Views on the Bible

It’s amazing how perspectives change when one moves from Christianity to being an apostate. While I’ve never particularly liked the word “apostate,” I suppose I now fit the term. I have mentioned in previous posts that during my Christian years, I engrossed myself in apologetics so I could then have “a reason for the hope that lives in me.” Well, in all actuality, I know that for quite some time I was pursuing apologetics that I might buttress my own faith in the Bible and Christianity.

Now, I find myself in the interesting position of reading blogs that I could have written as little as three years ago. There is no shortage of blogs expounding the virtues of the bible, defending its “truths,” and urging people to believe. I understand this, and I understand the point. I also understand the feeling that many Christians have that they need to “witness” to the “lost” (another term I hate, I hated it when I was a Christian too). I’ve had no shortage of comments on my blog written with the intention of getting me to re-convert, admit my sins, and let me know that god still loves me. That’s all well and good, but please remember, a blog isn’t going to change anyone’s mind on spiritual matters (see my entry on apologetics).

Here’s my take on the bible. For many of you, this may be old news; for others, you may be surprised. I believe the bible is pretty accurate! (and a great hush fell over the room) I am speaking in terms of historocity. I do not see it as accurate when describing creation or any of the supernatural events, but in terms of locations, archeology, etc… yeah, I can see it being a pretty reliable source.

I have had many bible conversations with Christians over the past couple of years. Usually, when it comes to trying to convince a person of the inspiration of scripture, the accuracy of the bible is the first point to be brought up. The fact that archeology confirms the scriptures to be true is often emphasized. Just on my blog alone, I have had more than one person take this route to “proving” the bible to be inspired. I don’t believe anyone can prove the inspiration of the bible. I think that’s too tall an order for any human. I do think there is a lot of archeological evidence pointing to the historical accuracy of people and events in the bible, but this evidence does nothing for me in proving the inspiration of it. There is a problem finding evidence that Pontius Pilate existed at one time, as Prefect of Judea, and using that evidence as evidence not only that Jesus existed (which I believe he did) but that he was also the son of god. I realize this is an extreme example, however, this is the type of leap that is often made when considering the archeological evidence of the bible. There are a number of findings showing certain biblical characters and cities existed, but this is a far cry from inspiration.

Another area often cited to prove the inspiration of scripture is in the area of science. Again, there are a number of citations that make the bible sound very accurate in its scientific knowledge, however, then there are so many more that are off. Yes, Isaiah talks about the “circle of the earth,” yet Genesis refers to the sky as a “dome.” Isaiah 11 talks about the “four corners of the earth,” presumably indicating the belief in a flat earth (which makes sense when you consider the “dome” sky from Genesis). In addition, Genesis, Isaiah, Ezekiel, and Matthew all speak of the moon being its own source of light. One last area, Genesis talks about Woman being formed from the rib of the man. Perhaps this is metaphorical, I don’t know. However, my understanding is that the female sex is the default sex at conception. It is not until later that the Y chromosome comes into play after around 40 days. When this happens, the male testes begin developing. If this doesn’t happen, those sex organs will become the ovaries of the female.

Please remember, I don’t claim to have scientific expertise, however there are a number of places in the bible that make scientific sense while at the same time there are many places that we know are scientifically ludicrous. I also know that one can argue that some of these examples could be literary device rather than scientific statement in the bible, but which ones do we believe? Jesus himself talked about the moon not giving its light Matthew 24. Sure this was prophecy, but come on.

I don’t write this entry to change minds. That won’t happen. I am instead writing to say that when archeological and scientific “proofs” are made, there are many others that aren’t nearly as friendly. Also, the point is that if the creator of the universe decided to use this collection of books (bible) as its revelation to humanity, one would think that there would have been much more focus on accuracy. Sure, the bible was written by 40+ authors over 2000 years, so I understand the argument that they didn’t know how to explain some of their visions. However, my argument is that these authors were “inspired,” and to me inspiration means there should be a pretty heavy focus on accuracy.

