God Doesn’t Care

English: Religious symbols from the top nine organised faiths of the world according to Major world religions From left to right: 1st Row: Christian Cross, Jewish Star of David, Hindu Aumkar 2nd Row: Islamic Star and crescent, Buddhist Wheel of Dharma, Shinto Torii 3rd Row: Sikh Khanda, Bahá’í star, Jain Ahimsa Symbol (Photo credit: Wikipedia)

This post is in response to an article here, part of a project titled ‘Project O’, which is all about people’s opinions on opinions, and whether culture dictates what we feel or how we express it.  Only the first four paragraphs are actually in response to the article, the rest just grew into some gargantuan speech I didn’t expect.

I know that not everyone believes in God, and if not, that is between you and your own heart.  Personally, I do.  Not with the ‘God’/Religion I was raised in, or at least, not in the same way that I was raised to practice, but I do believe in God, and I do believe that Jesus Christ was His issue, sent here to show us the true path.

I also happen to believe that the ‘path’ has been horrendously distorted by mankind.

This post is mainly a rambling of my thoughts about God, Christianity, and just thoughts I’ve been having lately about faith and religion.  I don’t expect many people to like it, including those who don’t believe in God at all, and a whole heap of those that do.

Now that you’ve read the warning about what this post contains, should you decide to comment, please be sure that your comment falls within the ‘commenting guidelines’ located here.  Thank you.

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Just as a side note… that preacher, the one who came to your school… he was wrong.  The bible clearly states that eating the meat that is sacrificed to an idol is only wrong if it is wrong to YOU.

It does go on to say that if it is offensive to your brother and may cause him to stumble (in his walk with Christ) that you should not eat it, out of a desire to not become a stumbling block to another, but that the eating of the meat itself is NOT wrong.

Just thought I’d share that.  I’m speaking of Romans, Chapter 14, in case you were wondering my source.

It’s a chapter that I fear many Christians forget in their dealings with others.  God clearly states that just because something may be wrong for one person, does not make it wrong for another.

It’s been a very long time since I bothered with church, or God for that matter, but recent events in my life have led me to begin looking into many ‘paths’ to ‘God’ (or whatever you wish to call it), including the path I was raised to follow (Christianity), but turned away from out of anger and disillusionment with the majority of the people who claimed to be so ‘godly’, yet were the nastiest people I knew (personality-wise) outside the four walls of church.

What I’ve found through my search is that there were many things that were/are glossed over, ignored, or cherry-picked through, just to make some holier-than-thou argument valid.  There’s actually a lot more love and acceptance in the bible than ‘Christians’ (I’m using the term loosely, here) give credence or voice to.

I’ve been looking into a blend of practices, ideas, and theologies (if that’s the right term) for getting back into balance in a way that I feel is ‘right’ for me, because, while I would possibly love to shed the ideas I was raised with regarding religion and just start all over, I find I am unable to do so completely, and I feel like it is something I need to keep as a part of my life, but not the same ‘Christianity’ I saw and was taught as a child.

I feel that it’s time for me to make my OWN religion, in some respects.  To incorporate and utilize the parts of other religions and practices that don’t conflict with my core beliefs.

Just like that preacher who came to your school and lied to you, you must be able to know your own faith, so you won’t lose your faith because of those who are either ignorant because they are simply repeating what someone else told THEM, or they are intentionally misleading you because of their own agenda.  This is the reason I have begun taking the time to look things up myself, to see what the Bible really says on it, and taking the time to meditate, giving myself quiet moments to reflect on things, and to listen for guidance.

I believe that there has been a great (and unnecessary) division between religions throughout time, that many of them are essentially the same, simply using different words to describe the same events, or different expressions of the same practice.  I’ve chosen to have my own religious ‘melting pot’, and to study to see if I can find these parallels between religions, and perhaps open a door of understanding between people who, until now, have always seen nothing but a wall between themselves and others.  Perhaps through my studies, I will be able to find a door in that wall, that others of discerning heart and open mind can walk through, and find peace and understanding with their spiritual brothers and sisters.

Galatians 5:22-23 in the Bible states the fruits of the (Holy) Spirit (Love, Joy, Peace, Gentleness, Goodness [sometimes referred to as kindness], Faith, Meekness & Temperance) and it also states that God is love (1 John 4:8), therefore, whenever we see love, we are seeing God, in whatever form it takes, be that Buddhism, Christianity, Judaism, Hinduism, Islam or any other religion (and even in NO religion).

God is not bound, nor do I believe he/she/it adheres to, the labels we give religion(s).  Labels are and were created by humanity, and our need to put everything into boxes and ‘order’.  I don’t believe that God is ‘order’.  Love is not order.  Love is madness.  True love is painful and chaotic.  For love (and I’m not talking about romantic love, just love for another human being) people have sacrificed their dreams, their freedoms, and even their lives.  There’s nothing orderly about that.

