Religion In My Eyes

To quote John Dewey “The time to strike is while the iron is hot.” Yesterday, I broke through on of the unspoken taboos of discussion among friends and family. I touched upon politics, specifically Marriage. Today, I’m going to address religion. This may make you “unfriend” me on Facebook, or it may have no effect at all. If it makes you think, about Anything I’ve said, then I’ll have accomplished my goal.
As I mentioned, I’ve been with my partner (husband) Eric for over 12 years. When we first decided to become a dedicated to each other couple, I sat him down, and read him the laundry list of Everything I’d learned about myself from my prior relationships. I explained everything that I was told made me a bad partner, and all of the faults that I’d identified within myself, up to that point. I also explained that I had every intention to move back to Pennsylvania, to be near family as the kids were young and would be growing up fast. My eldest niece graduated high school this year and starts college in the fall. Shockingly, to me at least, he not only agreed to be my partner knowing all of my downsides, but he also agreed to accompany me to PA, with nothing more concrete than “I have a friend we can crash with”.
On the way up, we stopped to visit his mom, who at the time lived in Tennessee. Now, before I mention another word about his mom, I personally think she’s a lovely woman. If anything I say comes off different, please, just refer back to that sentence. We pull into her driveway, Eric, myself and our dog Tank. She has us stow our bags, and invites us into the kitchen. I of course am nervous, as I’m old fashioned, and I’d like to have my spouses parents like and and or approve of me at least a little. Well, it didn’t quite shake out that way right away. The first question was not a warning shot across the bow, it was a bomb, to the face. “Are you a Christian?” Now, first of all, religion isn’t’ what I was expecting. I was expecting things like “What are your plans for my son”, or “How will you ensure that he’s taken care of”, or “Are you sure you’re good enough for him”. But no, I got “Are you A Christian”. I like to designate the A Christian versus Christian. I will elaborate on that soon. Slammed with what to me was such a bomb question, up front set the tone for how the visit would go. I will be completely honest. After that, my expectations plummeted, but the visit was very, very pleasant. We went for sushi (which I believe she enjoyed), we did a bit of shopping and we mostly hung out and were friendly. But to go back to my initial confrontation, when hit with that question, I can only answer No. I am not “A Christian”, though I do hold some of the teachings of the historical figure Jesus Very near and dear to my heart, I generally speaking don’t go to church, I don’t tithe, I don’t shout “Praise the Lord”, and or “Hallelujah” at each success. I’m not saying that people who do these things are wrong in any fashion, it’s just not what I feel is what was taught by Jesus. If I have to Label myself as having a religion, and I generally don’t like labels, I’m going to quote the Dalai Lama “My religion is simple. My religion is Kindness”. I think first and foremost, Jesus, the teacher, (Rabbi as he Was Jewish) taught kindness above all else. He didn’t teach fear, he didn’t teach punishment, he didn’t teach isolationism and radicalism. He taught us to care for the sick, the elderly and the poor. To go out of our way, every day, to try to make someone else’s day a little bit better. I am NOT going to lie. Everyone has bad days. I am in no way a saint. There are days that i’m a disagreeable asshole, and there are days that making someone smile, for what I may consider nothing more than trying to be helpful the greatest thing I’ve done that day.

I Love the teachings of the historical figure of Jesus, and also many of the teachings of the current Dalai Lama. I however don’t subscribe to “Organized Religion”. I don’t feel that having a Labeled religion is going to make my life any better or any worse. Many people will label themselves as “A Christian” and here’s another quote. From “The Princess Bride” Inigo Montoya,
You keep using that word. I do not think it means what you think it means. To me, a person designated as “A Christian” is choosing to put themselves before the teachings of Jesus. They want to be labeled, and recognized as being better than someone or something. They may or may not follow the teachings of kindness, of doing for those less fortunate than themselves. One day, Eric and I were leaving the mall after having had lunch and or dinner, whichever, didn’t matter. but there was a severely sunburned gentleman standing at the exit, panhandling with a sign that proclaimed him as a Gulf War Vet who was both unemployed and Homeless. Everyone who knows us knows we aren’t exactly drowning in cash. We did still stop, and give him what his expression told us was a substantial amount of money, and I wished him to have a better day than he’d been having up to that point. Some people will say “I don’t give money to beggars/bums, etc whatever label makes you feel better about yourself. “They’re only going to use it to buy booze, or drugs, or god knows what”. Okay, who are You to judge? The gentleman that I gave money to, I didn’t say, “Now make sure you get sunblock and water sir, and maybe a bible”. I simply wished for him, sincerely, that at least That one day was better.That to me is an act of Christianity, of Christ, of Kindness. I live in PA, in Lancaster county. We have some beautiful old, very elaborate churches. We also have Amish people, who practice their faith in simple, white washed 1 room buildings. Now, Unless God’s into fashion, what makes one type of religious building better than another? Jesus often spoke of piety and sacrifice, however, when we practice our faith, we surround ourselves in opulence. We put on our “Sunday’s Best”. Some people will drive up to two hours to go to a “Mega-Church” because it’s “So Beautiful inside and out”.  Me, if I want to try to touch base with whatever higher being is out there, possibly donating a passing thought my way. I do it in the car, or at home, or in bed, or even on the toilet.  So, you can label me as you like, you can label me “Christian”, or “Buddhist”, or “Recovering Agnostic” or whatever makes you feel better.As long as I know, that I’m trying to make the world a better place, in what ever small way that I can, I know I’m doing it right.