Exploring Non-Religious Child Rearing

I have a seven month old son who is the light of my life. He is our first child, and now, just like many parents, it’s hard to even remember my life when he wasn’t a part of it. How things have changed; how life is exponentially better! It’s absolutely amazing what one’s child can add to life, and it’s also amazing the choices one needs to contemplate with this life transformation.

I must give credit to the blog that started my wheels turning for this entry. You can find it at Raising Children Without God

This post really got me thinking again about the issue of how I want to raise my son.

Those of you who are familiar with my blog know that I left Christianity a couple of years ago. The transition from Christianity to philosophical Deism was not an easy one, nor was it made lightly. All previous entries in this blog have been centered around my thoughts as they pertain to religion and humanist views, however, now with a child thrown into the picture, I must also evaluate how I want to raise him.

Firstly, he will not be raised in the Church. While I will not do anything to dissuade him from exploring this later, as he is old enough to make his own decisions, I will not force him to attend a service every Sunday simply for the moral benefit. I have had family members ask me “When are you going to baptize/dedicate _ in the Church?” My answer is that I won’t. I was raised going to church every Sunday morning. Every Sunday morning my mother had to fight to get us all up and out the door in time for Sunday School. Once we got to church, I spent my time drawing, people watching, or imagining strange things coming out of the person’s head in front of me. I couldn’t wait for it to be over. I participated in Sunday School, learned the Christian story, and really didn’t care overall. This was just what Sundays were about.

Now that I’m a parent and non-Christian, it makes no sense for me to raise my son in the Church. So, what does this mean when it comes to raising him outside the Church? This is new territory for me, but here are my thoughts on it:

1. I will teach him and encourage him to learn about the religions of the world. They play such a crucial role in understanding humanity and people of different cultures. I believe it’s extremely important to learn about the different concepts of God or creator, and how people behave according to their own concept.

2. I will do everything I can to teach him the value of human life. This is not just in regards to the act of murder, but also respect for others, respect for property, responsibility, and accountability. I will show him how important it is to help people, and be a defender of those who can’t defend themselves. To respect human life is to value what it means to be human.

3. I will teach him to think through ideas, not just blindly accept mine or anybody else’s opinions. There is a difference here between what I expect of his actions and what he thinks. I am his father, so I will have expectations of behavior. However, when it comes to the big ideas of life, I want him to think for himself. I will gladly tell him my thoughts, but I don’t want him to necessarily adopt them as his own. This is possibly the most important gift I could ever give to my son, with the exception of my love and devotion to him.

4. Never minimize the values of others. Talk to others of different values, beliefs, and situations. But never belittle them for what they believe. What a person believes is a large part of who that person is.

5. Notice your emotions, but follow your reason. Emotions tell us if we’re on or off track from our values. They are the markers of how we’re doing on the inside. They are not, however, an accurate map of how to live life.

This is what I have so far. I know that as he grows and matures, there will be many more life lessons that will come up. To raise one’s child outside of religion is not going to be easy, I can already see that. But I think it’s extremely important for him to come to his own decisions. Not only will they be his, but they will be much more heartfelt.

A Non-Christian’s Attempt at Helping Christians Learn How to Convert

I am becoming increasingly perplexed at the concept of conversion, and man’s role in the matter. I know Jesus gave the great commission to “go and make disciples,” and I get that. I also know that when the day of Pentecost came, it was through the “Holy Spirit,” not the preaching of Peter, that people were converted. I also know that Paul spent a good amount of time evangelizing to the Greeks in the book of Romans. I also know that only God can soften hearts (or harden them in the case of Exodus) that people may come to him…for we are all dead in sin.

Do you see where I’m going with this? What is the role of the person in conversion? I wrote an earlier article on the point of apologetics, where I determined that apologetics is really for the believer, not the unbeliever. Intellectual arguments are not going to convert me back to Christianity, just as intellectual arguments are not likely to deconvert someone out of Christianity, or any other religion.

