Religion/God/Fear

[gratitude28]

Yes, that is what I do. My right-next-door neighbor is a person I just cannot tolerate. I avoid her other than to say hello if I absolutely must because we are in the driveway at the same time. Yes, bones, it is better to avoid them. And, I have to say, I do it now without emotion.
Thanks bones!!!
Love, Beth

[Sela]

Hi Beth:

I think I believe that need to want to become good, though. I am not sure.

Maybe it's like wanting to please a parent...wanting to behave well?  Or a way of showing unconditional love.....wanting to please God even if it's not easy?  I think wanting to be good is a good thing!

I think I used to be spiteful in the way that I thought God would "get bad people" - that they would get what was coming to them.

To me spiteful is full of malice and wanting to cause harm, etc to another.  I can see why that is not good for us.  But wanting justice?  Hoping the "bad" behaving people will be dealt with by the Authority....God??  I'm not so sure that's a bad way to think.  I dunno.  Isn't it a bit like wanting the police to catch the guy who robbed the bank?  And hoping the judge deals with him in a way that will help him to stop robbing banks?  It's not like seeking revenge ourselves.  Or acting as a judge.  I guess I like to think that that responsibility is God's and really....it's a relief to me.   

 

I just try to do what I need to do to be good now and I don't worry about what happens to those who have chosen differently.

I love that you do this!  I think this lifts a weight off of you that nobody needs.  It seems like a way of giving it all over to a higher power.  Either way......it's a way to keep from being vengeful (which I had no idea was obsolete english --but it is....according to  http://mw1.merriam-webster.com/dictionary/vengeful ).

Thanks Beth. It's helped me too to think about all of this and try to put it into words.   I'm still wondering about the word "fear" in the title of this thread.  If you feel like saying......did any of this touch on what you meant there?  Or if not, no worries.

Sela

[kel]

I was wondering what you felt was wrong with the Purpose Driven Life?

[Bones]

Yes, that is what I do. My right-next-door neighbor is a person I just cannot tolerate. I avoid her other than to say hello if I absolutely must because we are in the driveway at the same time. Yes, bones, it is better to avoid them. And, I have to say, I do it now without emotion.
Thanks bones!!!
Love, Beth

You're welcome, Beth!

Bones

[Hopalong]

Hi Leah,
I was curious too. Only curious...I don't do theological arm-wrestling but because of my childhood background, I'm very interested in religious questions.

This has been an interesting thread for me.

Hops

[SilverLining]

I have a deap-seated problem that I hope some of you might give me some insight to chew on...

Tiny background: Father atheist, very oppostitional to all things religious.

I find the father programming can run deep.  I was raised Catholic by my mother while my father was something of an spiritually indifferent atheist.  He never had much to say about religion while I was growing up, but later he told me he considered it essentially just delusional comfort for the masses.   My mother is a good Catholic in the sense of doing the required rituals, but isn't very deeply involved. 

So with these two role models what was I to do?  If I choose to become a "good catholic" that makes me one of the weak delusional people my father didn't respect.  If  I go the atheist route, I miss the value of the organized church. 

So for some years starting in my teens, I went more toward the atheist route, following my fathers example.  I now believe this was misguided and am trying to find more spiritual depth in my life.  I  believe my fathers choices are dictated more by autistic personality and N-ish tendencies than any reasoned consideration of spiritual issues.  But I still find I have trouble bringing myself to get involved in religious/spiritual activities.   It's like atheism/indifference has become a habit.

[gratitude28]

I definitely think rejecting religion was a way to please my father. He liked to joke about how primitive religion is.

As for the Purpose Driven Life... I don't know why it bothers me so much. Someone gave it to me to go along with my AA pgm. I especially have a hard time when people tell me they understand the Bible more than others... To me, the Bible is wonderful as a whole, buit if you start breaking it down to sentences and ideas within ideas, you start getting into things like snake handling...

And while I believe that in order to be fulfilled and happy, you must help others, I am not sure that I need to be told EXACTLY how I need to do this... and I felt that book did lay out a course you were "supposed to follow."

Kisses and the sincere hope I haven't offended anyone's beliefs!
Love, Beth

[debkor]

I was brought up Catholic.  I went to catholic school. I had to go to church on Sundays at a certain time with my class. I never knew one thing they said. Not one.  It was like punishment to me to go. But I was afraid of the nuns what they would say to me if I didn't show up for 9am mass and they were mean.  I remember my first grade religion class book.
I only remember two pictures one I was horrified of a woman burning in flames in hell and the other one there was an elephant going to crush some ones head.  I remember it was in color too.  I thought if I didn't go by the Golden Rule that was it, I was damned to hell forever.  I didn't enjoy church, I was afraid of it. I also remember when one of the nuns died they took our class to the convent to view her. That did me in.
Now in the morning we had to line up in front of the school till the bell rang and each class went it one at a time.
By the 3rd grade the girls were separated from the boys. The boys lined up at the end of the building.
The brothers taught them. One day a boy got out of line and the brother took him in the front of the building where we all could see and beat the hell out of him.  Horrified again! 
By the time I got to high school I was done with religion,nuns and all that went along with it.
I believe in God, I pray to God but I do not practice religion nor do my children.
I swore I would never send them to catholic school and I never did.
Till this day if I think of changing to  another religion I get paranoid that I will be struck dead or something bad will happen.
Crazy eh at how traumatized I was. So I guess I'm a non practicing Catholic.

Love Deb

[gratitude28]

Deb,
That makes so much sense!!!! You are right... it was not a happy thing for me. It was scary and unpleasant (when I wanted to do it, it was ridiculed by my father). My mother used it for attention... like everything else. I went to a funeral and showing at a young age and was horrified.
Now I think church is a kind and happy place... but I break out in sweats when I get near one. Go figure.
Thanks all.
Love, Beth