What I believe part 2

     A guy asked me about my faith recently.  It led to quite a conversation.  My beliefs have really continued to change as the years have gone on.  Here was part one of my beliefs I wrote 5/12/15: previous blog It discussed creation, the bible, homosexuality, Jesus, etc....

Here is some of what we discussed:

1. Personal God, impersonal God, hands-on, hands-off:

     I think that my traditional understanding has always been that we have a personal hands-on God.  Pray and God hears you.  Pray enough and you can change things.  But the more I live and see and experience, I am starting to think that we have a personal God that is hands-off.  In other words, the world was set in motion and now its going and he is sitting back watching.  But I think there is a personal vesting or interest in our lives as well.

     Thinking of God as a father to all of us, makes it easier for me to try to wrap my head and heart around things.  If I raise my kids and send them off into the world, now life is up to them.  If they do well, I celebrate with them.  If they fall on hard times, I'm sad with them.  But should I be getting involved in their problems?  If I want them to stand on their own 2 feet, then I'd say no I shouldn't.  They are always welcome to come over for dinner, but don't expect me to hand out $ to bail them out of problems.  I have 3 kids, what if I had 3 billion?  Then I kinda need to be rooting for them, but not living their lives.  What if they beg me?  Isn't this kinda like prayer?  Does begging get me to intervene in their lives???  I mean it shouldn't.  Maybe once in a GREAT while I might show up and do something completely unexpected.  But it should never be expected.

     And then when my kids are grown ups, am I punishing them ever for their mistakes?  I'd say no.  I'd say life and mistakes are punishment enough.  I'm in their corner sitting with them in their mess, sad right along side of them.  But I'm not orchestrating a punishment for their behavior....  There is a saying, "sin is its own punishment".  I'm not ever withholding love or withholding protection anymore than I'm ever arbitrarily giving favor to one child over the other.  So why would God be any different if I'm made in his image?

2. Animals versus humans....evil versus altruism.....consciousness versus instinct

     As humans, we are animals.  We're an animal with a brain that has evolved to have a consciousness.  I think that when that happened, we became aware.  We began to think about creation and the start of this whole thing.  I'm not entirely sure how God may have begun to interact with us.  I mean along with consciousness comes the yearning to know our creator and the desire to make sense of it all. 

    Science will tell you (pretty strongly) evolution has occurred, that there were other humans besides us (homo-sapiens).  So what's the problem if a creator began the whole show and evolution took us to animals that became conscious-which would be in the image of God (the ultimate form of consciousness some would say)?  It doesn't have to be an either/or.

     So now evil as we call it, happens when we (sadly) embrace our animal nature and instincts.  But what happens when we embrace our consciousness?  Love, empathy, forgiveness, altruism.  Those are very scarce qualities in the animal kingdom.  They happen within family lines, but you never see a hyena calling over to the jackal to share the carcass.  So are you a conscious animal?  I am.  So act like one, don't just act like an animal.  Act with the gifts that came with the consciousness.


3. Other religious faiths:

     I think that religion is a cultural phenomenon.  I was born in a Christian nation.  Go back 2,500 years and there was no such thing.  What about those born in a Muslim nation?  Hindu?  Etc....

     So what does that mean?  I guess I don't really know.  If my concept of us being children of God is accurate, then maybe the new command Jesus gave in John 13:34-35, (to love one another and that is how we will know that we are his followers), is the criteria we need to use to decide if we are indeed following God. 

     What about all the other extra stuff besides that?  I don't know, what about it?  I mean there are funny things about us humans that makes us exhibit a tribalism that causes us to want to be better/different than those "others".  In and within all religious faiths a layer gets placed on top of loving one another.  This succeeds in turning the focus into an "us" versus "them".   The added layers might even be well meaning and well intentioned in order to "keep us on track" in our efforts to be loving.

     But consider that if we are children of God.  What kind of sense does it make for me to promote my kids to go off in three different directions of exclusivity (Christian, Jew, Muslim) if that is something that really matters?  Unless maybe the only thing that "really" matters is not how they worship, but how they love?? 

A Relationship Killer....

Heard this story on  thegodjourney.com podcast many years ago:

     There was a couple that had been married for a while, basically raising kids, going thru life as we all do.  Let's just say the relationship was stuck in a lull.  One day, the doorbell rang and the wife went and answered it, only to find a girl standing there.  "Can I help you?" the wife asked.  The girl said, "Your husband called and told me to come over and babysit the kids tonight".  Moments later, the husband arrives home from work and comes in the house and tell his wife, "Honey, get your favorite dress on, we're going out tonight".  The wife is surprised and very excited at this point. 

     So they drive off to a very nice restaurant and awaiting them is a very special table by the window and as she sits down, she sees a note by her place setting.  She opens it to find a handwritten list from her husband of all the things he loves about her.  They go on to have a great meal with the most wonderful conversation and at the end he pulls out a red rose (her favorite) and gives it to her.  The wife is thinking, "could this get any better?".  The relationship is flying high.

     So the following week, the door bell rings again.  She goes to the door to find the baby sitter.  "What are you doing here?", the wife asks.  "Your husband asked me to watch the kids again".  The wife immediately gets that excited feeling again.  Moments later the husband is home from work, "Honey, get your favorite dress on, we're going out tonight".  So off they go and the husband drives to the same restaurant as last week.  The couple are sat in the same special table, she notices the same special handwritten note of all the things he loves about her.  They go on to have the same conversation and at the end of the meal he pulls out...the same red rose (still her favorite).  The wife is thinking that this is a little weird, but it's nice to be out and together.

     This same thing happens the next week and then the next.  And as each week goes by with same routine, same dress, same restaurant, same meal, same list, same flower.... the wife is starting to indicate that she doesn't feel the same way about this as she did the first time.  It has gone from "special" in her eyes, uplifting to the relationship, to a point that it is just weird this same thing every week.  The husband is amazed, he can't figure it out.  He says to her, "But honey, you really loved it the first time..."

So what is the lesson here?  

     The lesson is that ritual and tradition can actually be subversive to relationship.  What was once great, if allowed to become repetitious can quickly become less about the relationship and more about the routine ("this is what we do....").  We can relate that to relationships of our own but we can even relate that to some churches that are stuck in tradition and rituals.  What was once a fresh and uplifting experience can deteriorate into a meaningless activity that is done for traditions sake.  And soon it becomes an obligation that we don't really look forward to....if we're not careful.

     How much better would it have been if the 2nd week, the husband would've said let's go to a play or a movie?  Or even a different restaurant?  We must look relationships through the needs of others and their eyes.  We must guard against a formula that is followed without thought.  Again, lend that to our spiritual lives: Is it formulaic and grounded in rituals that become little more than something we do because we've always done it that way?

     Some ritual can be good as long as it doesn't become an obligation that you dread.  If you read the bible daily and look at it similar to sitting with your spouse and sharing quality time then it's not a formula of "reading because I should".  If you are going thru the motions (with God or your spouse), it won't be long before it feels superficial and lacking in the depth of the relationship.  Obligation often is oppressive to freedom....  We must be active and purposeful in the development of our relationships; all of them.  Not just allowing ourselves to fall into a routine that goes through the motions....but keeping it truly ALIVE.