I have had several cases of people quoting scripture to me as comments on my blog, trying to show me the error of my ways. They are good-hearted, wanting to help, but also knowing I am headed straight to hell. Well, here’s the deal. QUOTING SCRIPTURE TO NON-CHRISTIANS IS NOT GOING TO WORK! Sorry to yell at the reader, but I think this needs to be clearly understood. Christians, please do not quote scripture to me as a means of trying to get me “saved” again. It won’t work. Why? Because my eyes are darkened, my heart is hardened, and unless the Holy Spirit moves in me, I don’t have a chance of escaping hell. (Not to mention the fact that I don’t accept the bible as divinely inspired…you might as well quote Homer to me).

I am being a little tongue and cheek here. I’m really not trying to be rude, but I do think it’s important for Christians to realize that you are not going to save people through comments on a blog. If you truly want to save someone, you have to play a significant role in that person’s life. You have to make sure that you are living the life appropriately, and that it’s attractive enough for the convert-to-be to want to accept that life. You, Christians, are not going to save anyone. The best you can do is listen, explain your position (apologetics), and then get out of the way. If you truly believe with all your heart that God is the one responsible for saving and changing lives, please let him do it.

I have nothing against the bible. I do not hold it to be divinely inspired, but I do think it serves a purpose. I don’t mind people quoting scripture in a comment on my blog as long as it’s relevant to our discussion. But please refrain from meaningless banter about my needing to read the bible and quoting the “truth” to me. There are more effective and loving ways to reach people.

How Does Your Religion Affect Your Daily Life?

Interesting question, I think. For me, I would have to say that my religion hardly impacts my daily life at all. Actually, I consider myself without religion, although I hold to a Deist philosophy. So what does this mean? It’s interesting really, at least for me, because I feel free from the constraints of any particular belief system. I am able to discover what appeals to my own reason, and pursue that which my reason dictates.

Here is why I consider myself without religion: I have no daily, weekly, or other actions that result from my beliefs in spirituality. Many will talk of themselves as having faith, but not religion. However, I see religion as the outward actions that take place as a result of one’s faith.

I suppose I would consider myself as having some sort of “faith,” as I do believe in some sort of creator. While I don’t possess any personal experience with this creator, or have any “proof” of its existence, I do still believe that the universe reflects creation of some sort. However, the difference with me vs. people of regular mainstream religions is that my “faith” is really more philosophical than practical. This means that I almost consider myself agnostic in the sense that I don’t think we can ever really know the creative force. However, I’m not a true agnostic in that I do think there is some sort of creative force.

It’s really a mixed up system, but I understand it quite well and it makes sense to me and appeals to my reasoning. This is why I consider myself a Deist. It is the one established form of belief that most closely aligns with my beliefs.

It is really a very great philosophy for me because I remain open to intellectual integrity. In other words, if I come across something that really changes my mode of thinking and truly appeals to my sense of reason, then I can make the necessary adjustments. So far, I’ve never come across anything with that amount of force behind it, but one never knows. I can engage in religious conversations (which I love) without feeling the need to be right. I like to play devil’s advocate just to keep the conversation moving. I am not trying to convince someone else that I’m right and therefore he or she is wrong. For me, it’s not about who is right and who is wrong. For me, it’s the discussion that I love, the possibility of finding new ways to think about things. One thing I’ve learned in my few years on this earth is that I don’t know! I can’t know! Therefore, I’m not going to devote my life to something that makes no sense, and I’m certainly not out to win people to my way of thinking. I get nothing from that.

So how does your religion affect your life? Do you enjoy the intellectual stimulation from a great conversation, or do you try to change minds? Is it about right and wrong for you? Do you know that you are right and therefore I am wrong? If so, how do you know? Are you open to new ideas and perspectives, or do you stay with what you “know?” How do you act differently because of your religion than you might if you didn’t have that religion? These are all great questions and can be a lot of fun to answer, not to mention, give you more insight into yourself.

