"I still have a certain amount of bad blood with institutional Christianity and political Christianism in general, but I try never to hold it against individual pracitioners. I try to extend the presumption that their faith journey is genuine (a courtesy not always reciprocated). I have also come to know that anyone I encounter in this life might have something to teach me, and some of the most valuable bits come from those outside of my world view. I wish you all well on your journeys."
It is upon this premise, I believe, that Beliefnet.com is built. And yet, I often wonder how frequently people from one tradition (meaning within the broad spectrum of Christian traditions as described in a recent post or those who choose another faith) actually cross boundaries and share their stories, rather than debating, with one another.
That got me thinking about the power of storytelling and how, by sharing our spiritual journeys with one another, we can better understand one another, even if we do not come to agree about what we believe. Andrea's response to kenneth's comment is a perfect example of this principle at work. She writes:
Excellent post Kenneth and I'm truly glad you are at peace now with your faith. I had a somewhat similar journey, though my conversion call came after being a solitary pagan for over 20 years when I was told I had to become a Catholic. Of all things! A Catholic! I can't tell you how hard I fought it. I begged Her, I pleaded with Her but in the end the sign She sent was so clear there was no denying it. I was told I wouldn't understand the reason why and I would continue to question and fight it for 10-15 years and 3 years later I'm still bucking and kicking but I attend Mass every Sunday and enjoy it, though I don't buy into the dogma or politics of organized religion. The message that was given to me by a 3rd party, a perfect stranger no less, in direct answer to my silent, soulful and heartfelt prayer was 'It does not matter what name you call ME by, there is room under my mantle for all.' followed by, 'Never belittle the level another person is on because we are all on a path to God and you can never know where another person is on their journey.' This is paraphrased as there was much more told to me of a personal nature and it was told to me in Italian so it isn't verbatim. Blessing on your journey.
I would love to hear more of your stories and share them here. Short snapshots on where you began and where you are today in your journey toward or away from God. If enough people write in I will do it weekly - say every Saturday. If not, I will do it when the stories come in. If you have a story that you'd like to share, email it to me at flirtingwithfaith@gmail.com. Please make it 500 words or less and know that I may do some slight edits - not of content, but for typos and flow.
Please spread the word among your friends and others as the more people that respond the more interesting this will become. Looking forward to hearing from you.
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oh, and thanks for hesitating to characterize me as an atheist.
i would call myself an anti-theist with lots of patience for people who don't make sense.
http://atheism.about.com/od/atheismatheiststheism/a/AntiTheism.htm
Hi Credis: Thanks for responding. I also would have fallen into the anti-theist camp had I been familiar with that language at the time, which is why I made the distinction. As for their being anything inherently spiritual about being born in northeastern America, etc. I agree. There is nothing inherently spiritual about the day-to-day elements of my life against the backdrop of a world filled with billions of people living theirs. That is what I like about storytelling and people sharing the ins and outs of their lives with one another. It highlights a paradox - we humans are both insignificant and important and our lives are both worthy of sharing with one another and of no consequence. I am genuinely interested in your anti-theistic views, but less from the "what an anti-theist believes" perspective and more of the "this is what I believed when I was as a kid, this is what happened to form my anti-theism and this is where I am now" perspective. There are loads of places on the Internet for the "my belief (or non-belief) is better than your belief" debate. I am hoping we can buck that trend and have a different conversation.
i didn't believe anything as a kid, really.
i went through the motions, going to church, taking communion, etc. and that's about it. oh, and i read the bible, which i didn't think could actually be the word of god with a big g. and i read passages from the koran. and about different religions in books from the neighborhood library.
i remember that siddhartha, an allegorical novel by hermann hesse, made a big impression, as did biser, the glass bead game.
i didn't start thinking hard about religion until i turned 17 and encountered people who said and acted religious. they seemed a little screwy and never made much sense (when they talked about their faith). they still don't.
i don't hold it against them. i feel sorry for them.
so it's live and let live with the devout.
i don't hunt them down for arguments.
but when i meet them in person,
or encounter them on the internet,
i usually say hello. and point out that
they are standing on very thin ice.
i am not an entertainer,
although i do enjoy box dancing.
I used to live across the street from a satanist. Well, he was an "ex-satanist." Or maybe even an "ex-satanist-by-birth." He told me a story about his father, who was a satanist priest. When my neighbor was 13, he told me he stood over a tied up woman with a knife, compelled by his father and others to kill her. He left, and never saw his father again.
Maybe he was just telling stories. I do know he'd been in-and-out of prison for much of his life.
When we met, he had two toddler children, and they were all that mattered to him. He took them to church once - my church. He told me he felt so unwelcome he'd never go back. People got up and moved when he sat down with his kids...
Dunno if it's relevant to the conversation, but everyone has a story, and every one I have heard has enriched my life, and my understanding of truth, lies, goodness, grace and evil.
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