After reading Pseudo's blog post, I thought about my own beliefs and felt like blogging about it.
I am a strong believer in a higher power (which may just be the power of all the good thoughts of humanity). But to me this higher power is not someone/something that can be neatly codified and labeled as this or that. In my view, when somebody professes to believe in God, the absolute given is that God is much more than any human being. Therefore, how can anyone one of us human beings presume to quantify this Power.
Religions have always reminded me of the story of the elephant and the eight blind men,. a commonly told story in India. To me each religion is a way of trying to make sense of the unknown and the part of the higher power that a particular group of people have come into contact with. But that higher power is much more than that.
Another point I feel strongly about is, that my relationship to God/the Power is a totally private matter. I do not need someone to intervene for me or give me specifics on how I can communicate or not with God. I pray/have mental conversations, whatever I may feel like at the moment and there have been times when there have occurred happenings that have made me feel "that is truly grace" for which I am oh so grateful. But having had those moments of grace, I feel, does not give me the right to tell anyone else to believe in the same kind of higher Power that I do believe in, believe the same way as I do or communicate as I do.
'Love thy neighbour as thyself' sums it up for me.
Having said all of the above, I do hope, as this blogger says, that this post does not cost me some of my bloggy friends and that I do not offend any other readers.
I am with you on this.God or rather one's belief in a supreme power that guides our life has to be a matter of one's choice. there was a time when i thought that unbelievers were bad people. Now I realize that people who claim to be atheists and agnostic do more for the upliftment of society when compared to the so called god men. being good to one's fellow human being and of help to the needy is the ultimate and only way of showing our love for God no matter what you call Him.
ReplyDeleteHear, hear, HHG!
ReplyDeleteSue - I was brought up as a strict Catholic and spent much of my youth questioning the faith I was brought up in. Eventually, I came to the conclusion that my mind is not capable of fully understanding what might be called the "greater concept" I suppose, essentially, I practise the same religon as you - I believe in an ultimate power but believe it is for the individual to decide just how they interpret it.
ReplyDeleteI can't tell you how reassuring it is to hear this coming from someone who has had a full, rich life. Nothing could be more encouraging to a youngster like me who is constantly exploring matters of faith and arriving at the same conclusion. Thank you, HGM!
ReplyDeletewords to think by and about...
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