One of my best friends and I go to lunch once a week; school, work, and other sometimes unpleasant, but necessary, tasks have made it difficult for us to get together much anymore. Our latest meeting was in a sleazy but tasty pizza joint in sparks. We entered the place at one or so but it was when we left that was interesting, it was 4:15 when we left. Our conversations in the past have been fairly normal and superficial, but this conversation was about religion, my friend and I have very strong opinions about religion, but our opinions are not agreeing with the ideals of religion, but opposing them.
I have a very scientific, linear mind, based on logic and common sense, and in all of my pondering about religion I have yet to find a part of religion that follows these rules, religion seems to not only disobey these, but often condemn them. Ralf Waldo Emerson once said that “a foolish consistency is the hobgoblin of little minds” and I think this applies perfectly to organized religion. Religion is based on uniformity and not veering away from the norm, but for what reason? For fear of the wrath of god. But the bible also speaks of god’s sense of compassion towards all of “his” creatures. So where is this compassion for people who don’t accept Jesus into they’re soul. This is where my logic and linear thinking come into play.
The myth states that we were all created in god’s image. If he/she really wanted us to follow mindlessly, and without question, why would we not have been made that way to begin with? Our human nature is to question, investigate, and challenge. All of our civilization’s advancement and achievement are based not on god, but on our own human ingenuity. So why then are we supposed to dismiss all research and logic to mindlessly accept a system that is backed by no physical proof? I think humans are meant for more than what religion offers, we should be coming up with theories, and testing them, and coming up with more. If you follow any formula based in logic the very idea of god and creationism itself is drastically overwhelmed by simple evolution, which makes far more sense. While I don’t totally disregard all that mainstream religion has to offer, I am much more drawn to things that can be proven with truths and tangible ideas.
Why, then, is religion so popular? I think it is because another part of human nature also wants to believe in something greater than us. But this is the same part that gives us our fascination with superheroes, winning the lottery, and other such dreams that make us humans seem weak, and less than they are. I think the bible was a cultivation of all of these imperfections in our nature, made not as a truth, but as a fiction story created by some human than was more in touch with his creative and manipulative side than some of us. It was made for the world’s leadership to make people behave, and it did an excellent job, and still is thousands of years later.
Many people claim that Jesus is part of their soul, while I claim that’s a lot more than that makes up my being than an unproven character out of a fiction book. When people ask what religion I am I used to say Christian, just because I was young, I didn’t know any better, and that’s what everyone else said, but no I tell people that I am a pagan. I chose this partially because there is such a gross misunderstanding of this faith. The good friend I spoke of earlier has also started to embrace this religion, but the rest of his family is Lutheran. Once he and his brother got into a discussion about their faith, in which my friend revealed that he was considering himself a pagan. His brother wasn’t really upset or sad or anything because he thought his brother was just being ignorant and misguided, when in fact, he was the misguided one. He was 100 percent sure that paganism was a sick religion, requiring at least one animal sacrifice to truly be considered a “member”, among other horrendous acts, that one would surely go to hell for. Quite on the contrary paganism isn’t about that at all, it is about worshiping things you see everyday, instead of things you cant even prove exist, mother earth, father sky, that kind of hippie stuff. There aren’t many religions as peaceful, except maybe Buddhism, which shares some similar features, and also appeals to me very much. The majority of the world’s major religions are proselytic; they are always seeking new members, and aim to convert all humankind if possible. This seem very arrogant and selfish to me, I would rather let everyone find they’re own path, and so would paganism. They do not try to convert anybody, and do not persecute people for they’re beliefs.
I am a person who is not pushy; I do not falsify other people’s beliefs, religious or other. I only seek enlightenment for myself not for the entire world. Perhaps this is borne from something in my upbringing, or perhaps I spawned my opinions when my parents got a divorce for some reason. But whatever it was, it makes my personality very strong, yet gentle, if that makes any sense.I am very careful not to force my opinion on anyone, and let people come to their own conclusions in their own ways. All of this is shaped by my religion, or perhaps the marked lack thereof.
