The first thing I did was change the background back to black from the red I had gone to, because I didn't want to be responsible for poor Maggie May's migraines. Maggie is a most loyal reader, and very often my first commenter of the day, and I sure don't want to make her life difficult for her. I hope this is easier on your eyes, Maggie.
I woke up at 6 AM after I had gone to bed at 2 AM, but I had fallen asleep on the sofa during the evening while watching television. You know what that means, don't you? That means a major nap some time today, so I will make it to the end of the day in one piece mentally and physically.
I woke up during a program in which very well meaning people laid the responsibility of all their problems in the hands of their God and believed that with the power of their believe, mountains would be moved and any sort of serious wrong in their lives would be righted. Even with my still sleepy mind, I was impressed with their naiveté and their lack of active self intervention. Serious short comings like that can really make an impression on you when you just wake up. I wonder at their God who is held responsible for so many accidents in the lives of people who were born with the capacity to reason and draw conclusions about their own and other people's actions. I pity their God for having so much to answer for.
Needless to say, it was a senseless and empty handed discussion in which nothing got resolved and nobody got a straight answer to their problems that would have been of practical nature. I think that everybody ended as confused as they entered the fray, with only promises of prayer and intervention at a later date. I would have insisted on some clearer language and some definite answers that I could have applied immediately.
Oh, I see I am on one of my favorite subjects and that is the one of self will and self determination. I am such a great believer in those things. I believe so very much in the power of reason and had I been born in an earlier age, I would have chosen the renaissance and I would have filled in for the question religion, humanist. Of course, this was before Calvinism and before the Puritans got their hands on the Bible and gave it their interpretation.
The Dutch Reformation has much to answer for also. Imagine all the brow beaten people who thought they got it right, but were ruled harshly and followed the letter of the biblical law, while firmly believing to have been set free from the auspices of the Roman Catholic Pope. My grandmother was a living relic of this system and I never saw a more distorted woman than she, who felt shame for her own body, but gave birth to 5 children and who went to church twice on Sundays and who only watched Christian programs on television, because they were evangelically inspired.
I don't care much for organized religion, as it is always exclusive to the slightly other thinking non conformist and aversive to questions and doubts, and many horrible things have been and are done in the name of religion and being the representative of the true and only one. When it comes to religion, I am an anarchist, being intrigued by it and rejecting it at the same time. I have pagan leanings, but have yet to worship at the altar of a Goddess of Nature, unless you count Mary in the guise of Mother Earth and the child in her arms being representative of all of mankind. I have lighted candles, but to which God I do not know.
At a certain time in history, I would have been a heretic and things would not have looked good for me. I doubt very much that I would have been able to not have the same doubts that I have now, knowing my nature. I would have been an insurrectionist, and maybe I would have been drawn and quartered for my heresy, or burned at the stake, although I don't know how very popular that was in the Netherlands. Maybe we were too sober minded for that. I always could have claimed to be a child of Israël, as they were allowed some leniency here.
I wasn't planning on writing a whole post about religion. It just came out that way and it must have weighed heavier on my mind than I realized. I do know that when I was a teenager, the Christian teenagers were the biggest sinners that I ever met and tried to get away with murder. They were disallowed so many things, that they tried everything and made us progressive youth look tame in comparison. I don't remember them for doing many good deeds, I remember them for getting drunk and wanting to have sex, while we marched in anti Vietnam rallies and collected money for starving children in Africa.
Okay, you must amuse me now and then and let me have my little rants. I'll jump on another cause on of these days. Watching television can bring out some emotions in you, can't it. My question mark doesn't work half of the time. i must get a new keyboard.
Have a very great day. It is Monday, but somehow it doesn't feel that way to me, having no place to go. I must amuse the animals with my presence today and be extra endearing.
Ciao...
16 comments:
Well, good morning. I totally agree with your view about religion. I am not a fan of organized religion either. I've actually been down that path before and you know I was not very happy, more scared than anything and I don't like to be scared. Have a great day and I like the black better.
You make some very good points in your blog regarding religion. I for one was brought up a certain faith and yet my parents only said prayer on holidays at the dinner table, I never saw them pray except maybe at someone wake or funeral, and yet I still was made to go to religion classes each Sunday until I made confirmation.
