Reading a friend's blog
today, he quoted the Dalai Lama:
As a general rule, I think the religion our parents follow is the most appropriate for us to follow too. In addition, it is not good to follow a religion and then to change to another one.
Ryan and I were roommates once and he was the best man at my wedding. He and I have taken divergent paths since then. He went into the Marines and was stationed in Japan and lost his faith. I switched majors and reinforced mine. It's not hard to imagine that our roles could have been flipped. Don't read me wrong, I'm not attempting to be patronizing. I'm grateful for where I am, but I do not look down upon Ryan. I'm just saying that my faith is not my own and I wouldn't have it but for a sliver of key moments in my life. It could have been very different for me.
Now, I expect Ryan will probably read this (Hi Ryan!), so this is as much to him (you) as anyone else that reads this. There is a thing that I've learned and I wish more people (believers and unbelievers alike) would understand: pursuit of religion is a waste of time.
I've decided that it is religion that is the source of most hypocrisy in the world. Religion is the basis upon which people make statements like, "That guy is an idiot!" Religion is the reason for much of the persecution, wars, abuse, immorality, and murder in the world. Whether it's Jihadists or Crusaders, Hari Krishnas or the Inquisition, they carry their cause not because it's right, but because it's religious. "My religion is better than yours and you're an idiot/you should die if you believe anything else." The same statements are made by atheists and agnostics, except they try to disguise themselves behind science or politics, "Religion is a crutch for the weak minded." "We can show that the universe could exist without any God by scientific exploration." "Modern society has learned to live ethically without gods." Bah. Just more religion. Just another way of building oneself up into the idolistic supreme and kicking the rest over. That's what nearly all religion is.
Religion is, generally, just a waste of time. Therefore, I must, respectfully, disagree with the Dalai Lama. The religion of our parents isn't the most appropriate. It's probably just as damned as the rest. Keep your religion or change it. You'll probably still think of everyone who disagrees with you as dumb or unenlightened or ignorant or not worth the air they breath or unfortunate or all of the above. You'll look down on them for not being quite so smart or good looking as you.
If you're interested in good and appropriate religion, follow the religion of love. Love your friends. Love your enemies. Love everyone you meet. And if you meet God, love Him too. Any other religion is just a religion tainted with hate. This is a hard religion too. Love is complicated and messy. It's frequently painful and not often does it come naturally. Love requires making tough decisions, sometimes decisions that hurt others even while you love them. Love has it's rewards as well, but if you love expecting reward, you really are an idiot.
As a follower of Christ, this is what Jesus taught during a couple short years You shall love your neighbor as yourself." ¿ Matthew 22:37-39
and then magnified infinitely more on the cross. I call myself a "Christian" as those first believers of the Way did back in Antioch. When I'm being true to Christ, I mean only that Christ is a dear friend of mine. When true, I mean that rather than meaning that Christianity is my religion. When I'm being myself, my human side, I'm stating my religion and just as prepared to engage in that hateful hypocrisy as anyone else. If Christians (myself included) and the other religious people out there would worry a bit more about loving people and stop giving in to that human invention, religion, I am certain this world would be a better place.
Love,
Andrew
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