Requirements

[evrymeevryyou]

I'm not a fan of requirements... in general, but especially in religion. You're required to pray 3 times a day. You're required to not eat pork and shellfish or to mix milk and meat. You're required not to eat on certain days, and to say all these prayers before and after your food. Why? ...Because this all-powerful, all-knowing, and obviously

Comments

[irishprincess24]

Great post. I felt the same way when I was Catholic. Everyone was so concerned with the rituals and looking good, and their hearts just weren't in it

[psycofunkymunk]

I really appreciated this post, religion isn't easy. I think that even when you believe everything you're told, and try follow all rules that have been set out for you, you have to make it your own and make it mean something. And that's a hard process.

[chastennenbaum]

No, there isn’t someone with one big fucking book or a severe case of carpal tunnel. It seems counterintuitive and ridiculous, but the spiritual side of religion is what I have the hardest time with… I just love the human side of it-- the way Catholicism describes our responsibilities to each other, to ourselves… The way it has higher ideals for us-- I think it sets us up to live life a little bit more deeply. Which, I can see how someone could take that personally, like-- what, everyone else isn’t living a fulfilling life because it’s not up to your standards? I don’t know how to describe it without seeming condescending-- no, though. I think our minds and hearts are made the same way, so some of the same things apply to all of us (like not killing people and robbing people and sleeping with your friend’s hot hot wife). But I think it goes further than vulgar relativism. Some things are not as obviously hurtful-- some have long-term effects that hurt us/hurt others, but they seem fine at the moment… Which is hard to figure out-- I

[chastennenbaum]

Fasting, for example, I don‘t think we do for some higher power… That kind of thing is purely personal-- by fasting you understand in a small way the hunger of the poor, you learn self-denial… If there’s some crazy difficult decision at some point in your life, you’ll have a hell of an easier time doing what you believe is right (or even seeing more clearly what is right), if you’ve learned not to let yourself be guided by just approachable comfort. Why can’t people just decide for themselves when to fast, and what from? They completely can, but the Friday and meat are just two more things to be conscious of, to plan around. Because we could pick a day for ourselves, when fasting is easier or something… but I think the point in a designated day is to remind us that we also have to bend to the world around us, we‘re not the center-- it’s also a humility thing, not falling into this arrogance of “I know what I need; don‘t tell what to do”… Something like fasting is common to all religions for a reason. You can just say, “this is right