Apologetics- What’s the Point?

I’ve been doing some reading lately on Christian apologetics. In the course of my latest readings, I have come to an interesting revelation: so far, I have not found one convincing argument for my belief in the Bible or the Christian God. I suppose the reason that this discovery stood out to me so much is that I am reading the same materials that were a buttress to my faith only 3+ years ago. William Lane Craig, Josh McDowell, Ron Rhodes, Lee Strobel, and many other websites as well have all had fair consultation by me.

Here’s the deal: I remember a former pastor of mine making the comment in a sermon that “you can’t prove or disprove the bible.” I still think that is a great statement fully ringing of truth. Why is it that the same arguments that formerly strengthened my faith only now seem to discourage it all the more. Is it that I have become an apostate and therefore my eyes are now blinded to the truth? Possibly, however, Paul performed apologetics to the Greek Pagans in Romans and changed many of their minds. Is the reason that apologetics are not working for me because God has “hardened my heart” and I have no ability to return to the fold? Possibly. Although, I have to admit, if that were the case, I want nothing to do with that god anyway.

Here is what I think is really going on. Christians, you need to read and consider this, because I think this could be helpful to you.

1. Apologetics solely should not be used to lead people into a relationship with Christ. A Christian can have all of the reasoning in the world why his or her belief is correct…but guess what, the non-believer can have all of the reasoning in the world why his or her non-belief is correct. To engage in debate is fun, however, in the long run, completely ineffective. Even if there is a definite winner, the loser is not likely to change his or her position. Read some of the transcripts of debates between Atheists and Christians that can be found online. In some of them, you can see a definite winner, but never did I hear of an Atheist becoming a Christian or a Christian becoming an atheist as a result of the debate.

2. Apologetics is primarily useful in strengthening the faith of the faithful. Peter exhorts the readers to “have a reason for the hope that lies in you.” I believe this scripture has been twisted over the years. I don’t believe that having the reason is for the hearer as much as it is for the sayer. If you as a Christian have a reason for the hope that lies in you, then that strengthens your faith in the wake of questions and doubts. This reason helps convince you that there is reasoning behind your faith, not just blind acceptance. But once again, this reasoning is not likely to bring anybody to faith in Christ.

3. No matter how many answers you have for why the claims of Christianity are true, there will always be non-believers that can counter those answers with answers of their own. This is not necessarily a battle over who is more intelligent, instead, its a battle of perspectives. At this point, I don’t think there is anybody on this earth that can convince me to return to Christianity. No man (or woman) can do that, nor should they have to. The only one that could do that would be God. Apologetics are great to show the world that there is logic and reasoning behind your faith, but this logic and faith really does nothing when it comes to the “heart” relationship espoused by Christianity.

I do believe that apologetics has its place in the public discourse. I love listening to and participating in good debate. It must be understood though, your religion, whatever that may be, is your perspective. Do you look at life through Jesus colored glasses? Or Jewish colored glasses? Or do you look at life through the glasses of a skeptic? In order for true conversion or “soul-winning” to happen, there has to be a change on a much deeper level. A level so deep that apologetics couldn’t begin to get there.

Is Your Concept of God a Crutch?

Jesse (The Body) Ventura, when he was Governor of Minnesota several years ago, came under fire for making a statement about religion being a crutch for weak-minded people. At the time I was a Christian, and I along with many other people of faith was appalled at such a statement. While I still don’t agree with his statement, I can see some nugget of rationality in it now.

What is your concept of God? I have stated in previous posts that I started to really have a hard time with prayer. I realized that I was using my concept of God as a crutch. When things weren’t going the way I wanted, or thought they should, I would offer prayers of “supplication” and “thanksgiving.” I knew I needed to be thankful first, and then I could ask for God to fix me and my life. That was fine for a while…a long while. However, I started to pray less and less, and began questioning my beliefs more and more, until I finally came to the realization that I could no longer continue down the Christian path, nor any religious path for that matter.

