Religion is an important aspect of our existence. You either believe in "a religion" or you don't. Even when you don't you fall under a group of people that have a "set of beliefs" just not a belief in a "god" but a belief that life just sort of spontaneously happened and then evolved. In a way, based on the definition of "religion" from Wikipedia - Religion is a collection of cultural systems, belief systems, and worldviews that establishes symbols that relate humanity to spirituality and moral values. - being an atheist or agnostic actually puts you into a "religious" category of sorts based on part of this definition. I might be stretching it a little bit but it makes sense to me.
Religion is a fascinating topic and I love to learn what makes people practice certain established religions. I have the philosophy "religion" is personal. It is a personal choice and one that I don't believe others have a right to aggressively influence. With that said, extremists in any organized religion scares me. Having an extreme view on religion typically ends up in self-destruction.
I am Catholic. Roman Catholic to be more specific. I was raised into the Catholic Religion and went to Catholic grade school and high school and one year at a Catholic University. One thing I never learned much about was other religions. As an adult this is sort of disappointing because I feel pigeon-holed. I think its very important that a "history of religions" be a part of school curriculum. I think this world would be a better place if we all had some general knowledge on each religion and respective denominations.
I don't believe one religion is better than another. Catholicism is what I know and is what I am comfortable with. It defines me as a person and after some "soul searching" I don't feel the need to change my religious affiliation. I've entertained invites to learn about a few other "Christian" religions and my husband is Jewish. So I've opened my mind to other religions but I always come back to feeling Catholicism is my home.
I am not an expert on Catholicism and I'm probably "one of those Catholics" that is guilty of picking and choosing the "laws"/"doctrines" that best suit me. I think they refer that type of Catholic as a "cafeteria Catholic". I have to admit that I don't agree with everything the Church wants me to, but I respect the laws/doctrines even if I don't always practice them - if that makes any sense. If I believed everything, I wouldn't have my daughter, because she was conceived via in-vitro fertilization. And what a loss this world would be without her. I will discuss this with St. Peter at the Pearly Gates upon my death, and if I'm lucky enough to get an audience with God and I'll have a nice chat about it with Him as well! I'm guessing He's not going to be pleased by the tubal ligation and an embryo sitting frozen, either. However, I don't regret any of these things, well except for the embryo sitting frozen at the moment. So my point here is, God will be my judge and not anyone else!
When people, such as the terrorist in Norway, take it upon themselves to attempt to change the world by violence in the name of "religion", it boils my blood. This terrorist attacked innocent people because of his dissatisfaction of his government. I find this so disturbing. The hairs on the back of my neck just raised when I read how someone equated this terrorist to Hitler when reading his manifesto. Why does this bother me so much? Because he did this act of carnage in the name of Christianity. Christians do not kill for the sake of their religious beliefs, Christians are to be Christ like, peaceful people. Christ would not have bombed government buildings nor shoot at hundreds of innocent youth at a camp because He didn't like something. He may have thrown around some tables in a temple, but he never took another's life. I am a Christian and I find this act unfathomable, disturbing and sad.
One thing that this horrific act of terrorism did for me is it helped me to understand that such acts made in the name of a religious affiliation aren't always a message coming from the whole group. It is a message coming from a person or small group of people that are just messed-up.
Many years ago a friend of mine was casually dating a Jewish guy. When the relationships started to get a little serious, my friend who is Catholic, backed away because he was Jewish. A discussion ensued and I was the only person in the group that was willing to be open-minded about mixed religion relationships. I knew if one tried hard enough, one could have a successful relationship with another person from another religious background. Everyone thought I was nuts! I thought everyone else was just "shallow". One Ash Wednesday my brother encouraged me to go to Church with him so that I could find me a good Catholic Boy. Ash Wednesday with the ashes smeared on the forehead in a shape of a "cross" was the perfect way to find a Catholic Boy without having to ask. Funny at the time, but I'm so glad that I didn't just find "love" by finding me a "Catholic Boy". I have a wonderful loving husband and great father for my kids and he's a "Jewish Boy"! Our relationship works because we respect each other's religious backgrounds. We came to a mutual decision to raise our children Catholic since I practice my "faith" more regularly. We wanted to make sure that our children had a religious platform for which they can shape strong moral and ethical standards.
To me sharing someone's religion with me is a sweet, kind and generous gesture. Yesterday, I had the pleasure of joining a friend and her family at their Church service. I had a wonderful time learning more about their Christian Religion and learn more about how my friend and her family has come to be such warm-hearted, giving, caring and prayerful human beings. It was a special gift that was given to me, to be invited into a very "personal" part of my friend's and her family's life. I learned we all want the same thing, to live good, moral, decent and happy lives filled with love from above!
I wished more people could explore and be more tolerant of the many different religious sects in this world. I wish people could respect and love each other better. I wish for peace!
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