Religion

In today’s world we find seven basic religions. But, there are hundreds, maybe thousands that found their basic ideals from those seven. Then, there are many more I call tribal religions. The Hopi, the Inca, the Aztecs, and the many tribes in Africa and the islands around the world are examples of this. We also have to count the many millions of nonbelievers and those who profess to be Atheists.
Most of today’s great religions have developed in the past three thousand years. That’s many human lifetimes but only a blink of the eye in God’s time. Along with the development of those religions our modern civilization also developed. With that modernization came an increase in population and trade. Suddenly man had to learn to behave around people he did not know!
Many ancient beliefs and religions have died. But, the world’s great religions have survived although they are finding that they have to adapt to the changing circumstances of the modern world. Many of today’s religions are struggling to modernize while trying to insure their basic creed and structure. They are finding many who want to worship their religion but they want to do it in their own “special way!”
I believe God-seekers of all religions should learn to listen to all voices. While remaining true to their religion, I feel it is important to study and learn about the faith of others. Lately I have learned; love is the basic concept of all Faiths.
I believe that every human is a child of God. I believe that there is but one God. That same God is worshiped by all and at birth we became brothers or sisters of all who came before us or will come after us.
I believe our house of worship is a place we go to fellowship and give thanks for what we have. I don’t believe it to be a place to ask for favors. I believe favors are to be asked on a one to one basis and at God’s will.
I believe war, in the name of religion is wrong. If all religions are based on the premise of love, how can it be right to kill someone you can’t convert? What have you accomplished?
God determined the region of the world each of us would be born in and the religion we would first be exposed to. Is that not God’s will?
I have a question I must ask of those who say they have no religion or the Atheist. Please give me your explanation of the following; in the early morning I walk into my yard. Ahead I see a splash of color. Moving closer I see a red rose bud with one drop of dew. As I bend forward for a better look I smell the fragrance of that rose. Who do you think put that flower there for me to see? Would it be just another happening for you? Or, could it have been a special blessing put there by God just for me to see? Could that something very special for me be nothing more than another flower for you?
For those of you that worship in a different house than me, I have much to learn from you. Maybe you might learn something from me. But, for me to learn from you, first you must come to me.
Just a few years ago almost every one we knew lived close by in our small neighborhood or were members of our house of worship. Everyone else was an “outsider” they were just a part of our “everyone else.”
And now it is today! Our neighborhood has become most of the world! Each of those “someone else” is as close as a flip of the switch on our TV or a click of the mouse on our computer. Back then occasionally we would hear some “crazy talk” of people of one religion doing bad things to people of another belief. That was always someplace else and it was being done to someone else. Maybe, if we thought about it, we felt sorry about them. For a while! And then, it was forgotten!
Today, with that flip of the switch, we suddenly find those bad things happening right there in our living room! Many times as we look we can still see blood flowing! And, it’s happening to our new neighbors! We’ve moved that quickly forgotten trauma of someone else to the center of our living room! Now! We gotta do something about it! But what?
Back again to that flip of the switch and we find that we not only moved those bad things to our living room, many of us have moved our place of worship there too! It’s great! If we don’t agree with the speaker just one click and they are gone! And, we don’t have to dress-up or even wear shoes! And, look at the many choices we have!
But it doesn’t feel quite right! Something is missing! Could it be the fellowshipping? The touch of a friend’s hand or a hug? The sound of a live voice? There are some things you can’t get from that square tube in the living room! I don’t want to get my religion from a box! I want my religion to be a living part of me and I also want to be a living part of my religion.
If my religion is not the same as yours, that’s alright, we’re still brothers and sisters under God!