Call it pride, self-pity, whatever you like, but I came to the point that I couldn’t, in good conscience, ask God for anything. I realized that one of the problems I had with religion was that it seemed so self-serving. We can all have times of genuine love and admiration for the creator, and even praise it for its grandness. But let’s face it, it seems the vast majority of prayers going on out there are for personal requests. “Dear God, please let me get this job…you know that I have prepared well for the interview and have done my part…please give this job to me…according to your will.” I would always add that tag ending, just to make it seem unselfish.

I began to think, “what about that other job candidate that prepared just as much as I and is just as qualified as I, and has prayed the same prayer? Whom does God choose? As a Christian, I could always fall back on the “it wasn’t according to God’s plan for my life” excuse. It was always a great comfort to think that God had something better planned for me. But then I remembered, wait, I have free-will. How do God’s plans align with my free-will? Sure, I need to submit myself to God’s leading, but then how do I know what that leading is if I am praying according to my perceived needs? If, in my conscience, I feel a “prompting” to become a missionary in Abu Dhabi, does that mean that I need to pack up and go?

Here’s the deal, God became a great excuse for all sorts of things. If I was happy, I praised God for the happy experience. If I was sad or worried, I asked God to fix it. If I was unsure of what to do, I asked God for direction. If I was angry, I could blame God. Where is there any personal accountability in this? You may write comments to me remarking that my concept of God was skewed, but let’s be honest, how many people have that same skewed concept but don’t admit it?

I touched on some of the issues in my earlier posts regarding “American Christianity” parts one and two. I do believe that our concept of God is really going astray. We have taken the “personal relationship” portion of Christianity and turned it into a “personal genie” relationship. Instead of honestly looking at why we are in the situation we are in, whether good or bad, we tend to give God the credit for it, and then “pray” to it according to our desired outcomes. Is this what God is all about?

The standard line in Christianity is that God created us to honor Him. That is our purpose in life. Well, because we have a “personal” relationship with God, we can push the “honor Him” portion of our purpose aside, and focus on how we can bring honor to Him by Him using us to accomplish great things. Do you see what I’m getting at. We can be very clever beings. If I want God to use me for His glory, then I want His glory to be revealed in the things I want to pursue. If I mess up getting there, God will fix it. If it’s going great, then it’s because I am in tune with His leading. (read- when I screw up, God will bail me out, when I do well, it’s because of ME being a good follower.)

I really don’t want to criticize all religion. That’s not my point. My point is that I think we should re-examine our belief of who God is and who we are. If you come out with the same beliefs you’ve always had, more power to you (although I would question the depth of your analysis).

These are thoughts and feelings I’ve had for a long time. However, it wasn’t until recently that I was really able to identify them. As most of you know, I am no longer a Christian. I consider myself a Deist philosophically. In all honesty, the only “prayers” that I can utter are recognitions of beauty in nature. That’s it. I can’t pray about myself or my situations, whether good or bad. I believe that my fortunes and misfortunes are directly related to my action or inaction in life. I can’t see it any other way.

The Power of Self

No doubt, this particular post will rub many people the wrong way. However, I have become increasingly interested in the power of the individual to better their own lives. Living in the United States, there seems to be an almost innate belief in the ability of each person to improve their lives, no matter their circumstances, as long as they are granted equality of opportunity.

However, at the same time, we also grant allowances for ourselves by making excuses for our lot in life. “I was born into poverty,” “I come from a broken home,” etc… So my question is: What impact do our external circumstances have on our internal feeling of worth? What impact do external circumstances have on our own feelings of self-worth? Should they have as large or small of an impact as they do?

Over the past year and a half, I have been dealing with serious career problems. I decided to do a complete career change…not just a job, but completely change industries. This, it turns out, was not nearly as easy as I had expected. As a matter of fact, I admit I was downright naive about the difficulties I would run into. Now, I am in a career that I like better, but making approximately half of what I made in my previous career.

