Had to do it--I figured someone was wondering...I was right.
>>>>>>>
I am not a monk, definately not a nun, and for the sake of this post--some of these don't apply.
Shall we dig in?
First, a bit of background. I was not raised in any Church or Assembly. My father was raised Baptist (I believe) and my mother was raised Jewish. (Which..coincidentally has a Matriarchal lineage so technically I am Jewish.) Both of them had many problems with their Church and Synagogue experiences growing up, and as a result--we didn't go anywhere when we were growing up. For those of you that do not know, I am also biracial. I bet that'd make Fred Phelps in Topeka have a triple-stroke plus a heart attack=) Anyways--growing up, we did however discuss what the purpose of celebrating Easter and Christmas were.
If by "religious" a person means they regularly (or not so regularly) attend church..then I am not. I would like to at some point. I was never pressured into it. It is one of the very few places I feel that I belong in.
If by "religious" a person means having a belief in God/Jesus--the answer is a resounding yes. I've had too many experiences not to. I will share them with you now.
First off--I have always felt a higher presence. This has been so since I can remember--despite not really ever attending services.
The second is the very fact that I am here right now. The chances of my ever being born were significantly less than 50 percent. I'd say around 10 percent or less. This is not to say that any one person has a high percentage chance of being born, but there were (multiple) miscarriages before I was born. That coupled with some other things that I will not mention here, and poooof--I almost wasn't a person.
The third is a life that was saved that was not my own. I had a very..very dear friend of mine tell me that she was contemplating suicide. She was in an extraordinarily poor relationship for multiple years and almost slammed her car into a bridge bracing to get away from it all. On the highway. She heard The Voice tell her it was going to be okay and not to do it. I haven't told her this yet, but two lives were saved that day. If she had died and especially in that fashion--there is a high likelyhood that I would have just shut down. The thought of it two years later is almost enough to bring tears.
The fourth was a tangible experience. I have suffered many wounds over the years. Some of the scars are still there...some of them I don't think they will ever go away. On the evening that I got the deepest of them--I didn't know how I was going to even begin to cope with it. Coping with the situation didn't even enter into my thoughts. There was just a deep and vicious hurt accompanied by feelings of being completely abandoned and almost totally betrayed. That night there were no single tears--it was a constant flow. I haven't cried that much before then and no since. It wasn't "When am I going to feel better?" or "When will I get back to feeling like myself?". It was "How am I going to breathe?" and "Where are these..pains coming from? Can a heart really break?".. I had nothing left and all I could do was pray for some small measure of that pain to be lifted. I was still crying but a little less. It still hurt but I could breathe again. It felt like I was being wrapped up by Him and I heard "It's going to be okay." . This post has just tripled the number of people that have ever heard that last bit.
The fifth is just a general feeling. The reason that I am alive is to help other people. The drive is stronger to do that than to take care of myself. Actually I'm greatful that I have good friends because I could easily be taken advantage of. Not so much anymore..there are still some things that do it but you get the point.
So, there are my reasons for believing what I do.
As for why I was asked this--there are a couple of people that the issue of compatibility comes up with. Someone is playing matchmaker and it's all good=) For that purpose--I do not know what I would answer. Would I like to be with someone that has my beliefs? ..of course. Who does not? (Also hope that something still pans out..:) ..but anyway....Am I completely sure of anything as far as a belief structure other than what I've already mentioned? Absolutely not. Here's why...
I do believe in God. I do believe in His son. Two important questions that come up in many discussions of this type are, "Who is going to Hell?" and "Is there a Hell?". The answer for me is..we don't freaking know who is going there. The reason I say that is simple. Every single book of beliefs or statues has certain things that will get your soul (if you believe in them) sent to Hell, or Limbo, or nothingness, or purgatory or basically where you don't want to end up. Every single person that I know of these faiths believe that different things go against them. For instance..some Muslims eat pork...some don't. I'm going to use a bit of pop culture to make my point. I have some Christian friends that believe that watching Harry Potter is evil. But other movies are okay--ones that their friends and/or family may say is evil. ...Many of these same people consume alchohol. I have some friends that watch Harry Potter and if they see you with a bottle, you are going straight to hell. I know some people that say both are evil. I have some friends that say if you harm another, that's enough to the bad place. etc etc etc...) My point is this--it is scary, and it is simple--if you take a cross-section of the different beliefs and religions--then we are (ALL) condemned because one thing that is common to many of them is if you believe a different way, then you've had it. I've not seen any one talk about that yet. -----The faiths can't even consolidate themselves, yet they feel comfortable condemning others. (The middle part of this paragraph for example.)
Something else that I haven't heard many discuss is that the vast majority of the faiths on earth advocate many of the same things.
The last that we don't often hear about is a negative. More people have died in the name of religion than any other cause in the history of our people. The longest (by several THOUSAND years) conflict in history (which is still going on) has a basis in religion. Does it not seem strange that three different faiths can share the very same birthplace and yet still have such a high level of conflict?
I can't..that's enough of that. I welcome comments and discussion. What I will not accept is arguing and put downs if a discussion develops. You've all just gotten a lot closer to me because you are all the first that I've let into this part of myself..please do not abuse it.
I have my beliefs. I also believe that we should not judge others. This is something that we encounter on a daily basis. This world would be so much better if everyone focused on the positive aspects of their beliefs and not the negatives.
