It’s been more than a couple of days since my last installment - sorry. I’ve written and rewritten this about 73 times.
That said, let’s recap for just a moment, shall we! Using logic and reason - two things many people don’t generally associate with the topic of religion (but they should) - I made what I believe was a fairly compelling case for there being only one god, divine entity, mighty creator, etc. presiding over things here on earth. Following that same bulletproof line of logic and reason (if I do say so myself), I put forth the idea that a Methodist praying to their Creator and a Muslim petitioning Allah - it will turn out - are lifting their reverential voices to the same being, just with different names.
While it’s my personal contention that Divinity did establish a particular religion, let’s consider the possibility that she/he/it/they didn’t at all; the Divine design was to have myriad religions and concepts of a god that fit with different parts of the world as seen through various cultural lenses so the human population had variety - each of us could walk up to a spiritual smorgasbord and choose what we felt would sate our hunger, and we could make additional trips either to double up on what we chose originally or get a clean plate and go in a completely different direction.
Whether you want to consider this possibility of “no one religion is THE ONE” or your faith is such that your soul KNOWS the religion you have followed IS the one, the concluding part of my thesis is the same: live your religion . . . well, religiously, and encourage your colleagues, neighbors, family, and friends to do the same. Whoever you worship, that god wouldn’t want it any other way, right?
Imagine the state of the world if every single person who follows a religion were to live by the principles and doctrine to which they subscribe AND encourage others to embrace their respective churches! No matter how strongly we believe in the teachings of the religions with which we have aligned ourselves and the responsibility we feel to share them with others, if we looked at one another as fellow “religionists” or travelers simply on different paths to the same destination rather than askance and thinking of others as spiritually off at best or as potential spiritual foes at worst, just think how much more comfortable we would feel around one another, if we would allow it.
Why did I tack that qualifier onto that last sentence? Let’s be honest and acknowledge that in our own churches/religions there’s an implied obligation not only to proclaim that ours is THE ONE but to be devout to the point that all others are lacking in some way or another. There are members of every religion - mine included - who translate that devotion to a charge to convert or condemn. Almost 1000 years ago, that took form in The Crusades, and that spirit of contention has continued.
Many of the experiences in my life ranging from the subtle and mundane to “holy cow!” (a nod to the Hindus) have confirmed my faith. Those same experiences, though, have helped me come to respect the dedication, discipleship, and determination of friends, colleagues, family, and neighbors who are members of their chosen religions - and I have come to know, with a great deal of study of my own church’s teachings, that Peter won’t be “checking IDs” at the Pearly Gates and turning away anyone who doesn’t have an LDS membership card.
As I wrap this up, allow me to remind you of this simple fact: not until we die will we DEFINITIVELY learn the answers to the BIG THREE QUESTIONS, agnostics and atheists included (I didn’t forget about you). While we’re still breathing and walking around on this rock that makes an annual trip around the sun, let’s take religion off the table as one fewer thing to argue with one another - THAT will make for a far better existence, don’t you agree! By doing so, when we eventually pass on, we’ll see our neighbors and friends with whom we enjoyed our earthly journey and smile as we learn together how it was all meant to turn out - unlike the combatants in The Crusades who, perhaps, died within minutes of each other and then found themselves in the SAME “waiting room” - AWKWARD.
