above title had nothing to do with intended post. Actually, I just watched Bruce Almighty and kinda feel like busting out the faith shiz-nit. :)
You know what I adore about that movie? I mean, besides the Steve Carrel scene where he makes funny faces and sounds while on live television...I love how humanely the writers dealt with the whole issue. They dealt with the concept of God, as a being in relation to us, His creations. Not God in the Christian/Jewish/Catholic/Muslim/Buddhist/WTFEVER point of view. It was a very frank, matter of fact portrayal of God, and I loved that.
I personally don't believe in distinctions between the God I worshiped as an Anglican and the God I could worship as a Mormon. I do believe in Him, and I do believe that He made each and every one of us fundamentally the way we were supposed to be.
One of the best scenes in the movie is one that I see happening in my own life. In the beginning when Bruce is driving down the road going "talk to me, what's going on, give me a sign," and all of a sudden there's caution signals, and a truck full of caution SIGNS ahead of him and whatnot, and he's not noticing at all...it really reflects my own view of the way I believe divine interaction or whatever you want to call it is supposed to happen. A God smart enough to create life as complicated and minute and delicate as it is, doesn't allow things to just happen...well things that matter anyways. That's why I hate it when people are like, 'why did you let this happen, God?' I profoundly believe that there is a lesson in everything of importance that we experience in our lives. And the point of our tiny, miniscule, humbling little existences is for each and every one of us to find those lessons.
Aside: I refuse to call human existence 'insignificant'. I think that is a very belittling way of putting it. Look at how amazing we all are, how incredible just one person can be. How can THAT be insignificant? I refuse to even consider it.
As odd, as it may seem, I love my life. I love being who I am, and having experienced what I have. I love it. I miss my mom so much. But I know that it was supposed to happen, and as hard as it is to even comprehend, I'm sure it was the right thing in the context of her life, as well. I like to think that she was happy when she went. For one obvious reason, it's easier to cope...especially with the things I said to her the night before she died. But for another reason, it makes it easier to believe in the idea that it was the right thing for all parties involved.
I'm sure a lot of people don;t think I'm particularly religious, or even religious at all. And I may not go to church all the time, and what have you...or even follow those tenets of my favorite religion, tenets I admire and want to uphold. But I believe so strongly in a higher being, and purpose in life, and that there are reasons for everything that happens in life.
I dunno, maybe that's what makes me so happy. I'm pretty sure other people like being happy. So if I could give the whole world one peice of advice: try that belief out. It might make you happy too. And what's wrong with that?
PS: I wish Morgan Freeman really was God. I'd talk to Him everyday! :)
Sunday, June 11, 2006
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11 comments:
Al,
you know Steph and I love you.
Bucksh0t
I'd first like to say if there was going to be an actor as god, it would be Sean Connery.
But it sounds like you've come to realization that your agnostic. Personaly I think that is the best place to be in terms of Religion. There is too much propaganda, but faith is one of the strongest things. It also sounds like your leaning towards the belief of Fate which is awesome.
I think that most life on thie planet is pretty insignificant on a wide scale, but the only thing that matter is that it's important to you.
Anyone who is Agnostic I give a high five.
Personally I think people's desires have become their religion, hence their distaste for the possibility of a Higher Being.
well, of course, nowadays people hold their desires as more important than religion. But I believe that is both a moral backslide, and a step forward in the maturity of the overall consciousness.
I mean, there are always going to be societal concepts that dictate the light in which certain Biblical decrees will be seen. For example, in the Dark Ages the verse "Thou shalt not allow a witch to live" (Exodus) was considered an order to punish 'witches' with death. And of course, in the application of that comand, it got twisted beyond anything considered morally correct and was used to persoanl advantage.
Nowadays, in study of the phrase, the direct translation of the (I believe Old Testament was written in:) Greek, shows that the word witch is actually referring to one who works with chemicals, and "potions". So under that category, you could include everything from pharmacists, to chemists, everything.
My point is, the Bible was meant to be interpreted. You can't read the Bible and take it literally. In fact, I believ eyou shouldn't.
As far as my being agnostic goes...well, I don't really like that term. I'm not really sure why. I suppose it does describe me, but I don't think I'd ever use it to describe myself. *shrug*
And Buck, I love you and Steph too! (what brought that on? :P)
The Term "Thou shalt not allow a witch to live" was a phrase in the bible that was actually altered to allow the witch hunt to begin. I can't remember which King did it, but I think it was a King Henry.
Whats wrong with being Agnostic, I think it's a great way to describe something. I hope your not confusing it with Atheist cause they are completely different.
One could argue it's ones desires that brought them to the conclusion that the Bible is not to be taken literally.
Hence the numerous translations, additions, subtractions and contradictions that render it the useless manuscript it is today.
I like how you had Buddhism in your list of religions with a POV on God...because they do not believe in 'God', you see.
ignore geoff, you see
hes being a smart ass you see
King James had it altered. He was also the one who incidentally spurred on and started the witchhunts that got out of hand in the seventeent century.
