I am not religious.
I am no atheist either.
I am spiritual.
The ‘entities’ I believe in do not matter here, so I will keep them to myself.
What I do believe, is that we were all exhaled by a divine source, no matter which name it bears. Our souls – our sources of energy – are a divine gift. That’s how I see it. We all are sparks of divinity, spread throughout the universe – and I, too, believe that after our deaths, our ‘sparks’ will return to its origin… the source of all being.
The subject of God is always a touchy one – many different beliefs bump into each other when we set the table with bowls full of religion. I try to keep an open mind towards other belief systems, but on this day, I was challenged.
I witnessed a great display of faith today. Of believing in God and religion. It was marvelous in itself, yet, it was tainted… it frayed around the edges. What I am talking about here, is the connection between religion and submission. Quite a few religions demand submission to God – as a gesture of true belief.
This is where my confusion kicks in.
The Bible, for example, says, “So God created mankind in his own image, in the image of God he created them; male and female he created them.” (Genesis 1:27)
Facing religion, if we are mirror images of God, if we all inherited this divine spark, does that mean we have to submit to one another? Does that mean we have to crawl around on all fours all day and kiss the feet of hundreds of passersby in our city malls, our parks, our pedestrian areas?
It would seem so, wouldn’t it?
If we are all sprung from the same divine source or, in case of the Christian belief, ‘created in God’s image’ we should all submit to one another. It is simple logic.
Frankly, I do not understand why religion, belief and submission are connected.
Belief is something beautiful – religion and submission (in my eyes) are both tainted and corrupt.
I am sure the concepts of religion sprang from beautiful minds… from thankfulness for all the beauty in the world, from gratefulness for our own lives and experiences. How come it got so tainted throughout the decades?
Belief is beautiful.
Faith is beautiful.
Religion could be beautiful, too – if it would go back to the original version, the first idea blossoming in the first brilliant mind.
Why do our knees have to “dust the floor”, why do we have to submit to divine sources to show our appreciation and thankfulness?
Why does mankind let rules and restrictions influence its ways of believing?
Does money in the collection bag really pay for our salvation? And, if so, the more money in the bag, the better our chances to not roast on a spit in “hell”?
Do the right terms and phrases matter, when we address a divine source?
What does “holy” mean? Does it mean “divine”? And if so, if divine equals human, does “holy” really mean “human”?
Why is religion always (ALWAYS) connected to guilt?
Why does religion have to be based on the degradation, the humiliation of Self?
It all does not make sense to me.
Belief is beautiful.
Belief is pure and true.
Remove the “shackles” of submission and our modern ‘concepts’ of religion – and marvel in true belief once again.
I am sure, if we all would reflect on what we truly believe in; if we all would live up to our own beliefs, the world would certainly be a much, much better place.
Life and other Tales 