I have always had a problem with persons who commit bad acts and then insist for some reason unfathomable and unknown to me their religion justifies, if not requires the commission of acts of hatred and often accompanied by unspeakable cruelty as bearing the imprimatur of divinity.
This is what I perceive as the downside of any religious belief that promotes the belief that only a certain number of souls, often the true believers, the most devoted or are going to receive the blessings of an afterlife in God’s presence to live within his heavenly glory.
If your faith demanded it, would you voluntarily live a life of difficultly, austerity, unrequited dreams and chronic sadness in return for passage into the next, without any guarantees that your vision of the next life even exists?
That what you have been led to believe is true is not and never will be? That many of the stories you have been assured perhaps over and over again and to believe in the opposite is a sin in and of itself, are accurate descriptions of events that took place in verbatim to accounts written by mere mortals and in many instances long after the so-called exploits with or without accompanying phenomena (miracles) took place?
What if Noah’s Ark never existed except as an allegory? Does it matter? Do we need to analyze the lessons gleaned from antiquity for any guidance other than the Ten Commandments? In fact, do you follow the Ten Commandments? I mean, last time I looked I didn’t see any allusions to loopholes or exceptions, do you?
Ask yourselves, is the termination of a pregnancy the killing of a human being? Without the presence of malice, how can any medical procedure, including abortion be elevated to the status of murder? Along the same lines, isn’t capital punishment the killing of a human being with malice aforethought? For that is the common law definition of Murder?
Are you “guilty” of equating your journey back home with the actions of others? Is yours the right or obligation to “correct”, and not necessarily through education, but through actions perhaps of a violent nature if you deem the situation of a serious and significant enough matter?
Do you really believe you will get closer to or be denied entry to your just rewards on the deeds and your reactions to the acts of another? If so, please tell me how this is possible? However, before you send me emails, know that I do not adhere to the doctrines of original sin, the “command” for proselytizing that I perceive to be more like PR than celestial guidance, and my favorite, that you have in some bizarre way probably because you bought and own an assault weapon, are entitled to wield the sword of justice in service of “God’s righteous vengeance.
And yes, you would not be the first to suggest you are a holy warrior within one religious icon or anothers service to among other things cleansing the sins of the world by in many situations, committing more sins, and often of a magnitude far beyond the punishments warranted by the original “sinners” sin.
Do you believe that attending a religious service once a week releases you from paying for your sins? Maybe a little extra in the collection plate might grease a few wheels? And by wheels I refer to new tires for Joel Osteen’s new Ferrari, the one he parks next to the Rolls Royce or Cougar, Cadillac or Corvette he has claimed and coveted as part of his “mission”?
That he has conned out of his followers? Or, more accurately the mostly poor people who have in many cases given up on the idea of having a rich, rewarding, spiritually aware terrestrial life in service of life and are willing to roll the dice when it comes to the next? After all, what do you, a child of God need with money? Greed is a sin, right? Or, at least for you and not me. See, how that works?
Joel, along with the myriad of fakirs on parade these days who equate the pursuit of lucre with a dash of “prosperity gospel” oriented I am rich because God favors me, as self-serving and warped as it is, canon of wealth as a sign of being blessed, when in fact, the Bible itself tells us the exact opposite is true.
My philosophy tells me the wisest and hence the richest among us are humble. They are like the dust and whenever possible, walk with their heads bowed.
Recent events have forced us all to re-evaluate the wisdom and efficacy of a segment of our society, the Regressive Underperforming Misery Party (RUMP) preferring to believe as gospel in any number of conspiracy theories, half-truths, whole lies and phantasmagorical mystery tour tales of the astonishingly stupid that a false prophet and gold plated orange calf graven image on display for their entertainment cares to posit as rote truth, or perhaps his truth, in an effort to pull off the next scam, Ponzi scheme or grift.
What if I told you that depending on your choice of faith you many have done, or in all likelihood are still doing all of the above? Caught in a serious denial of reality loop from which only you can escape?
What if I told you your best bet is to start treating yourself well? Take care of yourself first and then pass on your wisdom, patience, serenity, as well as the same care and compassion you showed yourself to your family, friends, community, to all? Race is an illusion. We are all but one species and everyone in our species should be able to vote. Time to rejoin the human race. Let’s start there.
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