Chapter 12 - Religion, Morals and Politics

 

Chapter 12 - Religion, Morals and Politics

RELIGION
I know that a lot of younger people today think that “church is boring,” “it's no fun,” "no one in my parents religion UNDERSTANDS me or what it is like to be a kid", “religions are full of hate,”
etc...

I agree with you!
Church IS boring.
Most churches are NOT fun.
There ARE many religious extremists who use HATE, to keep power.
There ARE a lot of people in positions of power in all churches who are not good representatives of their faiths who have (and will) alienated young people and choose to project their personal opinions on their younger members and not even try to listen to or understand the younger generations needs and issues.
There ARE many people who think religion is bad that it starts wars and hurts many people and is against natural behavior. BUT there are extremists in all religions, and many many people USE religion to bolster their own personal bigotry, agendas and opinions and also to discriminate against others.
I asked my Born Again Christian friend Jamie a question once, “If the part about homosexuality being bad wasn't in the Bible, would you personally still take issue with it?”
She paused and then blurted out angerly, “Yes, because its gross and disgusting and I don't wanna see it!”
Jamie was overweight at the time and had no boyfriend and was miserable in her own life.
Whereas my Christian, school Teacher friend, Eileen champions gay rights, and Eileen is married and happy in her life...
See what is happening there? Jamie was using Christianity as a crutch to excuse her hate of gay people cause she is not a happy person. Whereas Eileen is able to LOVE gays cause she is happy in her life even through her Bibles comments on gays...
Anyway, yes, church is boring.
What you have to understand is that most houses of worship follow the same cookie cutter church service layout planners as everyone else. There are franchise companies and franchise churches that follow the same Sunday services verbatim throughout all it's churches. There are even companies whose sole purpose is to help anyone set up a church overnight with preprinted sermons and worship plans. That is why many times church is so boring and you never absorb the message the preacher is getting at.
Because it is NOT sincere. It's become McChurch!
Remember these things!
Just because religious PEOPLE do bad things, doesn't make it that particular religion's fault.
Religion hurts NO ONE. Religions are just books made of paper.
Religion isn't evil, it's the overzealous, extremist, hateful followers who are evil who hurt ALL religions.
Look, I have many wonderful friends of ALL religions.
Hate doesn't come from the Bible or the Koran, it comes from the INDIVIDUALS doing the hating.
Religion is a CHOICE.
The reason your parents are afraid of you reading this chapter is because THEY want you to be with them forever. They want you to believe and have the same religious faith as they do, regardless of whether they are practicing it daily or not. Religion isn't a race or embedded in anyone's DNA. 2 twins can be adopted by 2 separate families, one a Christian Family and the other an Albanian Muslim family and be raised in their adopted family's religion. You can choose NOT to go to church, you can choose to be an Atheist and you can choose NOT to be your parents religion and choose your own.
Everyone thinks THEIR religion is the "right" one. Wars have been fought over religious freedoms and religion. So it's a sensitive subject for many people, not only your parents.
BUT!
You only get ONE life (depending on which religion you are) so if you don't research, examine and ask and question everything about a religion, how do you know you *ARE* the correct religion FOR YOU and your after death life?

To be honest, your parents should be doing the same thing.
In order to make the right choice in religion, you MUST examine all religions yourself and ask
yourself whether YOU believe that they are TRUE or FALSE.

• Religion should feel right, and feel correct to you.
• It should be a moral compass about how to conduct your life.
• It should lift you up when you feel down.
• It shouldn't make you HATE or FEEL SUPERIOR TO OTHERS nor should it make you feel ASHAMED of who you are.
• It shouldn't make you feel entitled.
• It should be free of cost.

Let's get into the difference between RELIGION and DENOMINATION...
For purposes of simplicity I'm only gonna state the 3 main religions (my apologies to Buddhists etc.)
When people ask you "What RELIGION are you?"
If you state, "I was raised Baptist."
You are answering wrong!
Baptism is not a RELIGION! It is a DENOMINATION of the Christian RELIGION.
Denominations or SECTS are kinda like College frat or sorority houses. The main "laws" they follow
are their college's laws, but they each have different rituals or rules about how to conduct life at their particular house.

