Finian on Religion

I’m going to break tradition and speak on religion for three reasons. I can, two new movies out both expressing two different religious extreme views and a growing cynicism with religion that would ultimately love to see religion banned. In my opinion, not withstanding the corruption that exists within organized religion, banning religion is as flawed as outlawing government, unions or police because of corrupt politicians and corrupt officers.

I’m going to finally come out of the closet and admit I have a religious affiliation or rather religious conviction but before I cite my own personally distorted view of pure religion, I will cite a few examples from some of the other world faiths.

Catholicism:

There is nothing wrong with a good Catholic. Nothing wrong with a good atheist or anything else for that matter. It’s the bad ones that cause the problems. Of all the religions, Catholics tend to be good. Some Protestants who get bent out of shape over doctrinal differences despise Catholics.

One religious and political opportunist named Ian Paisley even went so far as to say and protest that the Pope was the anti Christ. Coming from him I found that somewhat ironic. He is the one preaching hate over the pulpit not the Pope. He is the double dipper that got paid to be a minister and paid to be a politician by fostering hate and intolerance.

Paid ministry is something I have a concern with when it becomes big business and ministers get rich off the people. Catholic priests and United church ministers aren’t paid excessively and I don’t have problem with them getting paid.

Praying to statues or the sacred heart, saying set prayers in the rosary, praying to saints are not things that I personally would do but I clearly see no harm in it. On the contrary some of these traditions help Catholics remember deity and strive to do good.

I remember a good Catholic in Ennis County Clare explain to me about one saint who was canonized not because of their wealth but because of their service and vow of poverty. He told me that service and vows of poverty are what impress the Irish. I thought that was very noble indeed. Mother Teresa is without question a saint.

Islam:

I cannot say the word Islam without pausing out of reverence. To me the name even sounds holy. Yes there are extremists in every organization and murdering innocent civilians is abominable. 911 was heinous but so was Hiroshima and Nagasaki and the very thought that Bin Laden might not have done 911 and 911 might well have been a heinous CIA false flag like operation Northwoods makes one rethink their anti Islam sentiments.

I have a Koran and for me it really must lose in the translation. It was originally written in Arabic. Mine is translated into English. As a result for me the book seems to loose some of it’s magic and is harder to follow but many hold that book to be sacred.

Ramadam is a fine tradition and I see no harm in it. There is nothing wrong with women or men covering their hair. Seeing so many woman covered head to toe in black during the summer heat in Egypt was in my opinion a bit extreme but certainly within their rights and didn’t harm anyone else.

Judaism

What can I say? Jews have a right to be Jews. Jews have a right to have a home. Just like everyone else. Jews are subject to civil laws just like everyone else. It’s really that simple. Anti-Semitism is wrong and archaic.

When I think of Judaism I think of the movie the Fiddler on the Roof and Andrew Lloyd Webber's Joseph and his Technicolor Dream coat. Tradition is good. People have a right to preserve their traditions.

I worked on a non religious kibbutz in Israel when I was young and was surprised to see them celebrate the Passover where they ate no bread with yeast in it for seven or eight days remembering the Exodus from Egypt. For the nonreliogous kibbutz, the escape from slavery in Egypt was not a religious story in the Bible, it was a part of their historical tradition.

Zen

I like Zen. Zen isn’t really a religion it is a desire to think outside the box so to speak. Zen is usually associated with Buddhism but can also be applied to anything. I recall a Zen parable associated with Christianity.

There was a young boy who asked an old man what the moon was. The teacher was very wise with a lifetime of experience. In his wisdom he thought the best way for the boy to understand what the moon was would be for him to experience it himself.

In response to the young boys question what is the moon, the wise sage simply raised his hand and pointed to the moon so he could see it for himself and not have to rely on someone else’s interpretation.

Unfortunately the young boy’s admiration for the wise sage made him miss the point. When the old man raised his hand to point to the moon, the young boy stopped short and seeing the man raise his hand mistook the mans’ hand for the moon.

Applying this to Christianity a Zen master would say many Christians get so caught up in the bible they fail to see what it is pointing to: God.

Pure Religion

Paul defined pure religion as visiting the sick and performing acts of Christian service. I concur with that definition. Whether the pearly gates swing or slide is of little relevance. What is relevant is living the kind of life that will let you pass through them.

I recall being told about a Chinese painting of heaven and hell. The bottom of the painting was the artist’s rendition of Hell. There was a huge dinner table full of food but the only eating utensils were very long chopsticks tied to their hands. The only way they could eat the food was with the chopsticks and since the chopsticks were longer than their arms, they could not get the food into their mouths.

As a result the people sitting at the table were all in torment. They were starving and had all this great food in front of them but were in torment because they were not able to eat it.

The picture of Heaven was another group sitting around the same table filled with the same food having only the same eating utensils to eat the food. The only difference is that these people were happy and fulfilled. They were feeding each other.

Think about it. If life does not end at death and if we are restored to live with people the same as we are, which would be a more pleasant place to live: a place where people rob, murder and steal or a place where everyone strives to serve each other. It really is that simple.