Right now is the season of Lent, Easter is just around the corner and there is some talk about that guy who died on a cross then rose from the dead. This guy, Jesus, and his rise to fame (because of his supposed rise from the dead...) baffle me. Why do religions have to have an interloper between God and humanity?
I do not think we do God justice when we try to define its (I use "it" as a pronoun for God, to get rid of the whole gender bias issue) existence. If God is God then by definition we will never understand God. Never. This idea of not understanding God is not good enough for most people, therefore we have Jesus and other prophets who speak for God. We have the Bible, which is supposedly the word of God. We have rituals that are suppose to bring us closer to God.
I will admit openly right now that I do not know the contents of the Bible very well (read it front to back as a kid, did not retain much) nor do I have knowledge of Jesus beyond what I was taught in Sunday School and through some scattered attendance at various churches. I think the gist though, is that Jesus is the son of God on a level much higher than the rest of us are children of God. Jesus also performed some wickedly cool miracles that defy the laws of science, most impressively, coming back from the dead. These things have earned Jesus the following of millions. I was taught to end my prayers by saying, "In Jesus' name, amen." That is huge, because Jesus, in my view, surpassed God!
So my question is, why? Why do we have to have Jesus, or any other prophet? What need do we have as humans to define God and to believe that we, based on our religious affiliation, have an inside scoop to what it is God is after?
I do not want to offend anyone by trivializing religion and yet, the absurdity of it smacks me in the face when I think about it. God is something we will never, ever comprehend, because if we did, God would not be God. Yet, we assign God a messenger so we can comprehend God. This messenger has only reached certain people. This messenger can come in different forms. This messenger says in one religion that drinking alcohol is bad and in another that drinking wine is part of the sacrament representing the sacrifice of God's son. We are to worship these messengers for revealing to us certain knowable qualities about God. Some messengers have bigger followings, therefore, it is more accepted socially to put faith in their message about God. David Koresh is viewed as a crazy person who thought he was a messenger, but Jesus, although deemed crazy in his day, is considered by many a valid messenger.
I think God should be enough. God, our community, ourselves...that should be sufficient. I do not think we should put more faith in another human being's message than we are willing to put in our own knowledge. We know acts of kindness are better than acts of violence. We know that every single person has worth. We know that when we die we want to feel cognizant of our surroundings and secure in the relationships we have built on earth and we live as if this is truth. We don't need Jesus or anyone else to tell us those things which we know are true and we should never say the belief in a given messenger gives us greater favor in God's eyes. God is beyond definition, beyond explanation and beyond comprehension. Defining God through messengers gives us comfort, but being comfortable does not mean we know God.
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4 comments:
You make points here that I've never considered. I so appreciate the tone that you take in your writing here. Often I try to steer away from religious discussions, just because they can get so heated and dramatic. But not here. Thanks.
Charlotte - thank YOU! I think I need to be clear that when it comes to religion, I just don't know, so anybody could be right in my book! I do worry what my mother will think if/when she reads this!
Heather, ooooh. I really like this. We really have to meet!
The part that gets me is that someone or something has to die and shed blood for sins to be forgiven. The violence, sacrifice, death don't match up with grace, mercy, and love to me? I see that as people having free will and what happens when people show hate or don't like goodness. They killed Jesus, but his goodness made him a hero when people recognized the injustice. It's the new covenant yada yada...., but that doesn't make any sense to me either. I just ask God for forgiveness because I would ask any person for forgiveness if I did something that came between our best relationship. (Like ignoring them or getting mad at things they do that I don't understand.) So much of religion isn't logical and that's probably why we get so defensive. I just love the way Jesus turned things upside down and loved radically, and knew meeting physical needs like hunger were important too. Heather, we may never really know, but I like that you are wondering too.
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