Religious (?)
Have you ever met someone who think they are Jesus himself?
In my opinion, I think people now days have the most distorted view of the definition of "religious." I can not say what it is exactly, but I most certainly know what it is not.
It is not what you call yourself if you go to church on Sundays.
It is not what you call your mom just because she sent you to Catholic School.
It is not what you think you are because you go to religious concerts (despite how much you may cry there).
It is especially not what you are if you impose your beliefs on other people (which, I suggest you, if you are this way, get through your head is going to get you in trouble one day)
It is not praying to God when final exams come around and the last book you read was about a dog named Spot.
It is not not saying God's name in vain.
And the list goes on.
But what shocks me is that grown men and women call themselves religious when the truth is, they do not know what the meaning of religion is.
I know people could care less about this topic and one of my life goals is to change that but it is important that you know when to stop and think about what your calling yourself before you brand yourself something.
Still don't get what I am saying?
Well does it make sense if someone who plays soccer with their kids because they need to spend "quality time with them" calls themselves athletic? An actual athlete would not think so.
Does it make sense that someone abandons their parents in a nursing home, never visits them, and sends them a card on Christmas and then call themselves family oriented? Someone who is actually family oriented would not think so.
Therefore does it make sense that someone who goes to church on Sundays because they have since they were kids, and because their friends go call themselves religious? Someone who studies religion, practices it and its values on a daily basis and accepts others aka someone who truly is religious, I am not saying I am that person, but this person would not think so.
One day, I go to school and a friend of mine says "what the hell!", as she does every other sentence. But today, she followed this sentence up by ssaying "Oh, I should not say that."
Surprised at her sudden change of heart, I ask her why and her response infuriates me. She says, "well yesterday we learned in church that you should not say hell. We need to be good Christians"
Are you kidding me?
So basically, being a good Christian means that you take what you learned on a Sunday, apply it to your life for about 2-3 days, wait until the next Sunday and repeat the process as you go around calling yourself religious, as she does.
If you agree with the previous statement, I strongly suggest you spend some time thinking about your definition of religious. Don't find yourself being the epitome of most "religious" people think they are.
P.S. I am sorry if this offends anyone. I know there are people deserved of this title.
In my opinion, I think people now days have the most distorted view of the definition of "religious." I can not say what it is exactly, but I most certainly know what it is not.
It is not what you call yourself if you go to church on Sundays.
It is not what you call your mom just because she sent you to Catholic School.
It is not what you think you are because you go to religious concerts (despite how much you may cry there).
It is especially not what you are if you impose your beliefs on other people (which, I suggest you, if you are this way, get through your head is going to get you in trouble one day)
It is not praying to God when final exams come around and the last book you read was about a dog named Spot.
It is not not saying God's name in vain.
And the list goes on.
But what shocks me is that grown men and women call themselves religious when the truth is, they do not know what the meaning of religion is.
I know people could care less about this topic and one of my life goals is to change that but it is important that you know when to stop and think about what your calling yourself before you brand yourself something.
Still don't get what I am saying?
Well does it make sense if someone who plays soccer with their kids because they need to spend "quality time with them" calls themselves athletic? An actual athlete would not think so.
Does it make sense that someone abandons their parents in a nursing home, never visits them, and sends them a card on Christmas and then call themselves family oriented? Someone who is actually family oriented would not think so.
Therefore does it make sense that someone who goes to church on Sundays because they have since they were kids, and because their friends go call themselves religious? Someone who studies religion, practices it and its values on a daily basis and accepts others aka someone who truly is religious, I am not saying I am that person, but this person would not think so.
One day, I go to school and a friend of mine says "what the hell!", as she does every other sentence. But today, she followed this sentence up by ssaying "Oh, I should not say that."
Surprised at her sudden change of heart, I ask her why and her response infuriates me. She says, "well yesterday we learned in church that you should not say hell. We need to be good Christians"
Are you kidding me?
So basically, being a good Christian means that you take what you learned on a Sunday, apply it to your life for about 2-3 days, wait until the next Sunday and repeat the process as you go around calling yourself religious, as she does.
If you agree with the previous statement, I strongly suggest you spend some time thinking about your definition of religious. Don't find yourself being the epitome of most "religious" people think they are.
P.S. I am sorry if this offends anyone. I know there are people deserved of this title.
posted by shipra at 5:32 PM
1 Comments:
i'm definitely guilty of praying around...exam time...acceptance letter time...when someone is unwell...etc. I don't consider myself that religious, but it feels nice to go to the temple every once in a while. I pray every night before i go to bed. I thought about whether i should feel guilty about praying at night out of habit and praying when i need something good to happen, and I decided there's no need to feel guilty And if god doesn't understand that, then (s)he's not really god. There's a difference between being religious and being a devout ____(insert religion here). If someone's trying to swear less or had a change of heart about something due to "religious" influences, it's just something they feel they need to do to be religious, and I find nothing wrong with that because they're not claiming to be the prototype for that religion, just making a small change so that they feel they're being a "better" _____.And there's no rubric to measure where you fall on the spectrum of being religious. great post!
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