Hi: What is religion anyways? I thought religion was the spiritual teaching of spiritual people. I think that spiritual teachings are supposed to be good guidelines for living. Religion is supposed to bring out the best in ourselves and others and help self and others in positive loving ways. Religion to me is about the love of God, about love, connecting with, thinking and feeling in love. Our culture is materialistic and concerned so much with the material items in front of us that we often crave to connect with the greater good in life, with the energy, the consciousness of goodness, the beauty of divinity, the visions of a perfect, clean, healthy, happy world, of heaven. I think that religion ought to put people in good head spaces, bring peace of mind, relief, healing, forgiveness, and encouragement to act towards self and others in good respectful ways. I see though that religion seems to get too caught up in rhetoric and dogma that doesn't make good sense, that supports to much materialism which causes more problems for people, and actually supports and encourages biases and corrupt peoples and systems. I feel inspired by truly religiously spiritual persons who help me align myself with the love of God, but I feel put of by religion which causes griefs and stress and strife instead of elevating me into good spaces and giving me the real true information I need to handle relating with self, others, and situations in good, Godly ways. Their is so much anger, guilt, shame, blame, oppresion, repression in religion sometimes that I find it too heavy to get engaged in. I think that I am personally committed to a positive healthy Godly lifestyle. I would like to see the positivity, love, joy, and celebration of the love of God dispalyed in religion. I think that religion gets too serious and involved in politics, beauracracy, business etc that it loses its good focus sometimes and ends up teaching people the wrong things or explaining good right things in an nonunderstandable way and so people lose interest. I like learning how to be well disciplined and respectful of self and others but I'm not interested in power, control, and manipulation trips. Who wants to hear about horrors and grief all the time. Who wants to hear about fire and brimstone, fear, sodom and gomorrah, fear, lothing, wars, etc. all the time. I can turn on the news and see these things. I want to hear about love, joy, and beauty, thank you. I wish religion would get it's head out of politics, government, and big business/money. Look at the Catholic religion! What a joke! The Catholic religion is really corrupt. People used to be able to buy their forgiveness through indulgences in the Catholic religion, people are still buying their forgiveness in the Catholic religion! My Goodness, talk about doing the opposite of the potential good of religion, this is a good example of this. I think that religion is not about who has the most money, and drives the "best", most sought after popular car etc. But, is about who has become good at imparting the love of God and effective ways of safe and healthy, community, family oriented living.
And, peoples different religions need to be respected. I respect someone elses religion because I respect another. I may not exactly agree with their religion or everything about another's religion, so I can agree to disagree on some points, but I still respect another and their religion. Well, I have to add a disclaimer-if their religion is satanic, I stay away. This religion is scary to me. MArx may have a point that religion sometimes serves as the opiate for the masses but religion can be a positive opiate. After all, we need to find ways to positively opiate ourselves in this world. Well, anyways I talk a lot and start making puns out of things I think, so I'm signing off now. Good luck on the test, by the way.
Signed, Shaunasi