This is the first in a series of
posts in which I will be discussing the role of religion in our lives. As the
title suggests, I was inspired to write on this topic after reading the novel Life of Pi by Yann Martel. For me,
Piscine’s (aka Pi) inner conflict
with religion is a battle that really hits close to home. Much like Pi, I was
raised amidst a culture of religious uniformity, but instead of the religion
being Hinduism, mine was Protestant Christianity. As a gay male, I found myself
at odds with my religion like many other LGBT individuals have experienced in
their lives. I guess that was my main motivation for questioning the power of
the Christian faith, and for questioning the validity of religion in general.
My personal relationship with God had previously been a genuine one so this was
a personal betrayal of ultimate proportions, and in my youth, the only reaction
I could muster was complete denial of spirituality
My academic
studies did nothing but encourage my Atheism. Yet, I inevitably found little
inner fulfillment within this lifestyle. Neurology has shown us that there is an
observable mental state that religious experiences activate which is unlike any
other state of being. The patterns of brain activations in these moments have
been shown to have a therapeutic affect on the individual, as well. Perhaps
this aspect of the human psyche provided us with an evolutionary advantage over
other animals, but the believer in me argues that this could also just be the
part of the brain that is directly linked to the divine, whatever that may
be.
So,
again in parallel to Pi's journey, I began
encouraging my curious disposition to explore the foreign world of
religion. This time, I approached it much like an archaeologist would
approach a new archaelogical dig. I was
meticulous and critical of each new “artifact” that I encountered;
studying it
and extracting the parts that, to me, held value. What resulted was my
own fusion of worldwide religious beliefs. It works well in my life, and it carried the additional perk of providing me with more cultural tolerance and for that, I am truly grateful.
Now, one thing
to know about Protestants is that they emphasize the importance of a personal
relationship with God, and that belief is one that has remained in me to this
day. I hesitated, at first, when I thought about writing on this topic because,
for me, religion is a personal thing. But, I have also seen the painful and destructive
power of religious intolerance. So in the next couple of weeks, I will be presenting the main world
religions in hopes of drawing the numerous parallels among them. I think we all have something we can learn
from other cultures, and my challenge to each of you is to approach each
religion I present with an open mind. At
their cores, every religion is about love and forgiveness so my ultimate
goal is to encourage all of us to practice those aspects of spirituality a
little more in our daily lives.
I will present
them in pairs with no particular order so up first for next week: Christianity
and Islam. So stay tuned!!!
Posts
The Spirit searches all things, even the deep things of God. -1 Corinthians 2:10
ReplyDeleteThe Protestant behavior you were probably raised in within the South has strict ties to Calvinism. Which helped many denominations take on a very strict view of how others live. The truth of the matter is in my studies of the early church the Christianity of today would be a joke. A joke in the sense that it is more inhumane and under read now than in the past as far as the leadership. The extra-cannonical gospels which influenced their lives is seen as heresy now. After a priest caste decided to exclude them because they made people look inward instead of towards a priestly authority. Yet, the early church fathers who were hermits and theologians would not recognize Christians today. Especially with the whole push towards anti-intellectualism. They grew up in a time when the Greek, Egyptian, and Semitic world was mixed. Many different forms of thought were mixing as well.
Much of what they believed today would be classified as Christian mysticism. And there was a push towards the human element of things. Yet, knowing your history one view of Christianity won out in the West namely Roman Catholicism.
Take these examples from the early church fathers:
Abba (Father) Agathon said, 'I have never gone to sleep with a grievance against anyone, and, as far as I could, I have never let anyone go to sleep with a grievance against me.'
Abba Agathon said, 'If I could meet a leper, give him my body and take his, I should be very happy.' That indeed is perfect charity.
Abba Ammonas was asked, 'What is the "narrow and hard way?" ' (Matt. 7.14) He replied, 'The "narrow and hard way" is this, to control your thoughts, and to strip yourself of your own will, for the sake of God. This is also the meaning of the sentence, "Lo, we have left everything and followed you." ' (Matt. 19.27)
The world in many ways was more violent and in others more refined in those times. Christianity has forgotten where it comes from and often causes its own oppression. Also when you look at the roots of Christianity you can see that it was greatly influenced by different religions. It did not arise in a vacuum like many would have the world believe. That is why I can not say that in my heart that God would be cruel enough to deny a follower of Hinduism, Islam, Paganism, or anything into paradise when they have lived holy lives by action more than word.