Sathfilms

What exactly is religions place in life, in society? I see it as a bunch of guidelines that help create values – a way to live a good life. I’d like to think in religion (and/or outside religion – simply, in life), grace exists to make us feel like helping others, so that they can have the time, freedom, comfort to feel some of grace too. I also feel, at present that organised religion is a little unhealthy unless its accepting and there is some sort of understanding that we are all trying to head in the same direction.

Personally, I’m confused with and in life. Cliched as it is, stuff regarding the meaning of life pops into my head and I have no answers. I have feelings – call it intuition – that certain things are right, and other things are wrong, but the only things I can do that help me with all this are to listen, read and question. I’m fascinated with religion because people seem to have answers, but at the same time I find a lot of such people do not seem to question anything – I guess it’s faith. “It’s just the way things are.” I’ve recently had a strange experience where someone’s actions really surprised me because their actions were purely based on faith and scripture. No reasoning as such, just that life must be lived in a certain God pleasing way, and any “reasoning,” followed this seemingly certain assumption about God and life.

I’m also concerned however that people are not questioning things – they aren’t even taught to question. They are told a few things, these things make enough sense, and then that’s what they follow for the rest of their lives. Worse, some people even think that everyone else is now wrong. Maybe my concern stems from my own inability to accept these supposed “absolute truths” but the people who are so certain in these matters that I come across also tell me that God hasn’t in fact come to them and assured them of they correctness.

I’m sure there are people who are confused about the same things I’m confused about. The blogs I’ve found are often of two extremes – one condemning religion, especially fundamentalism, and others stating the total opposite. However, I have found many interesting blogs talking about interpretations and the imaginary communities based on such interpretations. Life’s Goal (the Meaning of Life) – SpiritSeeker’s blog is a nice example of such a blog that is searching. It’s an accepting blog that is a hub of many different views.

So I’m searching to interact with a community of confused people who are in search for meaning but don’t condemn or rule out religion – people who question, and people who question why others aren’t questioning. I’d like to make people question.

Say everyone in the world believed in a single religion of helping your fellow man, treating everyone as equals, and resolving differences in a humane and non-violent way – would heaven be a place on Earth? I think it would.

Comment by Shannon May 23, 2007 @ 12:06 pm

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Don’t all religions say those very things…on a superficial level?

Comment by James May 24, 2007 @ 6:41 pm

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You’re absolutely correct. I think all religions do suggest those very things on a superficial level, but people make the mistake of assuming a certain type of life is THE correct type of life – something that ultimately leads to a debate about the impossibility of relative truth and that only one absolute truth can exist. As logical as that is, this debate is what humans get reduced to – instead of actually living the lives given to us and making a difference, we debate about this garbage, where no one ACTUALLY knows what the hell they are on about beyond a point of logic which is always applied to a series of “concrete” stupid assumptions. So what Shannon suggests isn’t even remotely possible while people actually attempt to debate about such inane matters such as absolute truth and relative truth. When there are many supposed “absolute” truths, there is discrimination; when there is discrimination, harmony cannot exist. It’s not going to happen until people start questioning why they believe whatever they believe and why others have a different view. The only other solution is to wipe out everyone from every religion apart from one so that we CREATE this heaven on Earth – but you know, somewhere in the gene pool of fundamentalist PURISTS a confused person will be born who will ask WHY and actually think beyond what they are TAUGHT and then the whole cycle will begin again.

Comment by Arnie May 26, 2007 @ 12:23 am

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