And Geoff that was intentional. Making a point, and yes I even thought of you when I typed it. :) And it is considered by some to be a religion...and enlightenment could arguably be seen as a Higher Consciousness, aka Higher Being.
Olives, i know what atheist is. I just don't like those terms. I like religious distinctions--as much as I dislike them if you get that...? *shrug*
And Anon, of course it is. But if you want to take the whole thing literally, then the Bible contradicts itself a hundred times. And when was the last time you saw a true religious leader (and I'm talking Ghandi and the Dalai Lama, not Pat whats-his-nut-Christian with the university) speak in anything other than metaphor? :P
That's the whole problem with religion in general. People and their own desires. *sigh*....BAH.
anyways, my point with this whole post is that the portrayal of God in Bruce Almighty was very very non-denominational, and I think we need more of that in this world.
God is more than just Allah and Jehovah, and Ya-howay, Alpha, Omega, enlightenment, I Am, whatever you wanna call it. I think He's a little closer to home than a lot of us want to admit.
The Bible has been altered far more times than just King James' version. Each translation has had fiddlings and whatnot.
Our problem is that we have the truth, we just don't tend to accept it.
We think that as humans, we should be able to comprehend anything. Everything should be rational, ergo what is irrational is untrue.
And who defines what is rational? Us? If we didn't create ourselves, how can we set our own rules?
Going back to your theory of personal desires creating the metaphorical context of the bible, I think you have a point, but there is more likelihood that it's metaphorical. I mean, the Bible gets specific when it needs to be specific. The Ten Commandments are the Ten Commandments. There isn't a lot of room for misunderstanding there. But there are still dozens more commandments in the Bible that not every religion that uses it follows. For instance, Christians and Jews use the same section of the Bible: the Old Testament. And yet you see Jews observing the dietary, and clothing restrictions but not Christians. Or Muslims. Why? Because once upon a time, way back when, someone decided to interpret the Bible rather than just read it. And someone else said, yeah I think you're right about that.
Biblical metaphor, and interpretation is nothing new. And we shouldn't pretend that it is, for the sake of cynicism or whatever.
In your newest comment, I think you make a very very excellent point. If we didn't create ourselves (which I believe we didn't) how CAN we create our own rules? We can't. We were never meant to. I have a theory that that is part of what makes the Westernized world so over all unhappy.
Nothing is simple anymore. When the Bible was taken as Absolute Truth, people breathed easier. They had a set of guidelines to live by, their moral decisions were made by someone else, presumably a Higher Being, who's authority could be trusted by the very fact of what He is.
I think to some extent, modern society has gotten too obsessed with asking questions and doubting. The search for knowledge. It's given us gifts, but has also destroyed Westernized (and Christian, particularly) confidence in the belief. As religious beings we doubt ourselves every second, because of what people who don't, won't, never have believed think up to criticize about it. We sit and wonder why depression statistics are on the rise. People have to take anti-depressants to cope with everyday life.
Back when word was law, you didn't see that. People lived by the Bible, died, and those who were left were happy because they believed in the happier place the deceased was in.
What happens now? We ask MORE questions. Are they or aren't they? Is that It? Finished. Dead, your body rots away, and you are forgotten? No one wants to believe that. And when more people didn't, people were happier.
I must have this big thing on being happy, because I for one think it's better for the masses to believe blindly in SOMETHING and be happy than it is for a self-made island of a person to sit around asking cynical questions about something that in the end doesn't even matter.
Life is a paradox. I find this in what I think about all the time. I want to be successful and have lots of money. But I also believe that it is evil, and corrupts. I believe if people stopped wanting it so much, the world would be a better place. But it doesn't stop me from wanting it. I suppose that makes me a hypocrite.
I believe that economically speaking there will always be classes. A communist government is a proven failure. But I also believe that there is enough in this world that no one should have to go without. Politics mean nothing. Bread and water mean a lot to someone who has neither. But those two are also alike in that they're fleeting. No one will be affected by who was Prime Minister when in fifty years. The starving Ethiopian you donate money to feed will still be starving tomorrow. Again, the paradox.
Unfortunately the acknowledgement of life as a paradox invariably leads my thinking into circles. And then I can't say anything else, because what I have to say is just a rehash using a different metaphor of something I've said before.
I guess the bottom line would be...this life is exactly that: THIS LIFE. I'm not going to say that we make our own destiny, or that we'll have a chance to make things right in the next lifetime, or that our questions will be answered by a Higher Being or what have you. Because I don't know. And that's all any of us have. Is Ignorance. It's something we should and ARE fighting against. But not at the cost of slamming your head into metaphorical walls. There is no point in thinking this whole religion thing through. All any of us can do is live in the best way possible. And hope to hell that death isn't the final curtain, because I am SO not done with life.
I should have made this a post. :S
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