JustAsking said:
Before I answer this, I need to mention that I thought your post #65 was truly lovely. I didn't realize you could be so profound and poetic when not shooting at fucktards. Up until now, I thought it was only the idiocy of others that inspired you to eloquence.
Haha, and I'm sure that most people here must see the same thing. You would probably have to go back two years or so to see how much I used to post to the needs of others. However, that was when we had minors on here, and I must admit I have higher expectations of adults. I'm also lousy at patience. Thanks for the compliment though, coming from you it means a lot.
Yes, your explanation covers some of my concern, but I would really be happier to hear about how you view your faith in regards to other religions, not denominations. This is a conversation I had with a pastor I admire greatly, and he admitted that he didn't have an answer. That was a frustrating day for me. I have later come to understand that protestant pastors and preachers don't have to attend an accredited college or seminary to earn their post, so there is perhaps a lack of education, even as to the history of their own faith.
I am aware that John Paul and the Dali Lama communicated and perhaps considered each other friends, and I did read what you said about Buddhists, but where I get stuck is on other Holy figures- do we show them reverence or disdain, and if we do not show them reverence, how then do we expect others to show respect to Christians, or Christianity? Again, if Jesus is THE way, the truth and the light, what about everyone else? Hare Krishnas predate Christianity by a good margin, and coincidentally, have NEVER started a war. How then do you view Krishna consciousness? Hinduism? Are all these people showing faith in folly? If they are, why is it that Christians are not?
See, if we're "right" then everyone else has to be wrong. This is what gets under my panties and bites. IF Jesus is who he claims, then the other messiahs were not. He made no mention of other messiahs, other than John the Baptist. See, I would eagerly embrace the idea that Messiahs have come to different places and times to address different social needs- all sent by the same Father, but no religion teaches this, and no religious documentation supports it. I would, in effect, be just making up an answer to satisfy my own mind.
Since that seems absurd, I have chosen instead to retreat all the way back to "I don't know, you don't either, but at least I don't believe in absurdity." Yes, it's an angry position, but there's a lot to be angry about. NOBODY is willing to just fucking take responsibility for the atrocities that have been done and are continuing in the name of Christianity, and without that apology, there can be no movement forward.
If I were to believe in a fictional character to represent my beliefs about life and purpose, I'd pick one with less blood on his hands. Jesus was in all likelihood a fascinating man who had a great many brilliant ideas. I'm sure I'd have been following him around listening to every word if I were alive back then, but I feel (yes, I said "feel", just my opinion based on my personal impressions) that his persona as reported has been so inflated as to obscure the beauty of his message. If he has to already be a God to have done what he did, then there really is no hope for me. He challenges me to "be perfect, just as your Father in Heaven is perfect", but he's already God, so how can He understand what he's asking of me?
No, he would have to be a guy, born of a woman, conceived by sex just like every one of us, feel the same pains when he bleeds, and live with the uncertainty we all do. THEN if he had great faith, I'd be impressed. I am impressed, in fact. I'm always impressed when "just some guy" goes and does something heroic and/or brilliant. That's the beauty of the story of Jesus for me, but raping him of his humanity just because being a God would give some white guys in robes more authority is a vile rape to me, and if it had been done to me (someone changing the story to make me something I'm not) I would be furious. Righteously so. Jesus and I get pissed sometimes, yanno. Not very "godly" but there are plenty examples of both of us cursing and yelling- not to mention lobbing the occasional zinger. For me, I am loving life and exercising my right to reject bullshit when encountered by it on a massive scale.
I'm in good company, people miss a lot of what I see when I read the Bible, and I'm not claiming to be brilliant. How bright do you really have to be to just read what's on the printed page? I have come to believe that most people really haven't read the Bible, even the NT cover-to-cover. They read the passages highlighted for the week's sermon, and they discuss it in the manner their pastor chooses to discuss it, but they never get a whole view of the books, never seek outside sources for verification, never have conversations with people of other faiths, and never question what chain of events led them to their "fervent belief". To me, that is nauseating, and there's no way in HELL I'd ever show respect for ignorance.
You and I live in Ohio, and it is rare for me to encounter a Christian here in fundieland who does not fall into the category above. Talking to you has been a rare and delightful treat.