***NOTE: if you are going to read this
blog post, PLEASE read it all the way through!***
There are a handful of controversial subjects that
either people try to steer clear of in their conversations with others or they enthusiastically
pursue (there is also a middle category where it depends on the time, place,
and people present). These hot topics
range from politics and abortion to homosexuality and religion.
Personally, I usually don’t spout my personal
beliefs unless someone specifically asks me (with the exception of close family
and friends). However, I’ve been
contemplating writing this article for a while now, and I am going to attempt to
tackle the oh-so-touchy subject of religion.
To give a little bit of background about myself, I
grew up in a Christian family where I attended church (mostly a Wesleyan
church) and church functions on a pretty regular basis. Around eighth grade I became really committed
to going to youth group and reading/studying my Bible on a daily basis, and I
desired to become a “strong Christian”.
I continued to attend youth group and church
functions and study The Word steadily until the end of tenth grade/beginning of
junior year. That is when my beliefs
began to metamorphosis little by little (it was more like a process that was
continually happening over time than like some major, philosophical epiphany).
Currently, I do not consider myself a Christian by
its standard definition.
Before anyone mentally judges me and puts me on
their prayer list so that I don’t end up in eternal damnation in the fiery pit
of hell, please keep reading and hear me out.
Then, after you have seen my views from my perspective, by all means go
ahead and judge away (although I think the time you would spend praying for me
could be put to much better use…like perhaps donating your time/money to help
those in need).
Anyways…getting back on track…I am going to list out
some of my personal insights into the concepts of religion and spirituality in
order to better explain (to those who desire to know) my current belief system.
(1)
I do not think Christianity is the only way for “salvation”. I
think it is extremely ignorant for people to think that their religion is the
only “right” religion and way to think.
First off, I guarantee the majority of religious people out there (and
I’m referring mostly to Christians since they make up a vast majority of
Americans) do not have a clear understanding what principles and belief systems
make up other religious traditions. How
many people have actually read the Koran, the Bhagavad Gita, Buddhist texts, or
even the Bible itself? It’s surprising
how few Christians have actually done any real research or reading of their own
Christian Bible! It is even more
shocking to me that people can be so assured of their religion even if they do
not have any substantial knowledge of any other religious views (and stereotypes
do NOT count as substantial knowledge).
I don’t think people even think
about why they believe what they believe in the first place. Personally, the main reason I called myself a
Christian for most of my life was because I lived in a predominantly Christian
country. My parents are Christians. I’m surrounded by people who are also
Christian. I was socialized my whole
life that Christianity is the only right religion, that the Bible is the Word
of God, and that the only way to Heaven is through Jesus Christ. If I was born into perhaps a predominantly
Hindu country, I guarantee I would believe that Hinduism was the only right
religion and way of life.
Another fact that I find
interesting and I don’t think many Christians seem to realize is that the
religion of Christianity has not just always existed. In fact, Christianity just began roughly
2,000 years ago. The religions of
Judaism, Hinduism, Buddhism, and many others existed long before the birth of
modern-day Christianity.
***SIDE NOTE: modern-day
Christianity also looks a whole lot different than the Christianity of 2,000 or
even a few hundred years ago.***
(2)
I do not believe the Bible is the Word of God. Although
I DO believe the Bible contains some divine moral truths and has a substantial
amount of literary value, I do not think it was written by “God” through the
medium of select men.
During the few years where I was trying
to become a “good Christian” and read my Bible adamantly, I would read passages
that put a bad taste in my mouth and made me wonder how a loving God could be
so cruel and yatta-yatta. However, I
usually pushed these thoughts aside and told myself not to question God and to
have faith in His goodness.
When I asked other Christians why
some of the Bible passages were so troubling, I got various responses. Some were very honest and said that they
didn’t know, but that it was good to keep questioning. Others attempted to interpret the passages in
any way they could to make God turn out to be always righteous and good and us
humans as bad and corrupt. Both these
answers were very unsatisfying, especially the last one. Oftentimes I felt (pardon my French) that
some of the people were trying to pull out any justifications they could from
their asses in order to back up their Christian view of God and the Bible,
despite what was obviously written in the text.
Also, after reading multiple texts
from other religions, I can’t help but notice how incredibly similar the Bible
is to other spiritual texts and visa-versa.
I could (and possibly will) potentially
write a whole blog post on just the Old Testament—not to mention the New
Testament—alone. However, this is
supposed to be just a semi-brief overview of my personal views, so I won’t go
super into detail now.
