Having some fun with all the 'chatter' going on lately about this whole 'religion' thing. Such a volatile subject, yet, somehow, so amusing sometimes. I watch as folks go on about the things that get 'em all riled up ('THERE IS ONLY ONE GOD ... AND IT'S MY GOD!" or the age-old argument "I am RIGHT, you are WRONG...and you're going to hell.". Just cracks me up. What I wonder, most often, is 'if there is only ONE GOD, why are you arguing the point? Who cares what you call Her/Him (heehee!)? Great Spirit. Great Mystery. Yahweh. Allah. The Lord. Shiva. Odin. Pan (my personal favorite...bless his smelly, pipe-playing, lascivious Self!). SHEESH! ONE GOD means one god. So what's all the fuss about?
I once had a friend, who is a hard-core, bible-thumpin', right wing Southern Baptist, tell me that if I was so averse to the whole idea (being a 'recovering Catholic and all) maybe I could look at it this way: GOD = Good Orderly Direction. Hmmm. Now there's an idea. Good Orderly Direction indeed. I've always thought that DOG was a much better moniker. DOG = Divine Oasis of Goodness. Makes much more sense to me. Plus, I happen to think Dogs Rule! But I digress.... back to the whole 'who cares what ya call It' thing...
Here's my take ~ since 'we' (Americans) came 'here' (America) in search of religious freedom from the oppressive English we've managed to nearly decimate the entire Native American population. But it didn't start there. For as long as history has been recorded, RELIGION has been the cause of more killings than ANY OTHER CAUSE on the planet. Entire civilations have been wiped out. More than 2 MILLION women were burned alive (those dastardly witches!) just because they had 'gifts'. Gifts like being able to heal people or animals. Knowing how to assist in birth (that's right, folks, Midwives were considered witches...and killed for it!). Or even living alone in the forest, growing herbs as medicinals to help heal the sick...all these tihngs and much lesser 'violations' were cause for their demise. Unspeakable horrors that, were I inclined, could take pages, no, make that VOLUMES to even list, let alone describe. (No, I won't! No need...I hope!) UNSPEAKABLE!
So, it would seem that his whole 'religion' thing is way out of control. Always has been. People kill people in the name of their 'god', and are RIGHTEOUS about it. HUH???? But...what if.....what if we're finally entering into a new era, as it were. What if NOW is the time in our Human history that we begin (yes, it's just a beginning) little by little, to ALLOW each other to worship who/what/how we wish, without persecution? I mean, look around. All kinds of sites are popping up and growing faster than weeds on a hillside. There are millions of people buying books, attending seminars, creating new organizations, living JOYFULLY all in the name of Spiritual Freedom. It's AWESOME!
And here we are...all of us...learning, witnessing, living this 'new idea'. It inspires great hope for our species. It motivates people to action. It IS changing the world as we know it. And I, for one, think this is a marvelous time to be on the planet. We may not see the results of our 'work' in this lifetime, but the seeds have been planted. The trees of new spirituality are taking root on our beautiful Mother Earth. People DO care. Now, all we have to do is pull out the weeds, give the seeds some fertilizer and water our gardens. The fruits our labors will appear....maybe not soon enough for some of us, but they WILL appear.
Praise Pan!
P.S. I realize that the subject of religion is a 'dangerous' one. I wrote this piece in the name of PEACE, NOT to inspire more argument or get read the 'riot act' by those who are deeply entrenched in their own religion. The POINT is that we all have the RIGHT to choose. Live and let live, so to speak. So, if for some reason, this missive offends you, please know that it is not my intention to offend. It is rather meant to grow the seeds of tolerance. So, save your commentary if you're 'all riled up'. I'd rather you say a prayer instead. Peace!
