Bill Tchakirides wrote in a diary, Religious Belief Astounds Me... :
So here I am on Sunday morning on the eve of a religious holiday, pondering how beliefs like Heaven, Hell, the existence of Angels and the acceptance of these beliefs by Americans in the 21st century can even exist and I am astounded.
Well, I know. When you look at it that way.
However, since this will never, ever, go away, so we have to come up with better methods of dealing with deep seated need that cannot, and should not, be eradicated from the human soul.
Which is why we are so trepidatious and argumentative about our own favorites at times.
Yes, our life is at stake.
Spirituality is simply what keeps us going. Without it we die.
More...
This need to know more about such moral and psychic matters as justice and transition (Will God punish the wicked? What happens when life as I know it is no more?) is why it is a vital need, just as hunger is.
Everyone has this need. In Jungian terms, it is an essential archetype. It has to be filled with something.
As a society, it is our duty to fill it with our view and our role in the moral determinations we make.
That's one other way the Republicans work their base. The worse they make things socially, economically, and spiritually, the more their deluded religious followers will cling to these difficult and unworkable beliefs.
Because, to speak compassionately about it, something I said in jest to a friend came back to me in a new way.
I had said, "If I were to invent a religion, I would make it as ridiculous as possible."
Because a Religion is different. In spiritual matters, What is the operating principle. It works for Pagans, who generally switch between a male and principle by the season (the solstice marks the height of the male principle, in winter,) and is strongly nature oriented.
Variations on spirituality is much more easily adapted to the individual's needs and outlook. For instance, I'm an Esoteric/Tao blend, with many Wiccan concepts.
I prefer spirituality to religion, because religion is a two-edged sword; the stronger it comes on, the more harshly it will deal with disbelief.
Which is why I love Unitarian and Buddhist beliefs. It should be up to you to find a more flexible framework where we can realign our concept of ourselves as moral beings.
If angels are the only way you have been allowed to think about "angels," that is what you are going to do.
And here we come to ridiculous elements. My jest to my friend was based on a social concept we were discussing; how people invest in their beliefs, and the more ridiculous or unworkable, the more people would tend to get stuck on them.
Because to look back sometimes makes ourselves feel ridiculous.
So if we can work their Religion into being more Spiritual, we will be doing the world a favor.
This will help the process of converting the Republican Right's brand of Christianity into something more understanding and compassionate.
Everyone is free to observe this "doing the world a favor" in their own way, if they wish.
To demand more would be... against my religion.
Happy Solstice!
And in some ways, I'm Egyptian. I worship cats.
I showed my more proactive side in my last diary, The Ramona Tactic.