People who only adhere to their religions main tenets in their Holy Book are called FUNDAMENTALISTS.
All 3 main Abrahamic religions have their own denominations...

Christianity has Catholic, Protestant, Baptist, Anabaptist, Mormon, Lutheran and many others.
Islam has Sunni, Sufi, Shiite and others
Judaism has Hasidic, Reformist, Rabbinic, and others.

Let's Look at Religions
The List:

1. Aladura
2. Asatru
3. Baha'i Faith
4. Bön
5. Buddhism
6. Cao Dai
7. Chinese Religion
8. Chopra Center
9. Christianity
10. Confucianism
11. Eckankar
12. Epicureanism
13. Falun Gong
14. Greco-Roman Religion
15. Hare Krishna
16. Hinduism
17. Islam
18. Jainism
19. Judaism
20. Kemetic Reconstructionism
21. Mayan Religion
22. Mithraism
23. Neopaganism
24. The Occult
25. New Thought
26. Rastafari
27. Shinto
28. Sikhism
29. Stoicism
30. Taoism
31. Unification Church
32. Unitarian Universalism
33. Wicca
34. Worldwide Church of God
35. Zoroastrianism

To research these religions go here http://www.religionfacts.com/big_religion_chart.htm
Read up on all of them, educate yourself...try one on...
Then pick the one that makes the most sense to you...
And don't be discouraged if you don't like the people at one “church”....Go to another.
Let's say you choose Unitarian Universalism, and you start attending services at the local UU church, and the people just rub you the wrong way, DON'T give up on UU because of one bad experience at one church. Find another UU church and try that one.
Whichever religion you settle on, try to get involved in the community meeting place of the religion you choose. Go to services often, Especially if you don't have a good family life, services can be valuable to you to foster a sense of community and fellowship and socialization.
I renounced the religion that I was raised in when I was 15 years old, I found that there were things they were doing in the religion that were completely contradictory to what was being taught in the religions book. So I renounced my participation in the religion and found another that makes more truthy sense.
Don't close yourself off, always question everything. Have discussions with religious people, debate them. 

If we all only get one life, make sure you treat religion with respect and weigh and question EVERYTHNG so you can make sure you are the correct religion...
But as always in ALL religions treat others well, help your fellow man, have a good heart and LOVE LOVE LOVE!

Moral Tool Box
Whether or not you choose a religion or become an Atheist or not, you should live your life in certain ways with certain rules that you choose yourself...
Live By Your Moral Code
Your personal moral code is your personal set of morals, rules and standards you try to live by and the way in which you conduct yourself in society.
Morals are rules that you hold for yourself as being RIGHT or CORRECT for a good way to be in life and society...
These are....
Truth is
Real and actual facts...”The truth is, that the sky is blue.”
Ethics are
The rules or principles in which you conduct yourself in society or business... “Janet's company was pro animal rights, so ethically they refused to sell products tested on animals.”
Character is:
The moral and ethical reputation of a person... “The theft allegations against Julie were against her Character and no one believed them.”
Integrity is
The rigid unwavering way in which YOU stick to your moral and ethical codes... “Michael loved getting coffee at the corner coffee shop but after the owner was convicted of domestic abuse his integrity didn't allow him to morally stop there anymore.”
Genuine is
Being real, not superficial or fake... “When Cindy's new boyfriend stopped by and brought her chicken soup and Kleenex, he was not doing it to get in her pants, he was genuinely worried about her when she got the flu”
Honor is
High public respect and reverence... “The way Pastor Jenkins has lead his life sticking to his ethics and moral code all his life, made the community Honor him and value what he said in church”
Values are
Are things you regard or respect highly or put great importance on... “Denise values her husband and her marriage and so she is less likely to hurt him by cheating on him.”
Standards are
Rules and principles in which you judge your acceptable model of quality.. “Joanne had set her Standards high and refused to date a man who lived over his parents garage.”
Honesty is
The act of being up front and candid and sincere... “Jerry's moral code insured he would be honest with his boss, when he was questioned about who had dented his car in the employee parking lot” 

