As we approach the start of the year we
choose call 2020 which but represents but a small portion of the time
that mankind has roamed this ball of dirt we call earth and I
approach my 74th year of stumbling around on it I am in a
thoughtful frame of mind. This 'holiday is predicated on the
'celebration' of the birth of one particular individual many
centuries ago and many folk still remember it as such, however many
do not, either subscribing to other 'religions' or not finding the
need to 'worship' an entity or individual, real or imagined, past or
present, in order to treat our fellow living creatures with care and
respect. I am one such individual, in broad terms I am a 'christian'
believing in the christian ideals but without finding the need to
embrace the religious rituals that some find necessary to embrace. I
find little wrong with those that do, to each their own, but I have
much more respect for those that practice the christian ideals in
their daily life than those who pretend to on a weekly, or just on
certain holidays like the one up coming, but do not practice what
they preach.
When discussing religions we cannot
ignore the fact that there are dozens, if not hundreds, of organized
religions across the world and indeed many of them have active
subscribers here in Canada. I mean no disrespect to any of those
groups religious beliefs with my words here, as I said above to each
their own, HOWEVER where those religious beliefs cross over into
political areas and / or abuse and suppression of those who do (or do
not) not subscribe to a particular religious group or belief the I do
have a problem and will speak out! I am not going to pick out any
particular group where such religious bigotry has resulted in not
only suppression of opposing views but 'ethic cleansing'' entrapment,
human right abuse and other similar abuses but to say that the
middle east seems to be a breeding ground for these sort of abuses
some of which those of us in supposed 'civilized' nations fail to
condem.
As I have said above whilst I subscribe
to most of the christian ideals I reject the religious aspect to it
and have looked for an overall description that encompasses these
ideals, the nearest I have come across is “Humanist” and there
are several 'organized groups across the world who promote this view.
A short outline
from one such group follows.
“Humanists base their moral
principles on reason (which leads them to reject the idea of any
supernatural agency), on shared human values and respect for
others. They believe that people should work together to improve
the quality of life for all and make it more equitable.”
I cant end this ramble through my mind
without covering a few other ever increasing troubling world wide
goings on the most alarming (but apparently the least important for
our 'leaders') being climate change. Australia …. all time record
temperatures of 105f (40c) and large portions ravaged by bush fires,
England …... record rainfall and flooding across the south, more
tornadoes across the SE U.S. ...the list goes on meanwhile our
'leaders' cannot even agree on a statement about it all at the UN
Climate Action Summit mostly due to the U.S. leader who denies
there is any such thing as climate change. Which brings us to the
mess that is increasingly becoming a worldwide problem as one set of
Senators attempt to remove the clearly unstable and out of control
U.S. president from power as others simply follow the light shining
out of his rear orifice. Anything can happen when a country is being
run by a twit who governs via twit rant and even
the evangelical right are bailing out. I am not sure that
politics is for some not a 'religion' that should be treated an
affliction that should be eliminated whenever possible. But then I am
feeling particularly old and grumpy about now!
Thus ends your Sunday Sermon this 22nd
of December 2019.
2 comments:
I can't disagree with what you have written here, Rural. Unfortunately, religion, being a human institution, is responsible for all sorts of nastiness; it seem that so much of what is organized by humans becomes a portal for corruption, control and abuse, far from the ideals promulgated in most spiritual traditions.
I look to the new year and the new decade, not with any hope for renewal; I expect we will simply see more of the same. There will, of course, always be those who fight for something better, but my sense is their zeal and idealism and thirst for justice is no match for the forces arrayed against such progress. In that, I hope I am wrong.
On a personal note, my best wishes to you and your family for the season.
I always enjoy your "sermons," Rural. Happy Holidays to you and yours.
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