Today's dirt provides me with an opportunity to do some extensive ranting! Please forgive me if you find what I have to say offensive. These are only my opinions, after all...
Sticky Topic Alert: Religion
1. What basic religion are you?
I am a Christian, although at many times I am ashamed to admit it, not because I am ashamed of my faith, but rather because I am ashamed of the actions of so many people who call themselves Christians.
The teachings of Christ are about the love of God and our fellow human beings. They are not about hatred and condemnation! I see far to much of this in the Christian community. A prime example of this is the way that many so-called Christians react to homosexuals. They cry out that these people are sinners, and even go so far as to want these people not to have the same rights as those in hetrosexual community. How, I ask myself, are these actions faithful to the teachings of Christ? Even if one believes that homosexuality is a sin (which I do not), does not our lord teach us to love and forgive the sinner? Are we not all imperfect by nature, and therefore sinners ourselves? Why not allow these people to live their lives in the manner that they choose and leave the judgement to God!
~End of Rant #1~
2. What denomination/sect/etc are you?
I am a baptized and confirmed Roman Catholic. I do not agree with many of the teachings of the church (birth control, divorce, priestly celibacy, etc), but it is the church that I grew up in and it is where I feel the most comfortable.
3. How do you feel about evolution?
Like it or not, evolution is fact. Homo Sapiens evolved in the same way as all of the other creatures on the planet. This also is not an un-Christian attitude, if one considers the following:
1. The Bible is not a history book. It was written as a guide to faith in writing styles which are no longer well understood.
2. God did not toss the Bible from the sky as a book written in beautiful, flowing, Elizabethan English. It was written by human beings, and therefore subject to the limits of their knowledge and understanding of the world around them.
3. The books of the Bible were written in many different languages which are no longer spoken. Errors in the translation are to be expected.
4. Since Jesus commonly taught using parables, it should be obvious that many of the stories of the Old Testament are parables as well, creation being one of them.
5. The books of the Bible were written to address the questions and concerns of the people living at the time they were written. Many issues that we have today were non-existant at the time of their writing, which brings about my final point...
6. The Bible was not allowed to grow as our knowledge and understanding of the world around us changed. The most recent books of the Bible were written over 1600 years ago. To view the Bible as a literal, final, and unerring basis of faith limits us to the viewpoints of ancient men!
Don't get me wrong, I am not anti-Bible. I just happen to believe that we need to take a different approach to looking at its words to fully appreciate the beauty of the teachings contained within it.
~End of Rant #2~
4. What do you think of Wicca & Wiccans?
There is truth and beauty contained within all of the world's religions. Each person must come to her own understanding of the powers in this world which are greater than herself. Any hatred or fear which is felt by us towards faiths other than our own is caused by lack of understanding. With understanding comes tolerance...
~End of Rant #3~
5. Do you like Greek/Roman/Norse or Native American mythology better?
All of them contain much insight into the culture from which they originated and are very fascinating, but being an American, I am most intrigued by the beliefs of those people who occupied this land long before my ancestors settled here.