Many Christians believe that meditation is wrong.  That it is a practice from a religion that does not worship ‘God’, however, Isaac meditated, and the bible says he did (Genesis 24:63), so if Isaac, a man of God, meditated, then why would it be wrong for ANYONE to meditate?

Meditation promotes Joy and Peace (fruits of the Spirit!) and has been scientifically shown to stimulate and increase the area of the brain in which kindness and generosity (Goodness? Another fruit of the Spirit) and good-will are ‘located’ (sorry for the lack of proper terminology, but I think you understand my meaning), yoga has also been shown to have this same result.  Hmm… sounds to me like meditation is something God would be rather fond of, when you think about it.

Some Christians are taught in church that when the Bible says ‘meditate’ it actually means ‘pray’.  I disagree with this.  If you believe the Bible to be the word of God, then you must believe that if God had meant ‘pray’ then he would have SAID ‘pray’.  He certainly had no problem using the term anywhere else that He meant ‘pray’!  The word meditate is used at least 10 times in the Bible.

Now, I believe that meditation and prayer are not mutually exclusive terms.  I believe that you can do one, yet call it the other, and still be correct, but to exclude one, saying it is not Godly is, in my humble opinion, erroneous.  I’m sure that many will disagree, because indoctrination is hard to overcome.

Christianity teaches us not to question God, yet, did Jesus himself not spend his time answering questions, from all people, regardless of who they were, where they were, or how they asked?  Did he refuse to answer one person’s question because they did not approach in the ‘right’ way?  Did he not patiently answer all questions, from Jews Pharisees and Gentiles alike?  Even those who questioned him, secretly hoping to ‘trip him up’, even knowing what was in their hearts, knowing that they didn’t ask seeking wisdom, but seeking to either get him in trouble or prove him wrong, he still answered.

God, as shown to us through the actions of Jesus, will answer anyone who asks him anything, regardless of where their hearts lie, and regardless of their motives for asking.

No one has a right to tell another that they cannot approach God in their own way.  No one.  Jesus himself rebuked his disciples for even trying this (Mark, Chapter 10), when they tried to stop people from bringing children to be healed, and again when others tried to stop a blind man from calling out to him.

Who are you, who am I, to stop another from approaching God, in whatever manner they should choose to do so?  Who are we to tell someone that it’s not God speaking to them when they meditate?  Who are we to tell someone who calls God ‘Universe’ instead of ‘God’ that they are wrong?  God goes, and has gone, by many names, The Alpha and the Omega, Yaweh, Lord of hosts, King of Kings… the list is virtually endless.

Again, if God is the author of the Bible, one must look to that as proof that God has many names.  In the book of Acts, Gallio even tells the Jews, when they tried to bring Paul up on judgement, saying that he was “persuading men to worship God contrary to the law” (Acts 18:13), to which Gallio replied that if it had been a matter of wrong, or wicked lewdness, he would listen to them, but “if it be a question of words and names, and of your law, look ye to it; for I will be no judge of such matters.” (Acts 18:15).  Hmmm.  Really?  Funny how I don’t recall hearing about this particular story all those years ago in Sunday School.  Probably because the church didn’t want us to know that, as far as God was concerned, what we called him, and how we called out to him, it just doesn’t matter.  God doesn’t care.

I think that the general attitude of exclusivity and elitism of Christianity needs to be addressed, but it can only be done on an individual level, by allowing yourself to open your heart and mind to God, and listening for that ‘still voice’ when he speaks.

All the chattering that traditional Christian prayer consists of surely doesn’t seem conducive to listening to a quiet voice, now does it?  Seems to me that meditation is actually more in line with the goal of hearing God than ‘prayer’ could ever be.

Perhaps prayer is ‘talking’ to God, and meditation is ‘listening’ to God.  I don’t know.

In the end, it’s an individual choice, what one will or won’t believe, and how one will or will not practice their beliefs… all I know is that the religion I observed ‘in practice’ while I was growing up was not a religion that felt very ‘Godly’ to me, and for a long time, I turned my back on it completely.  It has taken 2/3 of my lifetime to realize that I don’t have to give it up, I just have to make it work for me, in a manner in which I feel is just and right before God.  It’s me that will be judged for my actions, after all, not you.

So if you don’t like the way I commune with God, you’ll have to take it up with Him, because He told me He didn’t care.

“Remember 1 Corinthians 3:17:

“Where the Spirit of the Lord is, there is freedom.””

(I stole this quite relevant reminder from this blog post… the author of which I in no way claim condones or agrees with this post, blog or its content.  I just liked how they said it.)

 

By the way, if you actually made it through this entire post, I commend you (and I owe you an apology, because I know I rambled on waaay too much, lol).

And may blessings be upon you all.

~A

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