Adventing
A family member sent me an Advent calendar, which is ironic since this person is not a Christian. Of course, neither am I, having no truck with the fiction of any kind of religion. The little chocolate hearts behind each door on the calendar are tasty, but there is a sentence of the story of baby jebus printed inside all the doors. This STORY reminds me of being forced to go to church, Sunday school, etc., and never really buying any of it. I managed to grow up with solid humanitarian values and practices regardless, and it makes my blood run cold to think of all the people who claim to "believe", and yet are horrible to their fellow humans and non-humans.
More chocolate.
More chocolate.
posted by isabelita at 1:10 PM
7 Comments:
It's interesting that so much of the dogma taught by "the church" is rooted in real goodness, but the fundamental beliefs upon which that goodness is said to be based are magic and fiction. Too bad they didn't leave out the crap and focus on the underlying values.
I think it surprises people who practice a faith that those of us who don't still manage to have humanitarian values and practices.
Ha. "More chocolate," indeed.
We create faiths like we created clocks. We couldn't help not, the rooted urge we have to not just accept and observe but also to explain, to name, to bring under control.
But it's different when someone or something else tries to make you paint by their numbers, as if they've got it all figured out and they want you to have it figured out, too.
Christ, whether as the character or the man, said that everyone must create their own faith and everyone has to carry their own cross. A bit too Zen for "Christian" classrooms, but he said that and a lot of other stuff like it.
mfm, a friend recently told me that someone went through the new testament and gleaned just the stuff jesus was supposed to ahve said. The results were short and sweet.
robin, true. Although I know I am not tolerant of others' beliefs once they start spouting them and are not acting on them.
MarcLord, I would have no problem with others' beliefs if they would just shut up about them. But as you say, it's all about control...
and as far as christ is concerned, all we have to go on that he even existed is mostly old stuff written by long ago religious conmen. The things I recall from Episcopal sunday school that were actually advising humans to be good to other humans seem to be eclipsed lately by the fire and brimstone crap. You say he actually said it. Well, I still think it's all fiction. No proof. Not even any statuary from that era to maybe try to validate his existence.
But if the religious folks would truly act on the positive things attributed to him, and shut up about their wonderful relationships with god et al, I'll take that.
Hi Iz,
No, I don't mean Christ actually said anything. It could've been a mere construct, and there is no telling proof otherwise.
Yet if you look at the historical context, there are many quotes that don't fit preferred contemporary Jewish revolution or nascent Catholic/pagan order fantasies, and this seems to indicate actual statements of at least one provocative personality leaked through unexpunged. They are problematic for any organized religion, and largely ignored, yet they were left in. (Only a guess, but Jesus may have been an Essene, philosophers who traveled and studied in the East. Someones who came close to answering the desperate Jewish need for a Messiah who would deliver them from Roman occupation. But not close enough.)
Organized religions completely ignore quotes that don't neatly fit their purposes, but the Jesus texts are far more prolifically radical than Sunday schools acknowledge. For example there was not a word from the Jesus character about fire, nor brimstone, so Episcopal simply isn't "Christian" on that score.
It really doesn't matter if Jesus was a man, many men, or a god, the message was to reject the revenge-based mindset of Judaism and embrace a philosophy of self-actualization and positive action. Human desire for hiearchical control purposefully obscures the philosophy.
Very well put. And I could accept that message, even in a religious context, if more so-called christians acted on it.
Post a Comment
<< Home