Adam Hue Shakier Woodard
I am not a monk, definately not a nun, and for the sake of this post--some of these don't apply.
Shall we dig in?
First, a bit of background. I was not raised in any Church or Assembly. My father was raised Baptist (I believe) and my mother was raised Jewish. (Which..coincidentally has a Matriarchal lineage so technically I am Jewish.) Both of them had many problems with their Church and Synagogue experiences growing up, and as a result--we didn't go anywhere when we were growing up. For those of you that do not know, I am also biracial. I bet that'd make Fred Phelps in Topeka have a triple-stroke plus a heart attack=) Anyways--growing up, we did however discuss what the purpose of celebrating Easter and Christmas were.
If by "religious" a person means they regularly (or not so regularly) attend church..then I am not. I would like to at some point. I was never pressured into it. It is one of the very few places I feel that I belong in.
If by "religious" a person means having a belief in God/Jesus--the answer is a resounding yes. I've had too many experiences not to. I will share them with you now.
First off--I have always felt a higher presence. This has been so since I can remember--despite not really ever attending services.
The second is the very fact that I am here right now. The chances of my ever being born were significantly less than 50 percent. I'd say around 10 percent or less. This is not to say that any one person has a high percentage chance of being born, but there were (multiple) miscarriages before I was born. That coupled with some other things that I will not mention here, and poooof--I almost wasn't a person.
The third is a life that was saved that was not my own. I had a very..very dear friend of mine tell me that she was contemplating suicide. She was in an extraordinarily poor relationship for multiple years and almost slammed her car into a bridge bracing to get away from it all. On the highway. She heard The Voice tell her it was going to be okay and not to do it. I haven't told her this yet, but two lives were saved that day. If she had died and especially in that fashion--there is a high likelyhood that I would have just shut down. The thought of it two years later is almost enough to bring tears.
The fourth was a tangible experience. I have suffered many wounds over the years. Some of the scars are still there...some of them I don't think they will ever go away. On the evening that I got the deepest of them--I didn't know how I was going to even begin to cope with it. Coping with the situation didn't even enter into my thoughts. There was just a deep and vicious hurt accompanied by feelings of being completely abandoned and almost totally betrayed. That night there were no single tears--it was a constant flow. I haven't cried that much before then and no since. It wasn't "When am I going to feel better?" or "When will I get back to feeling like myself?". It was "How am I going to breathe?" and "Where are these..pains coming from? Can a heart really break?".. I had nothing left and all I could do was pray for some small measure of that pain to be lifted. I was still crying but a little less. It still hurt but I could breathe again. It felt like I was being wrapped up by Him and I heard "It's going to be okay." . This post has just tripled the number of people that have ever heard that last bit.
The fifth is just a general feeling. The reason that I am alive is to help other people. The drive is stronger to do that than to take care of myself. Actually I'm greatful that I have good friends because I could easily be taken advantage of. Not so much anymore..there are still some things that do it but you get the point.
So, there are my reasons for believing what I do.
As for why I was asked this--there are a couple of people that the issue of compatibility comes up with. Someone is playing matchmaker and it's all good=) For that purpose--I do not know what I would answer. Would I like to be with someone that has my beliefs? ..of course. Who does not? (Also hope that something still pans out..:) ..but anyway....Am I completely sure of anything as far as a belief structure other than what I've already mentioned? Absolutely not. Here's why...
I do believe in God. I do believe in His son. Two important questions that come up in many discussions of this type are, "Who is going to Hell?" and "Is there a Hell?". The answer for me is..we don't freaking know who is going there. The reason I say that is simple. Every single book of beliefs or statues has certain things that will get your soul (if you believe in them) sent to Hell, or Limbo, or nothingness, or purgatory or basically where you don't want to end up. Every single person that I know of these faiths believe that different things go against them. For instance..some Muslims eat pork...some don't. I'm going to use a bit of pop culture to make my point. I have some Christian friends that believe that watching Harry Potter is evil. But other movies are okay--ones that their friends and/or family may say is evil. ...Many of these same people consume alchohol. I have some friends that watch Harry Potter and if they see you with a bottle, you are going straight to hell. I know some people that say both are evil. I have some friends that say if you harm another, that's enough to the bad place. etc etc etc...) My point is this--it is scary, and it is simple--if you take a cross-section of the different beliefs and religions--then we are (ALL) condemned because one thing that is common to many of them is if you believe a different way, then you've had it. I've not seen any one talk about that yet. -----The faiths can't even consolidate themselves, yet they feel comfortable condemning others. (The middle part of this paragraph for example.)
Something else that I haven't heard many discuss is that the vast majority of the faiths on earth advocate many of the same things.
The last that we don't often hear about is a negative. More people have died in the name of religion than any other cause in the history of our people. The longest (by several THOUSAND years) conflict in history (which is still going on) has a basis in religion. Does it not seem strange that three different faiths can share the very same birthplace and yet still have such a high level of conflict?
I can't..that's enough of that. I welcome comments and discussion. What I will not accept is arguing and put downs if a discussion develops. You've all just gotten a lot closer to me because you are all the first that I've let into this part of myself..please do not abuse it.
I have my beliefs. I also believe that we should not judge others. This is something that we encounter on a daily basis. This world would be so much better if everyone focused on the positive aspects of their beliefs and not the negatives.
Adam Hue Shakier Woodard