brokenone

What Religion Means to Me:


So, this is copied from a response to a friends blog, by me, and I figured that I'd make an actual blog out of it. I have edited it a little from its original version to make more sense as a stand alone blog.


I was having lunch with my roommate and we were discussing religion and her beliefs. She was explaining some things about Catholicism to me while I reflected and compared how my Pentecostal upbringing was similar and how it was different. The conversation turned to what I truly think about all religions of the world.

I explained to her that scientists have found more than 200 planets outside of our solar system orbiting distant stars. I told her that in this universe, it would be safe to say that there are possibly trillions of such worlds and that if only a fraction of a percent of them supported life, then there would be billions of planets that we could consider to be in some stage of civil evolution.

Using Christianity as my example, I told her that every single one of those planets would have to have a history so similar to ours that they each would have to have had their version of Christ die on their proverbial cross in order to present them with "salvation". I told her that I felt this to be improbable. I told her that it was human nature for us to explain our surroundings, our existence and our place in the universe.

Our society, as we know it, was founded upon and based upon religion and faiths that found their roots thousands of years prior through pagan practices and rituals. I went on to explain that thousands of years ago, when the first pagan rituals were celebrating the seasons, there were no scientists to explain how the earth revolves around the sun. There were no scientists to explain the changing of seasons or the tides of the sea or how the rain fell. I believe all religions were man's attempt at helping them understand their existence, their place in the universe. It was a way for man to explain creation and their surroundings when we had no knowledge of the sciences. They gave birth to faith and with that, hope.

The ancient Greeks and Romans used constellations for guidance during travel. To help them remember the constellations, great tales were told of the constellations exploits, for example, The Hunter, Orion, who died fighting a giant scorpion and the gods lifted him up into the heavens. This very same constellation was called something different by ancient Chinese, the Aborigines and even Native Americans, each having their own stories.

The stories, became beliefs. These beliefs became religions. The Greeks and Romans had different Gods that created and watched over different aspects of nature and human behavior, including emotions, like love, and actions, like war. All of these religions set forth their respective deities plan for mankind. They set rules and moral standards.

Religion is an institution, an idea, created by man, to explain creation, to explain our existence, to give hope to people when they had no hope, to guide mankind with rules and moral standards and to attempt to create order from chaos. Religion gave people meaning, hope, courage and resolution. I see where religion would or could be very important for a society that lacked understanding of science.

In the end, it has also created more chaos. Some have used and twisted religions for personal gain and power. Some have used it to fuel wars and to create and to justify discontent and hatred. More human blood has been spilled in the name of the Christian God, than for any other reason in the history of mankind. Death, judgment, persecution, discrimination, hatred, intolerance, all of which the Christian God supposedly despises, yet are tools to do "His" bidding. All based on what man "believes" to be the truth, however twisted or perverse their truth has become. Intelligence does not always prove our separation from animals.

To add to this just a little, and I'm not trying to sound like Morpheus from the Matrix, but my beliefs don't require others to believe. It really irritates me when people become angry or they pity me for not believing what they believe. I would never try to force anyone to believe what I believe. If I don't see it a certain way, let's agree to disagree. Pity and anger over the subject shows intolerance. I respect everyone's beliefs and will never tell you that you are wrong. Everyone is entitled to their own beliefs and opinions.