I do however believe in God and I do say my prayers each night but I do not attend any church service on any day of the week. I live now in the South, what is known as the Bible Belt, and I like you, see more of the “Christian” teenagers as some of the prevalent sinners that I’ve ever met. The spousal abuse as well as drunk driving is one of the highest in the country as well right here in the good ode’ Bible Belt.
It is sad when people believe in only one aspect of their religion, redeem yourself after sin and you can still go to heaven, when they need to concentrate on being a virtuous human all the time and not having to ask for redemption so much…it is sad when you can beat the crap out of your wife, say your sorry to God, and then walk around town as if you are the best Christian that walks through the church doors each Wednesday and Sunday....BTW I like the black backgroud as well especially with the snow!
Am liking the black much better than the red.
Did all of that just come out of your head, just like that? I always take so long to write anything that deep, if I want it to make sense. And you make a lot of sense.
Good Morning, I am glad that you have changed your background back to black, I resorted to highlighting the text yesterday in order to read your post.
Religion, hmmm such a personal thing, I don't think that there is a right or wrong answer to this one. I really enjoyed reading your views because it makes me look at my own views and ideas. I don't think I belong to any religion although I do believe in a God. As I said I think it is a personal thing and I enjoy talking to others about their beliefs and how they came to them, but I have a problem with those people who ram their religion down my throat as being superior to all others - now those people should be burnt at the stake!
sending you some ???????? as yours aren't working too well. hee hee
Hope you have a good day
MA
Sweet Irene (may I call you that just once question mark) for question mark issue, flip your keyboard over (maybe on soime newspapers) shake it a lot (not too harshly, use masculine moderation)and maybe dust and cat dander or dutch cookie crum.bs will fall out....voila...
I love organized religion such as the Notre Dame football team.
black is more restful on the eyes. that's true.
Hear hear about religion.
enjoy your day.
My first time reading your blog and I am impressed! Excellent post. I have some issues with organized religion, too...even ones with which I may agree on many points. Something happens when we label, quantify, define, and give form to something so simple and formless as truth and free thought. It changes into something else entirely and becomes just another basis for division and bigotry. From my perspective, people who continue to ask questions are a lot better off than those who stop when they think they know the answers.
Great blog...I'll be back!
Interesting post, Irene. I for one am not decided on the topic of religion or faith. What I do know is that a lot of damage and pain has been inflicted on people in the name of one religion or another and I'm therefore deeply suspicious of all organised forms or religion.
Having said that, I do admire some people with strong faith, but not the ones that go blindly through the world, believing their God is going to make everything right. But the ones who do retain their own reasoning and self determination, these people do impress me.
Anyways, enough religious talk. I do like the black better, I have to say! I've been looking at templates for my own blog as I'm kind of bored with the design at the moment. However, I haven't found a plain coloured template anywhere that lets you easily change the header photo. Any tips for me?
John, I'm afraid I shook it more roughly than necessary and now one of the shift keys doesn't work and the d has a tendency to get stuck. A lot of junk fell out of it, but it didn't fix the question mark. It does work with the other shift key, however. How very shifty! Thanks for the tip. I didn't know my keyboard harbored such microscopic wildlife.
Thanks for the template tip, Irene! Will have to go and check it out now. Changes are afoot....
i count myself humanist with you irene! the gritlets all had a humanist naming ceremony, and very sweet it was too!
I have faith but it's by no means organized. Great post.
Peter, Paul and Mary once sang, "Everybody's gonna pray on the very last day... would that be Wednesday?
Hope the New Year brings you great joy and good health!!
I would have been right next to you, burning at the stake! I am a Jewish-Buddhist-Pagan-heretic!
Humanist too, don't get me started on religion, though some lovely music has been written in its name.
Thank you Irene for changing the red background! That is less trying on my ancient eyes.
As regards faith....... I believe that God knows you even though you might not recognize it!
Oh Irene, I could not agree more about your views on religion. I am an aetheist and cannot understand how people can not take responisbility for their own lives. Boggles my mind.
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