Friday, April 1, 2011

IF GOD HAS A NAME, WHAT WOULD IT BE?

[ Posted jocylfroot.tumblr.com ]

Religion have greatly failed humanity in many ways, most especially in its ultimate purpose, which is to unite all of God's people and save their souls through affiliation with a religious sect.


Someone (a great person or philosopher he must have or could have been) once said that it is near impossible to really believe, acknowledge a life directed to the path of salvation and ultimately establish faith if religion was not present. Perhaps this is true, perhaps not. It is simply, my opinion, that the multitudes of religions have caused more harm than good. Just look at the annals of world history. Millions have died in the name of their god/s, battles and wars have been fought just to prove whose god is better. Even in our present, so-called liberal society, the battle of the best religion rages on, separating us and pitting us against each other.


Not to send out the wrong idea, I am not an atheist. I believe in God; in Jesus Christ, the prophets, the miracles, Moses, the parting of the red sea, the plagues, Adam and Eve, Mohhamed the Muslim prophet, the enlightenment of Buddha, the holy trinity of Hinduism and all the rest of their 36,000,000 gods; in heaven and hell, good and bad, and all of those divine stories. I just don't believe that in order to be together with God, in order to enter his kingdom, I must choose one.


I am not saying that all religions are perfect in their entirety; I am not saying that one is better or worst. They have faults, but that is understandable as religion was created by humans. But all of them, when we study them carefully, are all aimed ultimately at one belief and one goal. Be good, do good, love god and your neighbours, offer kindness, respect all creatures, we are all equal, we should live our life well, considering others and not feeling like we are the best thing that ever happened to humanity, et cetera, et cetera. They all pretty much teach us the same things. Shown in different practices; explained in various ways; God called in many names.


If some religions do have weaknesses, like Catholic priests and sexual abuse, Moslem and their Jihad, the Hindus in their bizarre ways of worship; we must understand that these are human faults committed by individuals and not the religion itself. If there is a flaw in the system it is because of political agendas and other personal issues of the people in power.


But to single out one religion and fault it as a wrong religion would be sheer discrimination and narcissism. Who are we to judge?


If God were to choose one religion to acknowledge as correct and solely its members were to be allowed to enter his kingdom, won't that make him an unjust and selfish God?


God is too big to fit in one religion. There is nothing wrong with affiliating oneself with one religion, but there would definitely be something wrong if you proclaim that yours is the ONLY way to salvation.


(post migrated from www.jocylfroot.livejournal.com)