7 posts tagged “religion”

One of my Facebook  friends posted a link to this article.  I had to read it several times.  My commentary is in brackets.

I just saw an article on AOL News talking about how some people are getting very upset that Obama gave shout-outs to non-Christians in his inauguration speech.  (I didn't scroll down to read the entertaining comments like I usually do, because I knew they were just going to piss me off.)

While I can understand why some Christians might be slightly unsettled by this, since traditionally it is assumed that the U.S. is a Christian nation (which, funnily enough, kind of fights with the notion of the separation of church and state, but I'm not going to get into that), it bothers me that people are getting so up in arms about it.

Maybe the U.S. was founded on so-called Christian principles, but the truth is that these values - life, liberty, pursuit of happiness, etc - can and should be applied and utilized by people of any faith.  Ignoring all non-Christians in governmental procedures and speeches alienates a large chunk of the population - who, by the way, are also registered voters - and yet it's been done time and time again.

The fact that Obama specifically mentioned Jews, Muslims, Hindus and "nonbelievers" in his speech gives these usually ignored groups of people cause to celebrate that they are finally being recognized by the government.  It should not be taken as a sign that Obama is going to favor these people, or that he is not a Christian man himself.

I can foresee many such events in the future of this presidency, and if the instances that people get up in arms about continue to be in this same vein, they will only strengthen my support for the man who's given me faith in the government for the first time in years and years.

I can only hope he doesn't disappoint me.

I saw these t-shirts a while back at Books-a-Million, under a sign proclaiming "Faith Gear".  I couldn't help giggling while taking these pictures.  I have nothing against proclaiming your faith via a t-shirt, but I think using corporate logos to do so is going a little too far.

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(In case you can't read that, the smaller print says "My father is the King of Kings!"  See, I hate those "Princess" t-shirts to begin with - hey, nothing like giving something to your bratty child that does nothing but fuel their sense of entitlement - so this one kind of made me gag a little.)

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If they took out the "in heaven" part, I might actually buy this shirt for the sake of sheer hilarity.

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According to FaithNet, these are the religions that most closely share my personal beliefs.  The first one is the church my grandmother belongs to, as well as the one that my mother used to belong to until she moved to Cape and there wasn't a Unitarian church.

I don't really have a religious preference, so this is rather interesting to me.

As a side note, I am now Safe Zone certified.  I feel so special.

Contradicting my usual reaction, I felt like defending an evangelist today.  (And would have, too, if I hadn't already been late for German class.)

Here's what happened - I was leaving the library, and this guy was standing with an umbrella on the planter outside University Theatre, giving his spiel about how we must resist the temptation of our marijuana and fornication.  You know, the usual.  I was about to roll my eyes and just walk away when I heard someone yelling "Booooo!  Boooooo!"  from the loading dock just behind the guy.

Now, I'm sorry; I think this guy's sermon was as ridiculous as the next girl does, but 1) He wasn't hurting anyone physically or verbally, 2) He was being polite, not insulting people like that Brother Jed guy does, 3) He was obviously devoted enough to his beliefs to stand out in the rain and yell to people who weren't even listening, 4) He wasn't shoving pamphlets in people's faces, and 5) He had every right to be there.

I may not agree with a single thing this guy said, but he has my respect.

~

I think KDI brings out my "good ol' down-home" side.  It's a very strange phenomenon.  When I am at KDI or listening to KDI music, I take great joy in 1) square and line dancing, 2) dressing and acting like the stereotypical hillbilly, and 3) listening to songs like "Salty Dog Rag" or "Tennessee Wig Walk", which involve overly drawly singers and typically bluegrass instrumentals.

Of course, KDI is so much in my blood that it's hard to tell whether I would have liked this stuff anyway.

So, last night Jason and I were chilling in my room watching Rocky Horror on my laptop (I'm helping him train in the fine art of screen banter) when someone knocked on the door.  Tunrs out it was one of the building RA's, wanting to ask about some earrings I was giving away, so we paused the movie on a scantily clad Susan Sarandon in order to let Tarrah look through the jewelry.  She was really getting into it, too, spreading them out on the floor of the hallway.

Meanwhile, my neighbor Elle heard us talking and came out to join the conversation (she had gotten some earrings from me earlier in the day).  It was then that I remembered that she had mentioned earlier a "random question" she wanted to ask me, so I reminded her of it.  After Tarrah left, Elle came into my room, made herself comfortable on the floor, and proceeded to ask me about my relationship with Jesus Christ.

Before I could answer, she launched into a story about how God had consistently answered her prayers over the last week or so, and I was trying very hard to listen when, out of the corner of my eye, I noticed Jason slowly, surreptitiously turning the laptop screen toward the window.  I immediately had to bite my thumb to keep from laughing out loud, and when Elle had finished her story and turned toward me expectantly, I articulated my religious feelings in the most diplomatic way I could (the blunt version would probably have hurt her feelings; what I said was something along the lines of, "Well, I think it's really cool that you can have that kind of a relationship with God; I can't say I've ever felt that myself, but it's not something I feel like I'm missing in my life).

Predictably, as soon as she left the room, both Jason and I collapsed into as-silent-as-possible laughter.

I often wish that I could go back and find cool people in this world that I meet briefly in random places.  This list includes but is not limited to:

Those two guys on a road trip from New York City to the Grand Canyon that Dad and I met in the Terre Haute Starbucks.

One of the cashiers in 5-7-9 at Lincolnwood, with whom I had an intense discussion about music.

Lisa, my host from Macalester.

Various shopkeepers and street vendors from Seattle and San Francisco.

The green-haired girl I met at the Trans March.

The guy at Panera at the Galleria who made fun of my lunch order and resembled my old babysitter's husband.

On a completely different note, here's a secret:

I am not at all religious (though I am spiritual; there's a difference), and a lot of things about organized religion and Christianity in particular really bug me.

But, I love the religious aspect of Christmas.

I think that around Christmas, the religious values that frequently spur the more evangelistic Christians to be intolerant and obnoxious, instead motivate people to be generous and forgiving.  The commericalistic, corporate side of Christmas is made almost entirely from secular traditions.  Not that I don't love the idea of Santa Claus, but there's a definite point at which it turns from a charming children's story to an excuse for department stores to stuff more junk down our throats.

And of course, there's also the fact that the best Christmas music comes from religion.  There are very few secular Christmas songs out there that I can stand to listen to.  The few that I can think of are "Jingle Bells", "Carol of the Bells", "Rudolph", "Twelve Days of Christmas" (but only if sung by the Muppets) and "Little Saint Nick".  (Actually, "Carol of the Bells" is one of my all-time favorite Christmas carols, but the other ones are at least tangentially religious - "O Come All Ye Faithful", "Huron Carol", "Silent Night", "When the River Meets the Sea", etc.) I'm also a big fan of all the medieval Christmas songs we sing at Madrigal - "Fum, Fum Fum", the Wassail song, "Personent Hodie", etc., and the Nutcracker. 

(This might also be a good time to point out that the religious rule does not apply if pop singers re the ones handling the songs.  There are two kinds of music that pop singers should never be allowed to sing, and those are Christmas songs and patriotic songs.)

The biblical Christmas story is beautiful, as well.  Maybe it doesn't make any sense, but it's a great story nonetheless, and the only Bible story that can stir any sort of emotion in me.  I will even go to church and pay perfect attention on Christmas Eve, just because that season is the only one that really moves me.

This, my friends, is why I rush the season with my Christmas music - because the sooner the season starts, the sooner I can start feeling that everything is okay.

Relieved in a way you can't imagine,

~Carly