yeah, so i havent put anything on here in a while.
twitter is way easier.
but every once in a while i come across an article that makes me think. if you have 2 minutes, read THIS one and let me know what you think. its short. i promise.
heres a snippet from it so you can decide if it is interesting or not.
"Religion has convinced us that there's something else entirely other than concerns about suffering. There's concerns about what God wants, there's concerns about what's going to happen in the afterlife," he said.
"And, therefore, we talk about things like gay marriage as if it's the greatest problem of the 21st century. We even have a liberal president who ostensibly is against gay marriage because his faith tells him it's an abomination.
"It's completely insane."
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studying in saskatoon
9 comments:
religion's primary purpose is status, comfort and personal salvation/enlightenment, and in an afterward tries to tag on that it exists to ease the suffering of humanity.
then there are some who believe that religion is bad but God is good, and loves people, but even the idea of a God often distracts people from actual human sufferings and human relationships because they are more worried about their own relationship with God.
it is hard to understand the purpose of searching for deeper meaning in the world through religion, when the world is a complete mess. it is like drug use, trying to take the edge off of the world, trying to forget what is actually happening by submerging one's self into a chemically induced state.
and more time and money is spent on recruiting for unknown spiritual causes than to actually help the situation of humanity. when the only way people feel they can help is by throwing money into organizations and buying shoes that donate a percentage of the proceeds.
religion has seemed to distract from world situations when what it could and should be doing is solving them. is that fair?
interesting article. i've always appreciated sam harris. while i don't agree with his overall assessment on everything, i do agree with him on much, and the main thing being that religion is broken. i don't agree with him that it is a lost cause. i get stuck on that word religion, and the other label i profess, christian. sometimes i just want to throw both of them away. there is so much negative baggage that goes along with both it makes me sick sometimes.
but i have hope that christians can actually be who they are supposed to be. any sincere and honest reading of the life of Jesus will show how concerned he was with the plight of those who were poor and suffering, the marginalized and oppressed. he worked to ease their pain and be in relationship with them. he spoke most harshly towards those religious people in power who were most concerned with their own comfort and status in society. and he calls us to do the same. stand in solidarity with those who are on the outside.
that is what Jesus calls us to, but that is not the way Christians live. that criticism is fair. and i agree with harris, that religion will not be what saves the world from suffering, and that it often distracts from the problem rather than helps fix the problems. we are guilty, and christians need to acknowledge that and move forward into who we are actually supposed to be, people who live like Jesus.
i agree with Nic's last paragraph, but i think it's important to distinguish between a "religious person" and someone honestly, earnestly seeking and following God. because i believe the latter will not sit there, self-absorbed and consumed with meaningless ritual and their own self-satisfaction. i believe they will live a live for others, becoming the person of Jesus. i will never defend religion. but i will defend belief in a savior who did not come only to save us for the afterlife, but who came to very literally save the world. i suck at living this out. but this is what i believe, and why i still have hope that my faith means something.
I think Nic is right. Religion and the institution that is the church often distract us from the real issues and world situation.
I never understood why churches raise money for wells in Africa when they drink water out of water bottles. Or send money to missionaries in Guatemala when they drink none fair-trade coffee from there. Sending money to missionaries to work with the people that harvest the coffee beans for under 1$ a day.. it all seems so paradoxical.
If Jesus is the ultimate role model. I don't get why christians are not the first one to recycle, don't commute to go to church, why we never see churches with green roof. I met a homeless man that slept on the stairs of a church for 3 months..He never got to go inside..The pastor said hi everyday though..but no invitation was made. Is this compassion?
Are we not suppose to be ambassadors of Christ? Its too easy to take the Bible and let it says what we want. What leaves us in our comfort zone and make us feel like we are good people and valuable human beings.
Sending money over seas to not get our hands and feet dirty but leaves our consciousness clear.
One other thing is that churches doesn't want to talk about economics and politics and I think its one of the biggest problem, that's how they distract people from real problems.
i agree with blair. Religion is not supposed to solve the world's problems. People are supposed to solve the world's problems. And if people are living as Jesus would have them live, then they would have a chance of accomplishing that.
WO
have you ever watched 'zeitgeist'? i highly recommend it. that and Zeitgeist:Addendum. it's all about religion and faith and propoganda etc. so mind blowing and eyeopening it'll hurt your head a little.
i personally was raised in 13 years of catholic school. but then i realized it wasn't the only thing out there. i'm an atheist now, i think religion is a selfish and political thing that let's people have an excuse for how they act. and look where it's got us.
I think that religin is an excuse for peoples actions. It's not right because look where we are now. I'm sorry if I offend anyone but that's how I see it. Religin is wrong in some ways.
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This is an interesting post, and this guy does have a right to say these things. After all, God's people are supposed to represent Him to the rest of the world. The sad thing is, we're not perfect. The conclusion this comment has led me to is that if this person had ever really known God, he'd know that a relationship with Him is not an excuse for anything. If you believe He made the world and everything in it, it only makes sense that it would be about Him. Personally, I find it much easier to ignore my relationships and human suffering as a whole when I am ignoring God.
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