I have been through all the emotions and feelings I believe possible throughout this process- Excitement, depression, hope, despair, worthlessness, self-confidence… I find amazing the fact that I am so quick to look back on the original decision to change careers and wish I could have a do-over. “It was such a stupid decision; I should never have done it; If I knew then what I know now…” All of these phrases have had far too much time to play around in my head. It occurred to me that if I’m feeling this way, there are no doubt many out there feeling this way. Also, there are no doubt many of you who have felt this way at some point and have now made it to the other side of the fence. I certainly hope for you that the grass did turn out to be greener.

I have officially turned a corner in my inner thought processes. It occurred to me how self-defeating it truly is to focus on the mistakes (if in fact they truly are mistakes). I am no longer convinced that my decision was wrong. It may have been bad timing, but I have learned so many things about myself through this process that I am amazed.

1. I have a deep and abiding commitment to my family
2. I am a pretty intelligent person overall
3. Even when times are tough, I can handle the problems calmly and rationally
4. While I can’t reasonably pray to God about this, I have found that I don’t need to
5. What great life experience I have gained through this
6. I can make the necessary lifestyle changes to reflect my current income level
7. I don’t need a particular career or income level to feel worthy
8. There is not one person on this earth more valuable than I
9. I am a deep person
10. I don’t communicate well

There are many other things I’ve learned about myself, but mostly I’ve learned that I, along with every other person, don’t have to have my inner worth determined by my external circumstances. I have an honest belief that I will turn the corner soon, and find what I’m looking for.

In truth, I think I am a much stronger individual now than I was before. I am even more set in my beliefs. I can’t pray to a god about my situation, I actually tried, until I literally couldn’t anymore. Immediately, my philosophy kicked in…This is not God’s problem, it’s mine. I made the decision, I can’t ask it to bail me out from the consequences. Take the hits as they come, and keep getting back up. Never quit.

There is real value in your life. There is real value in your beliefs, whatever they are. There is real value in your talents, skills, knowledge, and experiences. These things make you who you are. Never let external circumstances make you lose sight of your value. Ever.

Humanists- What’s Wrong with You?

Seriously Humanists, can we move past the ridiculous political ambitions that make absolutely no sense whatsoever? It seems nearly daily I can read an article put out by Humanists that makes me embarrassed to call myself one. Some of you who read this blog regularly think I’ve been hard on Christianity, and I suppose that’s true, however, I’m an equal opportunity complainer.

This discussion is taken from Humanism.org’s “Statement of New Humanism” (for some). For purposes of brevity, I will focus on only one section of this statement: their beliefs on democracy.

As for representative government, since the extension of universal suffrage people have believed that only a single act is involved when they elect their representative and their representative carries out the mandate received. But as time has passed, people have come to see clearly that there are in fact two acts: a first in which the many elect the few, and a second in which those few betray the many, representing interests foreign to the mandate they received.

True, to an extent. Representative Democracy is certainly not perfect. There never has been a perfect government, and let’s face it, there never will be. We must never forget that the people that are elected have ambitions of their own…We seem to expect a great extent of altruism from our elected officials, but are our expectations even remotely reasonable?

Humanists struggle to transform the practice of representative government, giving the highest priority to consulting the people directly through referenda, plebiscites, and direct election of candidates.

Are you freakin’ kidding me??? Someone else can do some research on the participation pathetic levels of the American people in Presidential elections, let alone the mid-term elections. You seriously want to consult the American people on issues such as waste disposal, how much to spend on Katrina cleanup, National infrastructure repairs, Covert military actions, and what day will be national “hug your cat” day? Everybody knows that any form of policy change toward direct democracy will be a huge disaster. It’s like Socialism- Sounds great in theory, works terribly. To be fair, they don’t seem to be arguing for direct democracy, however, they are talking about representative democracy reform. To what? Who will do the reforming? The representatives in power? I don’t think so.

