another long post.
more ramblings on religion
so i guess a few ppl are wondering why i havent accepted God yet (either that or im just narcisstic)
this post provides a partial answer.
Besides the very obvious Do I want to believe in God/s? (or Do i believe in God/s?) … which still remains unanswered, there are a few other points/questions i’m grappling with.
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but before i get to that..theres a few things i want to state.
1) I will not convert because of fear.
ok fine, this may be a bit obvious, but there you go. Fear includes fear of what will happen in the afterlife (in other words, i will not convert as an "insurance" against going to hell when i die), fear of God himself, fearing illness and death, etc. IMO, a relationship (even a relationship with God), that starts off by fear… wont get anywhere.
2) I will not convert just to "fit in"
This is another obvious one, i wont change just because everyone expects me to. Everyone once thought the world was flat.
3) I will not convert in the hopes that it’ll make me "a better person" or provide "a better life"
Being a better person… has really nothing much to do with me converting or not. Granted, religion does provide a moral framework for me to follow, but, as for that, well, i roughly know already what i consider "right" and "wrong" –but i dont claim any authority over anyone’s elses ethics, i myself am still learning and growing.
As for providing a better life… IMO thats converting because of fear (fear of living badly, fear of failure…)
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Now for a few of the questions (note that this is not the complete list) — a.k.a. the things i need to know while choosing a religion, so i know what im getting into.
1) Who is God(s) and what kind of God(s) is He?
God, in Christianity, as far as I know, refers to the Holy Trinity (dad, kid, hallucination… -kidding. also bad taste.-) of the Father, the Son and the Holy Ghost. As for the what kind of God.. apparently thats not so simple and i wont attempt to answer it. Suffice to say that paradoxes abound e.g. issit really possible to be Just and Kind at the same time? Justice brings with it Punishment and Punishment usually has nothing to do with Kindness…
a)Do i REALLY want to get closer to God? -bearing in mind all His supposed qualities…-
b)Am I prepared to respect and obey Him?
2) What are the teachings?
Bleh. this will take the whole Bible to answer. But…
a) DO i Agree with the all the teachings and principles?
b) Am i willing to accept and obey WITHOUT regarding it as a chore?
Obviously, if i do not agree with all the teachings/principles/rules advocated by the religion (this includes teachers/priests/church structure as well as the things mentioned in the Bible) its definately not a good idea to convert. For as far as I can tell, its not exactly a choice. I can’t very well say that oh, i’ll obey this rule but not this other rule because i dont think this other one is sensible. Basically an all-or-nothing situation.
3) How is the religion practised?
This one differs from church to church, and even more from one denomination(i think thats wrongly spelt) to another but i think the basic structure of Mass is unchanged. if im not mistaken, more or less its praise & worship/readings/sermon/collection/doxology. Right. So once i get the details hammered out…
a) DO I think it’s a waste of time? (honestly, right now… this is still a yes for me.)
b) HoW much am i prepared to get involved?
4) What is the actual meaning of convertion and what does it entail?
Um. I’m actually a bit blur about that… so u guys are welcome to enlighten me =P
a)Am i prepared to convert?
b)Will i be committed to it for the rest of my life?
c)Do i really, i mean really, want to do this (it involves the rest of my life and afterlife. =D) ?
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As you can see, theres quite a few things i need to learn, and a few questions i need to answer for myself before making a choice.
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eve signing off.. (ARGH!!!! SPM ………)
