Another night to write
What do you say to someone who believes (or romanticizes) that their god has abandoned them?
WHat do you say when you have no personal relationship with god?
I don't spend my time bashing xians on a regular basis (their leaders, sure, but that's an easy target). But everyone who follows a faith is looking for a void they percieve exists in their lives. I think everyone fills a bit of emptiness, and we do what we can to fill it. Some people know what feeling is, and are blessed with the knowledge of how to fufill it. Everyone else feels the void, but they can'''t identify it.
They feel a longing.
So what happens when we feel the longing that we can't identify?
We try to fill the void.
We go shopping.
We eat.
We drink.
We pray.
We f**k.
We cry.
We lash out at our loved ones.
We dope up.
We fight.
We go on.
Or . . .
We just give in to the dispair.
I like to think that I'm lucky. I've been married for 12 years to my soulmate, so I completed my search for fufillment long ago. What I wanted was someone who would love me and let me love them in they way I always thought love should be. I wanted to be the kind of parent I wish I had, and teach my children in a way that builds them up instead of teraring them down; I found that in my wife and children. It probably sounds hokey, but it's really true. I know that people look for that fulfillment in god, but I could never get past the 'faith in the almighty' bit.
For me, it was the realization that I was looking for something that a belief in god (any god) could give me. But that didn't mean I wanted to fill the void by denouncing god and all who would believe the snake-oil salesmen. I think that there's a point that xians and some athiests never reach, and that is peace with their concept of god.
For xians (and all judeo-based god forms) its a idol mentality. Whether the symbol or the reference, the message is lost in the endless translations. When reading the new testament (in relation to Jesus of Nazarene), the words attributed to him can be quite moving and inspiring. Of course, since these faiths are more about a confucainist sect of fascist rules and idolatry (considering the 10 Commandments and the Diver's Laws). Ghandhi said it best when whe said that he really liked xianity until he met a xian.
FOr the athiests, its the constant hand-wringing about finding fault with the bible and xians in general. I remeber years ago watching an American Athiests show on public access channel, and the whole conversation was focused on biblical errors. I do understand the fun in such activities, but too often the conversation focuses on faith bashing, and the rhetoric sounds little different then fundementalist babtists.
WHat do you say when you have no personal relationship with god?
I don't spend my time bashing xians on a regular basis (their leaders, sure, but that's an easy target). But everyone who follows a faith is looking for a void they percieve exists in their lives. I think everyone fills a bit of emptiness, and we do what we can to fill it. Some people know what feeling is, and are blessed with the knowledge of how to fufill it. Everyone else feels the void, but they can'''t identify it.
They feel a longing.
So what happens when we feel the longing that we can't identify?
We try to fill the void.
We go shopping.
We eat.
We drink.
We pray.
We f**k.
We cry.
We lash out at our loved ones.
We dope up.
We fight.
We go on.
Or . . .
We just give in to the dispair.
I like to think that I'm lucky. I've been married for 12 years to my soulmate, so I completed my search for fufillment long ago. What I wanted was someone who would love me and let me love them in they way I always thought love should be. I wanted to be the kind of parent I wish I had, and teach my children in a way that builds them up instead of teraring them down; I found that in my wife and children. It probably sounds hokey, but it's really true. I know that people look for that fulfillment in god, but I could never get past the 'faith in the almighty' bit.
For me, it was the realization that I was looking for something that a belief in god (any god) could give me. But that didn't mean I wanted to fill the void by denouncing god and all who would believe the snake-oil salesmen. I think that there's a point that xians and some athiests never reach, and that is peace with their concept of god.
For xians (and all judeo-based god forms) its a idol mentality. Whether the symbol or the reference, the message is lost in the endless translations. When reading the new testament (in relation to Jesus of Nazarene), the words attributed to him can be quite moving and inspiring. Of course, since these faiths are more about a confucainist sect of fascist rules and idolatry (considering the 10 Commandments and the Diver's Laws). Ghandhi said it best when whe said that he really liked xianity until he met a xian.
FOr the athiests, its the constant hand-wringing about finding fault with the bible and xians in general. I remeber years ago watching an American Athiests show on public access channel, and the whole conversation was focused on biblical errors. I do understand the fun in such activities, but too often the conversation focuses on faith bashing, and the rhetoric sounds little different then fundementalist babtists.
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