Religion

Post 2 of ## My current status, and some views

I am not angry like I was. They say time heals all wounds, and maybe it does. I suspect I grew up and realized that church wasn't full of hypocrites, just flawed humans bumbling around through life, just like I was. The difference, it seemed to me, was that they had a better road map than my approach of winging it.

Do I believe that everything the church teaches comes directly from God? No, I don't even know if I believe in God in the sense of a perfected being with knowledge and unlimited power. I have a hard time wrapping my head around that. What I can tell you, without a doubt, is that evil is real. Look at European history in the 1900’s and tell me there isn’t evil in the world. Those events were not mistakes, not accidents, but malicious actions carried out with malevolence and direct intention. Anyone who does not see that is blind.

Equally blind is the person who does not see that capability in themselves, given the right circumstances.

Since every action has an equal and opposite reaction, and natural laws tend to apply in many situations, it is safe to assume that since evil is real, the opposite is also a force in the world. For our purposes, we shall call that God, giving a name to something quite mysterious.

Is that what the authors of scripture meant when they said God? I have absolutely no idea, but it makes sense to me in a way that a white robed individual in the sky does not.

I think my views can best be summed up with the term, “Literally false, metaphorically true.” I could easily be mistaken, but so could everyone else. Regardless of the historicity of the stories, they demonstrate a deep knowledge of human behavior, pointing out pitfalls and dangers, and proceed to lay out a map of how to live well. Does something need to be accurate, historically, if it shares such truths?

One of the shocking things I have discovered since beginning to attend church is just how many people agree with that. Former youth leaders and heads of congregations quietly tell me “Yeah, that has never made much sense to me” after I comment on something. Each time I think that instead of saying, “I know this is true,” why did you not speak truthfully and accurately. When a teenager hears that something is true, they think literally true.

This is my goal in writing this. I do not want you to grow up believing that things that defy all historical record are accurate facts, because you will read and learn, and discover the holes in that. Instead, I will always try to speak as accurately as I can, and encourage you to think for yourself, drawing your own conclusions.

I believe much harm has been done by simplifying our words, instead of trying to comprehensively explain what we believe. I will not participate in that. Saying you know the world was created by God, like the Bible says, is a shallow statement. Was everything created in six days? Did Adam fall asleep, and have a rib removed from his body, thus creating Eve? To quote a funny man, “Why is that the new process for making things? Is from scratch no longer available?” It seems much more likely this is a description of humans discovering consciousness and their humanity, and is a beautiful representation of that. Did God have a hand in that process? Maybe, but not in six days, and I don’t think there are many religious people who believe it all happened in six days as we understand days to exist.

I may understand incorrectly, but I am determined not to lie, and to give my best understanding, even if incorrect. You will also probably get a lot of “I don’t really have a good explanation for that, I am trying to figure it out.” What I won’t do is tell you that it obviously speaks for itself, or has one clear answer.

I also will not claim that our church alone has the ability to teach wisdom, or truth. I suspect the large religions of the world have staying power because they offer the same basic thing, stories that serve as metaphors and lessons for life, as well as a community to lift members up and support them.

Arguing over religion strikes me as the same as arguing over whether sushi or pizza is better. That really depends on the person you are asking, and I doubt there is any way to objectively answer the question. Does that mean I think all religions are created equal? No, but all most likely have value.

Who knows where I will go from here, but for now, “Literally false, metaphorically true” seems to be good enough for now. We have a wonderful community, a great chance to learn and spend time together as a family, and hopefully, a lot of time to continue to adjust views as we mature and grow. I am sure each of you will have different ideas, unique to your own experiences and thoughts. That is wonderful, and I wish you luck in trying to figure it out. Hopefully we all learn a little as we go.

Love,
Dad