons where a light bulb flashes on top a characters head whenever they get an amazing idea. (and don’t forget the DING! Sound effect)
Anyway, my point here is that, religions are meant to be instruments for people to attain spirituality (which is the primary goal of human beings in need of a divine.) But I will not also disregard those people who don’t have that need. I mean, I’ve been there and there’s nothing wrong with that. We all have different needs, we all have different interpretations, but what’s more important than all these, is whether we still respect humanity. Religions, race, organizations, society – these are all constructs to maximize the unity and bond of human beings. These things were made to make connections and not to destroy those connections.
We have to re-interpret the narratives already stated, we have to find those things that satisfy our needs (cognitive, physical, emotional or spiritual) but not in a twisted and selfish way where respect will be sacrificed.
I was smiling when I’ve read Pope Francis statement earlier, he mentioned:
"Through humility, soul searching, and prayerful contemplation we have gained a new understanding of certain dogmas. The church no longer believes in a literal hell where people suffer. This doctrine is incompatible with the infinite love of God. God is not a judge but a friend and a lover of humanity. God seeks not to condemn but only to embrace. Like the fable of Adam and Eve, we see hell as a literary device. Hell is merely a metaphor for the isolated soul, which like all souls ultimately will be united in love with God.”
In what seems like an act of excommunication to most traditional religious leaders, I think the Pope has a point. This is evolution at its best, ideas, thoughts, dogmas and doctrines must also evolve to answer the needs of an ever changing environment. Failure to do so would render faith extinct. Looking at it, we do have to focus on God’s mercy, forgiveness and the most important of all, Love. Heaven is not a place that we go to after we die, rather, it’s a place of peace which can be achieved in the here and the now. We have to do away with religious supernaturalism, where the body is seen as evil and that the spirit is good (in its most extreme interpretation: only when the soul leaves the body that we can find bliss.) If that’s the case, then all of us might as well have a death wish.
The Holy Bible is such an amazing mythological book, where the characters are not supposed to be taken literally. In as much as I consider it mythological, the moral lessons contained there are real and I admit, I do learn a lot from it. (it’s really not important to me if the books I am reading are historically accurate. My only concern is the content and how the stories affect me as an individual.) It’s like Lao Tzu, will it really matter if he existed or not? Will his teachings be different if we found out that he really didn’t exist and that his wisdom are just compilations of writings by some esoteric but sage dreamers? At least for me, nothings gonna change.
Furthermore, Pope Francis added:
“All religions are true, because they are true in the hearts of all those who believe in them. What other kind of truth is there? In the past, the church has been harsh on those it deemed morally wrong or sinful. Today, we no longer judge. Like a loving father, we never condemn our children. Our church is big enough for heterosexuals and homosexuals, for the pro-life and the pro-choice! For conservatives and liberals, even communists are welcome and have joined us. We all love and worship the same God.”
We all live under the same labyrinthine universe. We all breathe the same air, we all bleed red – and we all worship the same Cosmic Being. Names may change but these are but human constructs. We all acknowledge divine concepts like creator, vision, source of life, omnipotent and the like, and that’s where religions should focus on. They have to identify what are the needs of this violent world and instead of pissing on each other’s faults, they have to re-divert their judgments into something more similar to the God they preach, ipsum est: LOVE.
I am not a part of any religion, and I have no intention of being so. I am not even promulgating Catholicism as I don’t have that need to be a part of anything that makes me feel bounded. I mean, I am a free spirit, and I find meaning in my solitary faith, but I am not saying that people should also do the same. All I am subjectively stating here is that, if you feel your spirituality getting stronger because of your religion, then go on and touch that spark of faith in you – but please, respect also those people who are like me who feels Spirituality more when we are alone. As a matter of fact, I feel a greater connection when I am with nature than when I am inside a church.
And to Pope Francis, hats off to you!
next step: i do hope you can now reconsider and embrace the idea of the INsistence of God VS EXistence of God :)
full article here: POPE FRANCIS SPEECH
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