And in order for there to be true equality of opportunity, during elections the news media must be placed at the service of the people, providing all candidates with exactly the same opportunities to communicate with the people.

I remember seeing something about “freedom of the press” somewhere.

To address the problem that elected officials regularly fail to carry out their campaign promises, there is also a need to enact laws of political responsibility that will subject such officials to censure, revocation of powers, recall from office, and loss of immunity.

Seriously? Who is going to enforce these laws? The elected officials?

As for directly consulting the people on the most urgent issues, every day the possibilities to do so increase through the use of technology. This does not mean simply giving greater importance to easily manipulated opinion polls and surveys. What it does mean is to facilitate real participation and direct voting by means of today’s advanced computational and communications technologies.

See above comments.

In sum, to give highest priority to the issues of capital and labor, real democracy, and decentralization of the apparatus of the State, is to set the political struggle on the path toward creating a new kind of society—a flexible society constantly changing in harmony with the changing needs of the people, who are now suffocated more each day by their dependence on an inhuman system.

So…how about giving a plan, rather than preaching the virtues. How are you going to create this “Utopian” society that is incredibly ridiculous.

Sorry for the rant, but when Humanists (or anyone for that matter) are more interested in picking apart the system, without having any ways to correct it, I get irritated. The same with my earlier post on Presidential Candidates. They say what’s wrong now, and what the ideal would be, but there’s no meat to it.

How do You Find God?

While this post may come across as irreverent, I really don’t mean for it to be. I have been thinking recently about my leaving Christianity and pursuing Deism as a philosophy. It occurred to me that I am a free-thinker, meaning, that I want to think about things myself and come to my own conclusions. Often, my conclusions will align with the thoughts or systems of others, and many times they don’t. I don’t think it’s any “rebellion” on my part, this is just the way I am.

In Christianity, freedom is an important concept. According to scriptures, Christ set us free, and we are free indeed. We are free from guilt, from sin (though not the consequences of sin), and free to act as Christ would have us act. Now I’ve realized something that was really bothering me about Christianity, but was unable to articulate until lately:

Perhaps Christ did set us free, but Christianity has bound us in a variety of ways.

1. We are free; except that we must accept Christ as Lord in order for us not to burn in hell;
2. We are free; except we cannot be homosexual;
3. We are free; except that we must (or should…depending on your denomination) be
baptized;
4. We are free; except we really should unite politically and socially with other Christians;
5. We are free; except that we ought to be evangelizing;
6. We are free; except we must do what a collection of books as old as 6000 years tells us;
7. We are free; except that we must be pre-millenial (or post-millenial);
8. We are free; except that we must worship the god of the bible and no other;
9. We are free; except for that darn original sin issue;
10. We are free; except that we can do no good unless it’s Christ doing the good through us.

We can go on and on here, and many of these arguments can be made for other religions too. So, back to the title of this post.

Do we find God through systems? Really, that’s what Christianity, Islam, Hinduism et al are. They are man-made systems put in place in order to advance our attempt at knowing God. Even Deism, when approached as a religion, becomes a system. Do I get to know god by performing the right actions, believing the right things, and spending the appropriate amount of time on my knees in prayer as laid out by other people or systems? I suppose its possible. However, I don’t believe it’s the correct way.

What is the correct way? I don’t know. However, I do know that I feel closest to the creator when I’m noticing and appreciating the creation. I don’t “pray” per se, as I’ve mentioned in previous posts, I see prayer as an ultimately self-serving action. Instead, I might make a brief mention to this unknown creator that the weather is beautiful, or that tree is really pretty, or that I love walking in the woods…and I might even say “thanks.”

More and more I am viewing religion as binding. I see it suppressing curiosity, creativity, and expression. I think that religion can close minds and hearts, and cause people to pay far too much attention to the lives of others. I don’t like to be driving down the road and told by a bumper sticker that I need to accept Christ so I don’t go to hell. If someone wants to have a Jesus sticker that’s fine, but please don’t tell me what I need.