(3)
There is a big difference between truth/knowledge and
beliefs/faith. I think this is a huge
thing many people don’t get. I
personally believe that truth and faith are equally important and should be in
balance with each other; however, I also believe it is a huge mistake to equate
truth/knowledge WITH faith/beliefs.
Truth/knowledge is something that you can prove and know for complete
certainty. Beliefs/faith is something
that you believe/hope to be true, but that you are not completely certain about
(NOTE: strong beliefs are [or at least should be] those backed up by or based
off of truths).
It is quite absurd when Christians
say they know God exists and that
they know the Bible to be true/the
Word of God. They should say they believe that God exists and
etcetera.
Logically, no one can prove that
God exists and, consequently, they cannot prove that He does not exist. This applies to all other religions/belief
systems…that is why they are called “beliefs”.
Because no one knows for certain
(although some will argue that they do and, in that case, I would LOVE to hear
their hard “evidence”) that their version of a higher power/religious views are
the “right” ones, I think it is absolutely absurd and beyond ignorant for a
person to think that their belief system is the only way/absolute truth.
Unfortunately, a vast majority of
people have this mindset, and that is why many of the world’s wars and
conflicts have been based off of people’s conflicting religious views.
(4)
Religion can be a very good thing! I don’t want people to
get the false idea that I am some religion-hater/angry-at-God/hard-core-atheist
(I don’t really consider myself anything besides “spiritual”. Labels are very over-rated and I don’t think
I really fit into any box anyways). I am
open to nearly all religions (okay, perhaps not something like Satanism or
religions where they accept human-sacrificing and that type of thing….) and am
willing to participate in a variety of religious activities regardless of the
religion (like attending a church/synagogue/mosque/temple/etc.) and learning
more about the proponents that make up that belief system.
I believe that religion can be a
very positive thing for it gives people a collective value system to follow and
a deep sense of community and connectedness to fellow human beings.
The only problem I have when it
comes to certain religious people is their unwillingness to be accepting and
open to other people’s beliefs. I’m not
saying there are not certain inalienable and fundamental morals that everyone
should follow, for I personally believe there are, however, people have the
right to differentiate in their personal beliefs.
People are going to have different
views on issues like “what happens after death”, and you know what? That’s perfectly okay! That doesn’t mean they’re right (or wrong),
and it doesn’t mean that your beliefs are right (or wrong) either. That’s the beauty of beliefs; everyone has
different perspectives on the fundamental life questions like “what happens
when we die”. If you get upset/offended
over someone who has contrasting religious views than you and feel the need to
“convert” them to your religion and mindset, then you are just going to live a
very sheltered, possibly miserable life believing that everyone who isn’t of
your faith is going to suffer eternal damnation.
(5)
I admit that I do not know…and that is okay! It may come as a shock,
but I don’t actually know everything (although I probably will never admit this
to my mother!). I am still growing in my
knowledge about religion and spirituality, and my belief system is growing with
it. The exciting thing is that I will
continue to grow my entire life. As I
become more knowledgeable (and hopefully wise) and I have more life
experiences, some of my beliefs and views (with the exception of fundamental
values) will more than likely expand and change too.
As for the whole matter of what I
actually believe in concerning a higher power, supernatural beings, and the
afterlife/salvation, my overall belief is that it does not matter what I believe.
Regardless of whether I believe in a monotheistic God (I do happen to believe
in a “higher power”/divine purpose for life), whether there are in fact
supernatural creatures like demons and angels, and whether I believe in a
Heaven or Hell...if such things do actually exist (or other religious versions
of these things), they will exist whether I believe in them or not. Believing in something does not make it so
and likewise with not believing in something.
Overall, I think it is important to
grasp the concept that we are all sensitive, mortal beings trying our best to
make sense of the world and to reassure ourselves of what happens after death in
order to have more security and avoid the fear of the unknown. This is why I believe religion has the
potential to be a very powerful and positive force in people’s lives.
The fear of the unknown and our
attempts to make sense of it is the one thing that connects all of humanity
together. This in turn allows for us to be
able to better relate with other fellow human beings and have a sense of love
and empathy for one another.
*I am pretty sure I could
write a whole book on my views concerning religion and philosophy, but for the
sake of everyone reading this blog, I will cease rambling on now.
**John Green, author
of “A Fault in Our Stars”, and his brother Hank post some very insightful
YouTube videos on their vlog the Vlogbrothers ranging in topics from book
reviews and politics to religion and theology.
Below are some of their videos on religion I found very insightful. I HIGHLY recommend checking them out along
with some of their other videos!