Your Personal Moral Code
You should have a moral code. You should write down what your personal beliefs and morals and
rules of conduct are and stick to them.
Stick to your Moral Code...
The more you stick to it and live your life according to this code,
the more it becomes part of you and the more it becomes part of you,
the better a person you will be,
and the better a person you will be the less bullshit you will take from others,
and the less bullshit you take from others the more you will respect yourself,
and the more you respect yourself the more others will respect you.
And the more people respect you the bigger incentive you have to stick with it....
The more you stick to it and live your life according to this code,
the more it becomes part of you and the more it becomes part of you,
the better a person you will be,
and the better a person you will be the less bullshit you will take from others,
and the less bullshit you take from others the more you will respect yourself,
and the more you respect yourself the more others will respect you.
And the more people respect you the bigger incentive you have to stick with
The more you stick to it and live your life according to this code,
the more it becomes part of you and the more it becomes part of you,
the better a person you will be,
and the better a person you will be the less bullshit you will take from
and the less bullshit you take from others the more you will respect
and the more you respect yourself the more others will respect you.
And the more people respect you the bigger incentive you have to
The more you stick to it and live your life according to this code,
the more it becomes part of you and the more it becomes part of
the better a person you will be,
and the better a person you will be the less bullshit you will
and the less bullshit you take from others the more you will
and the more you respect yourself the more others will
And the more people respect you the bigger
The more you stick to it and live your life according
the more it becomes part of you and the more it
the better a person you will be,
and the better a person you will be the less
and the less bullshit you take from
and the more you respect yourself the
And the more people respect you
The more you stick to it and live
the more it becomes part of you
the better a person you will be,
and the better a person you
and the less bullshit you
and the more you respect
And the more people
The more you stick to
the more it
the better a
and the better a
and the less
and the more
And the
The more
the more
the
and
and
and
And
It's a great cycle isn't it?

Your Moral Code
In this next part I want you to write an outline of how you feel about the following topics.
You will not be graded nor do you have to hand this in to anyone...It is just for YOU...
How do you feel about the following subjects/topics and why..

Stealing
Lying
Cheating on a Spouse
Cheating on tests
Murder
Bullying
Animal Abuse
Domestic Violence
Abortion
Traffic laws
Feeding Homeless People
Drugs
Rape
Witnessing a crime (do you get involved?)
Misleading other people
Marrying for money
Homosexuality
Revenge
Accusing someone of doing something wring when they were innocent
Assault
Exploiting weaker people
Short changing others
Child Abuse
Helping Less Fortunate
Boasting
Stealing someones spouse
Parental Alienation
Bribes
Jealousy
Racism
Being Two Faced
Being an asshole

Add more if you think of them. So this is your new moral code!
You can now look at this list and refer to it and use it to gauge how you conduct yourself in public, private and do business and look for and make friends and romantic partners AND WHICH POLITICAL PARTY YOU WILL REGISTER AS...

For instance I DESPISE men who abuse their wives...So If a friend of mine was being abused by her hubby I would help her pack her and her kids up and take her to the shelter. I would also not do business with a man who abuses animals or his wife or a woman who exploits and mistreats her children.
Those are my MORALS. What are yours?

Being Godless Is Okay
If you have decided you dont want to have a religion and consider yourself an Agnostic or Atheistthere are even “churches” for you!
http://firstchurchofatheism.com/
http://sundayassembly.com/
Whatever you choose be a good person and be kind to others.\

To Recap:

1. You do not have to be your parents religion.
2. You can chose a religion that feels right to you.
3. You dont have to have any religion at all.
4. Just have some MORALS so you arent a soul less asshole!