thread: 2005-08-09 : The New Open House 2: Religion
On 2005-09-22, Thevail wrote:
Wow, this was an amazing and refreshing read! I don't think I've ever really seen religion discussed openly without either long scary silences or the emotional equivalent of a flame war going off. Way to go you guys and gals! Extra enlightenment points for all invoved.
As for me, I'm trying to come to grips with what religion is supposed to be. I mean what, at its core, is it supposed to do. Surely it's got to be more than a cheap way to control people and societies.
And shouldn't you be able to know, not just guess, think about, or presume that what you're doing and the path you're on, whatever path that may be, is, if not empirically, at least personally the right way for you?
So for me religion/spirituality (whichever you call it) is about moments when I know. Like tossing a flat black rock into the surf under a full moon and watching the ripples spread the rocks darkness forever across the sea. I don't know what it means, or maybe at that moment or later I understand it. But for just that moment somehow it was the only possible course of action. It was right. I felt it deep in my soul. Just like seeing a bon fire struggle, smoke, and then spring to life is always glorious. It needs no language to explain it. No hymns to re-enforce its sacred leaping joy. Old people, small children, even babies know that that was special, that was sacred.
I think therein lies the part of religion, that gets called faith, that is usually so sadly lacking in modern interpretive religion.
Most people would like to believe in something, anything, but human interpreted doctrine and dogma ( now there was an awesome film) leave them cold. But most religions say that is the FAULT of the person for not having faith.I believe that faith is not willpower. You can't make yourself have it.Just like you can't stop that moment of glee when the fire catches or the moment of calm contemplation of the ripples. So my quest for religion largely revolves around exploring what is meaningful to the human spirit about those things which are nearly universally true.
Sorry if that's bit convoluted, but sometimes there just don't seem to be quite the words we need to explain something.
Thevail
This makes Green go "I understand completely"
And I don't mean just intellectually, I mean I really understand it. It's like you speak from the same experiences I do.
This makes NInJ go "I think I disagree with your premise..."
The issues of "having faith" and "fault" are Christian, mostly Catholic issues. Belief and faith in God is not the core of every religion.
That's actually why I didn't like Dogma: Kevin Smith was packaging his relationship with Catholicism as everyone's relationship with every religion.
OK, Green, I'll write about this as soon as I have a minute.
