Random idea of the day: A mountain with a rough face is easier to climb than one that is smooth... (author unknown)

Disheartening, to say the least...

Isn't it funny how we can have so much respect for someone and then, with just a few words, they can shake us to the very core?

I was, of course, having a deeply philosophical debate with someone that I truly and deeply admire - or at least I did.  I've always considered myself to be open to new ideas and I try to associate with people who think the same.  While participating in a lively chat about the links between modern American politics and the influence of various prominent religions, something was said that shook me to the core.  I've met hardcore conservatives before and had talks with some of the most liberal people as well, but the shocker was that someone I considered to be an intellectual said something that shook the understanding that I thought I had about them to the very core.

One of my favorite topics to discuss is the freedom of religion (or lack thereof) in our overly conservative "modern" society.  When this came up, one of the people that I tend to debate with often (and who usually tends to be on my side due to what I felt was a mutual understanding) made the following observation:  "Of course the Constitution protects the freedom of religion in America.  You are free to be part of any Christian religion that you choose."

This statement stunned me so much at first that I couldn't respond.  It was only after several minutes of silence that I could even get back into the discussion at hand.  Why was this pronouncement so shocking to me?  Was it simply because it exposed my supposedly open-minded friend for the closet conservative that he was?  Maybe it was because I couldn't believe that any truly free-thinking and equality-minded individual could openly profess such a belief.  What was the reason for my loss of focus at a moment when I would normally be the first one to tear down and attack the subtle bigotry inherent in such a declaration?

It is only after nearly a day of trying (unsuccessfully) to think about everything else but that statement and the ensuing discussion that I have come to realize the two major problems that arose in my mind.  First and foremost, I did the wrong thing and simply ignored a statement by a friend (or at least a colleague) in order to preserve my own image of our "likeminded" beliefs in true freedom.  Secondly, I realized that, though I am the first to champion freedom of religion and the first to criticize any overly moral legislation as hampering that very right, I too feel the same way!

I would never profess such a belief and can very easily call to mind each and every reason that such a way of thinking is wrong and even potential harmful en masse, but truthfully I now have just the tiniest understanding of how the jihadists feel.  When you are raised a certain way and you grow up thinking only one thing is right then no amount of education or exploration of other possibilities can break you of the influence that a system of beliefs can have over your innermost thoughts and feelings.

This is a problem that we all feel, I fear.  Those of us who were raised in the church (I do not capitalize here because I refer broadly to any church at all) can not shake the hold of our religion over our deepest emotional responses.  I'm not talking about holiday holiness here people, I'm talking about people who are coached their entire lives to believe that something is true.  That, after all, is the very reason that man created religion to begin with:  in order to ingrain a system of beliefs on groups of people to make it easier to maintain power over societies.

No, I am not an atheist.  I do believe in God, specifically the God of my understanding (catch the reference to AA and NA and then check out Alcoholics Anonymous - Big Book: New Personal Stories for the Year 2008 and Bill W.: The absorbing and deeply moving life story of Bill Wilson, co-founder of Alcoholics Anonymous for some in-depth understanding of what I mean here and some tips that can help in the lives of anyone who is feeling lost).

If there is one thing that the twelve steps taught me in my exploration of self it was that no one religion has it right.  Religion was made by man, after all, and no religious text can deny it.  Even Jesus Himself did not make the Christian religion, as it were, people; He simply set out some basic tenets and left the formation of His church (Truth and Fiction in The Da Vinci Code: A Historian Reveals What We Really Know about Jesus, Mary Magdalene, and Constantine and The Da Vinci Code, Special Illustrated Edition (Hardcover) are EXCELLENT reads if you want to understand the real story behind the formation of the modern churches and the various offshoot denominations) in the hands of men.  That's right, you die-hard Christians - Jesus let men write down and set all the rules that now make up the dogmas of the various Christian denominations.  Read the Good Book itself and look for the rules that He Himself wrote and then compare them to the things that the churches do in His name.

This brings to mind an interesting quote from Sarah McLachlan:  "Dear God, I don't know if you noticed but your name is on a lot of quotes in this book... and as crazy humans wrote it, you should take a look..." (from the song Dear God available on the album Rarities, B-Sides & Other Stuff pictured at the top of this article).  The entire song is a letter to the God of her understanding talking about the false gods that are being credited as the cause for wars and anger and hatred among mankind.  I think Sarah makes some good points...

Still I find it hard to break away from the training that I was given in my younger days.  I know that I have a relationship with God, with the God of my understanding, and I know that we are close but sometimes the trappings of the old religious dogma still cause me to pause.  Sometimes I catch myself thinking in the closed-minded way that all religions of every type seem to end up teaching as right.  If I myself can fall into this trap then maybe the problem is worse than I thought?  The simple fact is that organized religion is a source of power for a very few fueled by the masses that accept it without hesitation.  The very fact that more and bloodier wars have been fought in the name of religion than for any other reason in the entire expanse of human history proves one thing to me:  the evil of a man is intent on destroying everything good.

"The blight of corruption that lies within the heart of humanity has managed to obscure even the true light of God that shines upon the earth and shades us instead with false hope and man-made dogma..."  That last quote is mine.  Came to me just now... like it or hate it, but no one can deny that it rings true.  Think Jim and Tammy Fae, think Ferdinand and Isabella, think Constantine himself and then wonder where we are headed...

Random idea for the day: No matter how far you run from yourself, you always catch up.