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*sigh*
Today I decided to go to Mass with my family. Christianity is not my religion, but I decided that I could still go any maybe get something from it, or atleast be part of a religious experience that meant something to someone else; that irrelevent of my personal beliefs, it may be a positive contribution to my life to respectfully experience a celebration of a reigion other than my own.
Well, the sermon that the priest gave made me very doubtful of the above passage. He discussed how last Sunday he and another member of the clergy, dressed in their robes and such, went downtown. While in a store, he told us, the people seemed down and sad. Not very "joyous". And that this, confirmed by some of the looks given to him and his friend also dressed in their robes, could only be attributed to the fact that these people were not religious, or that they did not have a personal relationship with the Lord. Who the fuck is this man to assume that A- those folks were not religious simply because they were not in high spirits at that moment or that B- the only thing that evokes sadness is lack of a Christian faith? or that the lack of a Christian faith unavoidably causes dissatisfaction with life?
I don't care what people believe, who they love, what god they pray to, or what color their skin is- as long as a certain level of respect (for the self, for others, and for the beliefs of others) is upheld. I don't follow a Christian faith solely because I don't agree with what it entails, I also don't follow it because somehow it's acceptable to preach that all other ways of life are somehow less full or acceptablethan one of their own religion. Fuck that. No religion can be right if it preaches disrespect for other ways of life or unacceptance. His sermon, which he wouldnot have given if he had not wanted it to represent himself and his religion, displayed ignorance and disrespect.
I was extremely disappointed and frustrated with the situation.
This is why a lot of folks make a distinction between religion and spirituality. I put henna on my hand last week, and had someone I work with occasionally say to me - is that a tattoo? I said no, it's henna and it's going to fade away after a while. - he says, well that's good, because I don't like tattoos. ..... And I just kinda shrugged. After he left I realized personal preferences can easily grow out of scale and become like religion; where belief and dogma overtake tolerance, and judgement overshadows unconditional love. I chalk it all up to learning, and hope that they find it in their heart to see past their own beliefs when the time is right.
I appreciate you guys' input, makes me feel a little better about the whole situation. It was just extremely frustrating. After being told my whole like that this is the religion I'm "supposed" to believe in and giving it a second chance, if you will, it was very disappointing to get that in return for my efforts.
i have never seen a preist or nun seem "joyous"
they always seem so ..empty i guess
in fact have you ever seen the movie "the name of the rose' its set in a 16th century monatstary and 1 of the monks is killing other monks to hide the existence of a book saying its ok yto laugh
how joyous can you be if y9ur required to flog yourself for giggling at a joke?
have you ever seen a preist through his hands in the air and shoout whoopie/
at rainbow gatherings you k=might hear "we love you" shourted out joyfully echoing from mountain to mountain but theres a christu=ian group thats very cult like that comes every year and when youd hear that we love you i overheard 1 guy say all i hear is the barking of demons
how joyful can you be when love sound s like demons?when joy sounds demonic?
and hoy joyful can u be when yoyr "celebratiobs" involve kneel sit stand kneel repeitions and monotone recytals of stale old passages in mumbled voivces
there is no true joy in that\if anything they do get a perverse joy in their own self rightousness
What denomination was this? Some sects of christianity don't go around preaching this intolerance. Some of the more evangelical sect really do.
This is why I don'tassociatemyself with any organized religion. I grew up in a very jewish home. I was taught, from the beginning, that jews were the conscience of the world, and that they were the only true religion. It always amused me. If you read into the story f why jews are "gods chosen people", you'd crack up. Supposedly, god went to every other people first and asked them to worship him. When they said "why, and what for?" god left and went to someone else. Jews were the last group he went to and they said yes.
So jew's preach that they were chosen by god. Even if that's a true story, which it's not, it means that The Hebrews were gods last choice. Why would you be proud of that?
I got off topic a bit, sorry.
I respect that you wanted to go in order to experience another religion and their faith. That's admirable. And you learned something very valuable from it. You learned that you can't put all of your faith into one man, just because he's on stage wearing a robe. You have to find someone who earns your respect to believe. Respect is earned. It's not a given right to have.