All of us, whether Christian, Deist, Muslim, Jew, Sikh, Buddhist, or Hindu are all on this earth looking for the same thing. We are all looking for meaning in our lives. Perhaps you’ve found your meaning in life…fantastic. Perhaps your meaning is Christ…great. That’s not my meaning though. This has nothing to do with truth. I’m not asking for the absolute truth. I think people spend far too much time and energy debating the truth issue. Truth does not necessarily equal meaning or purpose in life.

To be honest, while I do believe there is absolute truth, I don’t believe we can ever find it. Why? Very simply, we are too wrapped up in our own needs and desires to recognize absolute truth. That doesn’t mean it doesn’t exist, it just means that my idea of absolute truth and yours may be very different–so which one of us is right? Is it the one with the best logical arguments? How many times have you known you had the superior argument in debate, but still failed to change the mind of the other person? It happens all the time. So where does this leave us when we are trying to find God?

I think we have to follow our own reason and passions. I don’t believe any system will provide it for us. This is why I get so irritated with the religions of the world, as once you subscribe to one, then you need to fit the mold. If you don’t fit the mold, then you need to go to the other denomination. Instead of messing with all of this, I would rather try to find my own way by following my God-given conscious and reason. Right now, I’m pulled in the direction of Deism as a philosophy, but who knows where I’ll be next year.

Unexamined Beliefs?

Socrates is quoted by his pupil Plato as saying “The unexamined life isn’t worth living.” I truly love this statement, and also do believe there is much merit to it. However, I think this can be expanded to “the unexamined belief is not worth believing.”

How many times have you heard people, of any religious belief, say “I was raised in a [insert religion here] household…or, “I was baptized at the age of 4 and have been following God ever since…” Here’s the deal, I’m not trying to bash these life experiences. What I am doing is questioning whether you’ve sincerely examined your belief system.

I think one of the most important things I can hopefully teach my son as he grows up is to be a free thinker. By this I don’t mean to go against the grain just to do it, I mean to take nothing for granted. Just because his dad subscribes to the Deist philosophy doesn’t mean that he needs to. Sure we all want our kids to grow into mature, responsible adults, but I do think that we need to encourage them to think for themselves.

I have the type of personality that automatically questions what I’m told. This doesn’t mean that I have no capacity to believe, or that I’m person who can’t accept authority, it simply means that I am curious. I don’t question authority just to do it, I question in general to have greater understanding. This entire blog is actually for me. I write for myself. You will no doubt find many grammatical mistakes and posts that aren’t cohesive, but that’s okay. This blog is one way that I question. It’s a great medium too, as I can get comments and thoughts from others.

I have had a couple people try to “witness” to me over the past year. I’ve caught them off guard when they asked me “why don’t you believe in salvation through Jesus Christ?” I answered them “why do you believe?” I have had the response of “the Bible says so, etc…” however, not once have I had one of those people say “because I have truly examined what’s out there, and found that this is what I truly believe.” That, to me, is a great answer.

I’m not saying one needs to write a Master’s Thesis on every subject about which one wants to know, however, I do believe in the importance of being inquisitive. “Why do I believe what I believe?” “Do I actually believe it, or am I playing a role?” “How do my beliefs align with my perception of what others expect from me?”

I do not hold myself up to be a brilliant person, but I am happy that I am a thoughtful person. So why do you believe what you believe? Do yourself a favor, if you haven’t already, really dig down deep and try to answer that question and some of the others asked above. I bet you’ll be glad you did.

One side note: Please notice that not once did I correlate “belief” with “proof.” I am coming more and more aware of the fact that one can offer “proof” of nearly anything they want. How? Proof is dangerous, what may be “proof” of God’s existence to me, may not be to you. What may be “proof” of the infallibility of scripture to you, is not to me. Proof is tricky, and people become very dogmatic when they can “prove” their beliefs are true to their own satisfaction. The point of this post is to examine beliefs, not look for proofs.