This is going to be my first diary for Street Prophets, I suppose it’s ok to post it here too.
I’m not a religious person, but I am spiritual. The spiritual kind of person that denies any organized religion because I believe it is all essentially a lie that we tell ourselves, a construct we use to get our minds around ideas that we can not actually digest. There is that incredible universe out there that points to some absolute, something much bigger than our little world here, but when we try to define this thing as "God" we fuck the whole thing up completely.
That "Absolute"(the word God comes with so much baggage, so many associations that deviate from my meaning) is undeniable and complex and beautiful. It is the source of my spirituality. But I refuse to define it, and I refuse to put it in human terms because I truly believe that we are too small to comprehend it. I believe that it is similar to the micro-cosmos trying to define the macro-cosmos. Can the Bacterium that resides in our colon understand it’s place in our digestive system? I believe that we posses a role in the universe, just as atoms have a role in our bodies. They make up our bodies, we make up the universe in a similar way. I don’t know what our function is in the bigger picture, and don’t think we can know it. But I don’t believe that we are the center of the universe, I don’t believe that there is a god in our own image that is concerned with our individual sins and transgressions. This is man’s vanity and stupidity as far as I am concerned.
I love the Daily Kos for what they believe in. Occasionally, I get pissed off when someone makes religious statements that I believe are just plain dumb. When I challenge a person’s faith it generally engenders some kind of furor, and ends up in flame wars. People’s beliefs are pretty touchy, so I joined this site with a degree of uncertainty.
From the Street Prophet’s FAQ page:
Its vibrant community of netroots faithful includes a broad range of faiths, including devout Buddhists, Christians, Hindus, Jews, Mormons, Muslims, and Neo-pagans -- even those whose deepest faith is in the conviction that there is no God. All who seek to promote a new conversation about the role of religion in America's public life are welcome here.
So here’s what I want to talk about. I believe in the mystery. I believe in the beauty of the universe. I believe that there is something more than us. I believe that Jesus, Buddha, Mohammed and scores of other "Prophets" had good ideas that further the cause of humanity. But I believe that it is a mistake when we claim to know God. I believe that prayer is a fruitless endeavor. I believe that the bible and other religious books are not keys to the kingdom. I believe that, as a gay man, people use religion against me in order to support their prejudices. I believe that organized religion is often a source of profound evil.
So I joined this blog to have a serious conversation about religion, because I truly believe in the Daily Kos community. Politically, I am with those guys. I just don’t understand why any of them are believers in organized religion. I think we believe in religion because we need to fill a void in ourselves. I think we just can’t face the fact that when we die, we die. Because that would make our lives small and insignificant and fruitless. Regrettably, that may be the part that we play in the scheme of things, and I refuse to deny that that may be man’s fate, or fill that desperate place with myths and hopes for a rosy afterlife.
Any thoughts?