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Writing about what I have been reading and encountering in the media. |
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WELCOME TO MY BLOG! I comment on things I am reading, thinking about, encountering in media, and spiritual issues. I hope you will find something interesting. PS. I love feedback... |
| I read a report this morning that shared about 25 examples of reasons people have left religion. They include abandonment of the speaker by their religious group in a time of need, victim blaming, sexism, racism, and observed hypocrisy. All reasons put together suggest that instead of people experiencing hope that the group can change and improve, people come to understand that the group is a danger to their well-being and escape is necessary. I read an article on the Religious News Service, one source of good information, that shared research into participation in religion in the USA. Since the 1960’s, participation has declined dramatically. One need not look at research to know this. Simply look at church parking lots on Sunday mornings or other religious gathering places on holy days and remember what they looked like in the 1950’s. Of course, most of you don’t remember the 1950’s so reading is a good choice. All churches that I have visited in the past 20 years are full of grey headed people and almost totally devoid of children. If you listen to politics, you get the idea that the “Evangelical” churches are the exception. In fact they are shrinking faster than other groups. I left the church for more than 30 years after attending every time the doors opened for most of my life. I left because I was looking for guidance and support in living a Christian life using the parts of the Bible presented as the words Jesus spoke as the basis for my efforts, but finding I was alone in my way of going about it. I am not inclined to be a leader. I like to share, to discuss and debate, but I don’t like trying to get people to go in the direction I am heading. If they want to go with me, fine. If not, fine: I will go anyway. I have plenty to do without gathering people around me. I find others distracting. So, I left as it seemed the others had different goals and I just didn’t fit in. Besides, every time I said the Apostle’s Creed or the Nicaean Creed, I felt like I was lying. I don’t believe the “resurrection of the body,” or “the life everlasting” have anything to do with my goals. I don’t see myself as burdened with sin. I think that perspective is destructive. I just want to be as skillful at loving as I can be. “Love your God and love your neighbor” are what Jesus told us to do. I want to do that. I want the people I associate with to be doing the same thing. I’m much less interested in how they feel about God than I am with how they treat the people around us. The people I read about this morning seem to think the same way. It appears to me that Christian religious organizations most often see their role as controlling the members of their organization. They want to control things over which they have no authority, things Christ never mentioned, and things they know very little about. They get upset if someone looks or acts differently but don’t take time to learn if it is a hurtful thing, or just another way of being okay. They use fear to control their members: fear of sin, fear of death, fear of abandonment. How do they do this? They tell people they will be abandoned by God for sinning, then abandon people they judge. They tell people they will die if they do wrong, but if they believe the right thing (not do the right thing so much as believe) they can come back to life. They have nothing but a story that has been passed down for two thousand years to base this on. They are so busy controlling others they seem unaware of their own needs and behavior. I find this painful. I returned to church when I found a group of people that is focused on how to love others and the other things are of little on no import to them. They study about how to be antiracist, non-judgmental, and helpful to those around them. They do not blame. They work to make the environment of the church safe for everyone. They share each other’s burdens. This seems right to me. I have been active with this group for three or four years and they are very consistent in their efforts. This is a place I can belong. I hope you can find such a place to support your spiritual journey. |
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