My religion
My religion is to sing and dance with happiness whenever I can and to be cheerful and grateful the rest of the time; to enjoy life. I have complete faith that what is meant for me will be. I don't presume to know if I'm "saved" or if I will "go to heaven." All I can do is be in awe of this creation, of life and living creatures and especially humans because, unlike mere animals, we long to know our creator.
But I can't know God with my mind. I've tried that and failed. I can only know God when I have "the heart of a child" and you can't try that; it just happens when you least expect it. Blake wrote in Auguries of Innocence: "To see the world in a grain of sand and heaven in a wildflower." The "heart of a child" is a metaphor for innocence, faith, hope and love.
I have glimpses of the creator of this wonderful thing which we call "the world." I can see tiny indescribable inklings of the creative mirth, glee, joy, fun - whatever you want to call God's love - of which this miracle called "the world" is but a dull mirror image.
Everything after that is opinion as far as I'm concerned. Call it religion, theology, eschatology; it's just really "opinionology" to me. And the most opinionated "opinionological" speculation of all to me is the "theory" of atheism.
That's why I call myself a Deist. I can't call myself a Christian or a believer of any religion because I don't really believe in anything that I haven't seen with my own two eyes. The only thing that I believe in that cannot be seen with the eyes is something that is so perfect that the only name that I can give it is "God" because that word means "something to worship."
That's my religion; worship my creator. It's so tempting to use big words to convey some seriousness; words like infinite and ineffable. In fact I used to use such words to describe "God" when I first realized that I was a Deist at the age of 21 but they're a bit silly. I prefer the poetry of Blake or the Psalms any day.
My religion is very simple and is usually ruined the moment that I put my clumsy words on it. All I know for sure is that I was given everything that I need at birth - life, breath, a longing to know and an instinct to sing the praises of my creator. After that it's up to me.
Which brings me back down to earth. I may long for the "Kingdom of God within" but it is, after all, "within." It's not outside of me. Outside of me is nature which may be beautiful but can also be dangerous and deadly and then there's the world of people which is even more tricky and perilous even though we have come a long way since we use to bash each others' brains out over the slightest differences of opinion. Nowadays we behave a bit better and call it politics.
And politics doesn't work without ethics, morals or standards. I may not be a Christian but to me the "standard" of civilization is "love God with your whole heart and love your neighbor as you love yourself." And, to me, a "neighbor" is the kind and good person who comes to my aid in a time of need. Those who do not help me are not my "neighbors." They are my enemies. That's politics - which sometimes takes the form of war.
The world of humans is not perfect; it's definitely not the "Kingdom of God" and not even civilized politics will bring about a perfect paradise on earth. Expecting my "religion" to solve political problems is not sensible or practical. There's a delicate balance between experiencing "the Kingdom of God within" and enjoying the mixed blessings of nature and the world of mankind.
I know that my "religion" is subjective which is why I don't criticize other peoples' beliefs. We all have to dissolve and disappear from this world one day and we do that completely alone. How we face death is nobody else's business. How we face life is everybody's business so I try to be a good neighbor.
But I can't know God with my mind. I've tried that and failed. I can only know God when I have "the heart of a child" and you can't try that; it just happens when you least expect it. Blake wrote in Auguries of Innocence: "To see the world in a grain of sand and heaven in a wildflower." The "heart of a child" is a metaphor for innocence, faith, hope and love.
I have glimpses of the creator of this wonderful thing which we call "the world." I can see tiny indescribable inklings of the creative mirth, glee, joy, fun - whatever you want to call God's love - of which this miracle called "the world" is but a dull mirror image.
Everything after that is opinion as far as I'm concerned. Call it religion, theology, eschatology; it's just really "opinionology" to me. And the most opinionated "opinionological" speculation of all to me is the "theory" of atheism.
That's why I call myself a Deist. I can't call myself a Christian or a believer of any religion because I don't really believe in anything that I haven't seen with my own two eyes. The only thing that I believe in that cannot be seen with the eyes is something that is so perfect that the only name that I can give it is "God" because that word means "something to worship."
That's my religion; worship my creator. It's so tempting to use big words to convey some seriousness; words like infinite and ineffable. In fact I used to use such words to describe "God" when I first realized that I was a Deist at the age of 21 but they're a bit silly. I prefer the poetry of Blake or the Psalms any day.
My religion is very simple and is usually ruined the moment that I put my clumsy words on it. All I know for sure is that I was given everything that I need at birth - life, breath, a longing to know and an instinct to sing the praises of my creator. After that it's up to me.
Which brings me back down to earth. I may long for the "Kingdom of God within" but it is, after all, "within." It's not outside of me. Outside of me is nature which may be beautiful but can also be dangerous and deadly and then there's the world of people which is even more tricky and perilous even though we have come a long way since we use to bash each others' brains out over the slightest differences of opinion. Nowadays we behave a bit better and call it politics.
And politics doesn't work without ethics, morals or standards. I may not be a Christian but to me the "standard" of civilization is "love God with your whole heart and love your neighbor as you love yourself." And, to me, a "neighbor" is the kind and good person who comes to my aid in a time of need. Those who do not help me are not my "neighbors." They are my enemies. That's politics - which sometimes takes the form of war.
The world of humans is not perfect; it's definitely not the "Kingdom of God" and not even civilized politics will bring about a perfect paradise on earth. Expecting my "religion" to solve political problems is not sensible or practical. There's a delicate balance between experiencing "the Kingdom of God within" and enjoying the mixed blessings of nature and the world of mankind.
I know that my "religion" is subjective which is why I don't criticize other peoples' beliefs. We all have to dissolve and disappear from this world one day and we do that completely alone. How we face death is nobody else's business. How we face life is everybody's business so I try to be a good neighbor.
posted by Joubert at 7:07 AM
The Alliance
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