On Religion - to thine own church to be true?
• Sara Towe
Who cares who your god is, as long as you have faith in something and that you care for your fellow man with respect and dignity.
All we see in the news these days are headlines telling us that another priest has molested another child, and that the church covered it up again. Yes the church has real issues and problems but could it be that you are asking something so unnatural of the priest that they cannot live up to? Celibacy it seems can lead to perversions.
I do not belong to a church myself, as I have not yet found a church with a religion that is nurturing and looks upon people as a family, not a commodity. I look back through the centuries and see the history of religion and it terrifies me. How many wars have been in the name of religion? How many people have died in the name of religion? And why do they have to die to prove themselves to God? Just today another suicide bomber in Israel another martyr for their God...
I believe in a higher power, a force that is all so powerful, an energy that is invigorating, and I have a very strong faith in this higher power and respect for it, but I do not wish to name it because I believe that this power is all the positive energy in the world that we empower and pass on to each other through positive thoughts and deeds. I believe that the lives that we have lived before have left imprints on the universe, and be it negative or positive, it influences the energy that we live by today. I believe that the power of positive thought can energise the world and one should always think good of one another, when we can.
What I do not like is how society dictates what it is you should believe in, nor do I like the persecution if your beliefs are different to theirs. Look at the world right at this moment, wars, deaths, hatred and cowardly violence all in the name of some God. Do you think that your chosen God wants this to happen? Why do you think that we should all pray the same? Who cares who your god is, as long as you have faith in something and that you care for your fellow man with respect and dignity.
We have diseases that are killing us every day and we have desperate environmental problems far bigger than the argument of whom to pray to. In the end I believe religion is used as a control factor to control those who cannot or will not take charge of their own lives and who are unable or unwilling to give to others. It is all about power and control, theirs not yours, and let us not forget about the money. Look how rich some of the churches are, they collect every week for your guilt. You will go straight to hell if you do not pay the church to forgive your sins. Forgiveness is something you have to do to yourself first and then to ask forgiveness to those you have hurt, no church can exempt you from that no matter what you pay them to assuage your guilt.
Some people receive some comfort from their religion, and in turn reach out to others to help them. This is how it should be, but none have the right to tell another who to pray for or how to pray, it is a personal matter. Your own conscience will guide you and should steer you in the right direction. Church in my mind should be a place to go to, to share ones success and one's stresses. A place where you feel that the people around you genuinely care about you. If you have found this place and you feel at home there, consider yourself lucky. We all look for a place to belong, a place to share our joys and our sorrows, a place where the energy is shared and invigorates one to a new level. It never should be a place of damnation. Nor a place to hide away from life rather than facing it. It should never be a place where one can decide the damnation of another’s faith or soul, no one has that right.
Take religion out of wars; allow people everywhere to pray to whom they want to. Stop using religion as a form of control, and look for you power to come from good not manipulation.
Faith is a powerful thing, I could not live with out it, and I do believe everyone needs it in some form or other. But none should tell you how where or who, that must be your choice to be a true choice, or you will just be living a lie. Try talking to your God at home, try reaching inside of yourself, you will be surprised at the power that has been given to you by some higher force. Tap in and expand yourself, you have to power, it has been given to you to use with love and good will, use it well and wisely and without judgment and manipulation.
Instead of paying the church, give some time, or money to someone who needs it, that is what the power of love and faith is, helping our fellow man, woman or child. This is my version of God.
© Sara Towe June 2002
‘The Art of Positive living.’
www.positiveliving.ca
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