After all, you can't criticize them if you don't know anything about them! (If that offended you, it applies to you most. Everybody else is just smiling. It's ok; I expect this post will get at least a few people snarling.)
If you just can't force yourself to broaden your horizons (nobody's forcing you to convert), at least deepen your understanding about your own spirituality (or lack of).
Notice I haven't used the word "religion." Indulge me. I've been used to a Hebrew or Greek word study as part of church for eight years now, so let me share something:
I do not support religion.
If memory serves, "religion" comes from Latin roots meaning "to bind back to" and usually refers to a binding to ritual or rules. Rituals are man-made; by definition, how spiritually fulfilling can they really be? Paul said that faithless works are meaningless, in the spiritual context. In other words, anybody can go to a church and stand and sit and sing on cue, following all the rituals, without being spiritually involved at all.
Spirituality, though. That's another thing altogether. Spirituality does not point fingers at others, it requires us to examine ourselves. Spirituality does not add man-made rules. Spirituality does not ask us to follow blindly without question and do things that otherwise rational people would never do.
If you're a church-goer, think about the doctrine your church teaches: how much is spiritual, and how much is religion (man-made rules)? If you're calling yourself an atheist, is it because you truly don't believe in God, or because you don't believe in religion? (You'd be surprised how often it's the latter.)
No religion. That's why it's not religious literacy month.
Examine your spirituality this month. Spend some time considering what you believe (or don't) and why.
Tweet
No comments:
Post a Comment