Let’s deviate somewhat from the usual, shall we? Religion is something I don’t really talk about since it’s such a controversial subject. Not that I am one to shy away from debates (except of the political nature), arguments, or things that are generally controversial it’s just that when religion is involved, people tend to see only their side and be completely immovable from that. Their emotions get entangled and they take every question, assumption, et cetera as a direct attack on them. These people, I can only assume, aren’t very strong in whatever faith they have and thus feel threatened when you question it. It is for mainly this reason I have stayed away from talking about matters of religion.
I’m reassessing this idea of mine considering my blog and religion. As you should all be very well aware of, my boyfriend is a Christian. This statement in and of itself is rather vague and entails quite a bit so here’s something to simplify it a bit: the church he attends founds their theology on the teachings of John Calvin. That’s right- they’re Calvinists. I find this rather sorry because my personal belief that the truth lies somewhere in the middle; the far left being the Arminians and the far right the Calvinists. The “way” isn’t in extremes but in moderations. Gael seems to agree but not completely follow the ideals of his church. It’s somewhat frustrating but makes for decent debates.
My thoughts on how to write these few posts about religion are this: I’m going to center them on my life growing up in a Christian household and how this has affected me and my thoughts concerning Christianity. I’ll do it in chunks as quite as bit has changed and gone back and forth throughout the years. Expect the next few posts to look something akin to this:
- September 1984 to September 1996 (ages 0- 12)
- September 1996 to September 1999 (ages 12- 15)
- September 1999 to September 2004 (ages 15- 20)
- September 2004 to present (ages 20 to 23)
Religion is something that affects everyone whether or not you believe in any kind. Do you happen to live in the US? Are you gay? Because this country was founded on Christian principles, you’re not allowed to get married. (Which, by the way I believe is utterly and completely wrong. Some Christian denominations are working to change this and have made radical changes in their structures themselves- namely the Episcopalian church.) Not gay? Not convinced? If you read the Bible (namely, the Old Testament) and compare it with a lot of the laws in the US (I can’t vouch for any other country because I have no idea of their laws) you will see a lot of similarities. I’m fairly certain (though can’t back it up with anything solid, really) that any country with an established religion or one that was established on a certain religion has used the laws of that religion to form its own laws of state. Check it out. Tell me if I’m wrong because I’d find that extremely interesting.
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Well, I suppose I should first state that I was raised a Catholic and went to church & such for 18 years, however, I’m atheistic in beliefs. That said, I still find church a good base for learning morals. Be kind to one another, sharing, respect. I of course draw lines at homosexuality, a woman’s right to choose, and contraception. I feel these issues step over the lines of humanity and into the lines of “pure religion.” The funny thing is, majority of catholics are pro-choice and pro-gay marriage and Pope John Paul OK’d condoms which a lot of people don’t know about.
Religion, at its core, is FASCINATING. I respect everyone’s beliefs and only ask for the same in return.
i find that a lot of people who were raised in churches and aren’t christian become agnostic or atheist. it’s rather interesting, don’t you think? sometimes i think we’re the lucky ones- let in on some “special secret.” who knows, though! (there’s my agnostic side showing, haha)
Comment by Jen 22 October 2007 @ 9.28 ami am glad i was raised christian myself because i saw my friends who weren’t and they seemed to have no sense of right and wrong and kind of picked and chose what was good and what wasn’t. i’m glad i have a moral- base.
i always ask the same, myself. that’s why i have such a hard time dealing with insanely religious people because they seem to have this inability at times to actually accept that others have different beliefs and that doesn’t mean it’s necessarily wrong. yanno?
I’m middle aged, religious, not technically christian although absolutely believe in JC. Yeh, religion effects everyone and everything. If there was no religion there would be no atheism. Plural secular democracy is the best we can hope for at the moment to manage some sense of the various voices at a political level. And secularism per se doesn’t have to do things by religious views – in fact a lot of time it doesn’t. This goes for the marriage issue – what is marriage anyway? I have one view, but it is religious. Is there a secular view?
Comment by owen59 22 October 2007 @ 9.35 amwell you know how i feel cos we’ve discussed it ;)
in the uk things aren’t nearly as religious-based as they are in the us. religion is kept way out of politics. when the press found out tony blair had been praying with george bush it was looked on as though he was slightly kooky and uneducated. that tends to be the thinking in this country: if you believe in god then you are a bit simple. unless of course you’re not white then everyone just thinks you’re a terrorist!
I still dont understand why being gay is seen as such a huge sin considering it’s not one of the ten commandments. plus god only installed that rule in the old testament because the other tribes practised it freely and he wanted to have his followers be completely free of sex – so they weren’t allowed to shag each other willy-nilly unless they were wed. god had a whole sex issue in the beginning cos he wanted us all to stop being so self-indulgent and get some bloody work done! when jesus came he brought with it a new set of rules from god – it was a simple rule really: love your fellow man.
so the gay argument from nutty religious folk severely pisses me off.
i wish it was more simple here! people get SO wrapped up in theology and doctrines here- it overshadows the paint points jesus was trying to make! it’s sad, really.
Comment by Ys 24 October 2007 @ 5.56 am& yes, the gay thing really annoys me as well. i don’t even understand why it’s an issue at all.
I totally support you if you decide to focus all your posts in controversial topics! xD
I hate it when people shy out of conversations. I’m a really open minded person who feels comfortable talking about anything (sex, homosexuality, abortion, religion,… bring it on!). It is because of our “newly” found freedom of speech that we have conquered so many rights (for black people, women, etc) and also why people’s livestyles are so carefree… girls no longer get married at 13 and have babies at 14. xD
Abortion
I’m not really religious. I’m too much of a scientist to believe in that stuff. Now in a catholic college I’m forced to attend Mass every week… and it all seems forced to me.
I’d say that 95% of my country’s population is catholic. We have catholic churches all over… and only 2 or 3 synagogues in the whole country.
Looking forward to your next posts! ;)
ah, forced service. so much fun, huh? i had that in my private schools i went to as a kid. i hated it. religion should never be forced on anyone. just makes people resent it!
Comment by algelic 24 October 2007 @ 9.11 ami look forward to your input on my posts! :)