Nearly three years ago I became friends with a rather young, gay male. In the time I have known him he has matured into a very bright and ambitious guy; he was admitted to Cornish College of the Arts, he fell in love with the man of his dreams, and he proclaimed, incessantly, that he had everything. On Thursday, I noticed that he was posting cryptic Facebook status updates: "...is making the biggest decisions of his life." The first thought I have is "oh no, he's considering marriage or something serious like that." He is young, and although it's not my life to live, I wouldn't want him to settle down at 19 years old.
I texted him to find out what was going on, and I was, much to my dismay, given this response:
"I broke up with Dylan and Im leaving Seattle to go live with my family in Arizona because I strongly feel that this is what God wants me to do."There were more text messages after those, but the point is there. Religion stole my friend from me. It's nothing but lies. Why do people so easily fall into the trap of illusion? I didn't even get to say goodbye. And now, I've lost another person dear to me. Is God punishing me? No. Shit happens. There's nothing left to do but accept it.
"Im packed up, withdrawn from school and waiting for my ride. I know this is INSANE but its whats best for me."
"I cant keep lying to myself, acting like Gods ok with my decisions when i know hes not. Im tired of hiding from Him!"
Let me preface this with the fact that I am not religious. I was raised in a religious environment, have burned more hours in churches than I'd like to admit, and have constantly bounced back and forth on my viewpoints of religion. I'd also like to say that I love your blog, I don't agree with everything, but thats the beauty of it.
ReplyDeleteI think I've posted this on your status as well, religion is like politics, capitalism, socialism, fast food, pornography and anything else on earth that can be misused and abused. Politics is the most similar, and the foray this decade by the regilious right has blurred the line between the two anyway. There are politicians that act in what they believe are the best interests of the population that they represent. Then there are politicians that push their own interests and idealogies. There are religions and religious leaders that do not push ideas or morality on others, do not operate under a dark cloak of guilt and sin, and aim to derive all that is good from religion. Unfortunately, this is the minority of the population. I know people like this, and know churches like this. Unfortunately, there aren't many. The majority of religions, and religious leaders are what you are familiar with. These are the newsmakers, the protesters, the bombers of abortion clinics, yada yada yada. Is that to say that religion is evil as a whole?
Do we hold the institution or the individual responsible for their actions? Most human beings in our society are deeply flawed, insecure, jaded and selfish individuals who act in their own interest. Do you consider politics evil for being victim to the exact same people as religion?
Religion, in its most pure sense, is about personal development, its like any support group, like any group of friends that dispel support and wisdom. Its about knowing how small you are in the grand scheme of things and finding your place, your journey and your path in life, its about doing good things and caring for others. There are many creators of religion that try to define a persons path for them, to give them structure, that is not the purpose, that is an abuse. However off base the belief systems are, religion, is meant for good.
I do not believe in god, I do not qualify myself as being part of any religion, but to say religion is destroying humanity is turning a blind eye to whats really wrong in this country.
-Pat