Note to all uptight religious I-want-to-convert-everyone-I-find-to-my-religion types, you are not welcome to introduce your religion to me and try to convert me because I am not interested. Full stop.
Now, on to the post…
For those of you who have been reading my blog on and off would know by now that I am hardly the religious kind. I even use the word God in vain quite a few times, as in OMG, My God, etc, etc. Of course, there is the post entitled ‘God is daft and stupid‘ and my other references in other posts about my lack of holiness. Or seemingly ‘disrespect’ for God.
So, does this mean I am religion-less? Or that I don’t believe in God? On the contrary.
I am a Buddhist and yes, I have read the Bible (during Sunday school and later Bible classes in my younger days) and know quite a lot about the Christian faith (from friends and the Bible). However, I have no intention to convert to Christianity, much as I respect the religion. And no, you zealous Christians-out-there-who -thinks-you-can-change-my-mind, I won’t change my mind.
I also know a fair bit about Taoism. It is hard not to know about taoism, what with being a Chinese in Penang where taoism is commonly practiced.
Still, despite what is taught in those Taoism or Buddhism or whatever religious books, I have long come to my own conclusion about religion and God. Please remember, this is wholly my own opinion and personal feelings about religions and God so don’t think I am trying to insult any religion. I am not. I am merely expressing my own beliefs.
I strongly do believe that God exists. He is present in the rain that falls from the sky. In the tiny multiplying cells that became a fully formed human baby. In the rainbow that decorate the skies after a rainfall. In the wind that brushed against my cheeks on cool windy days. In the sunlight that warmed me up when I am outdoors. In the very air that I breath in and out everyday to live.
So, yes, I believe in God and His Greatness. I also believe that He is the Creator and the one main Being who looks over us.
However, I also believe that He has many ‘assistants’ in the form of angels or deities or whatever you want to call them. They are the ones to do the errants, to help humans, to send messages, to fight evil, etc. So, I also pay homage and pray to His ‘assistants’ too.
As for religions, I am always of the mind that religions are mostly human-made and it is all the same. It is all about God and how we pray to Him and thank Him. Of course, in some religions, there are a lot of Gods that they pray to (e.g. Hinduism) but still, the concept is the same. Everyone prays to God for the same reasons. For protection, for happiness, for health, for wealth, for peace, for harmony, etc. Only thing is that they do it in different ways.
I always felt that the reason there are so many religions is because of the different races and languages on earth. Not because there are so many different Gods. Or perhaps there is. One never knows for sure. However, it all boils down to the fact that religions are just a way for humans to reach out to a sentient being, to a Higher Being. It is to each his own.
So, I really never understood all this fights and wars and bloodshed over difference in religion. Why impose your own idealogy on others? Nobody in this world could 100% prove that their religion is the ‘right’ one. For me, all religions are the ‘right’ one (except for the devil-worshipping / evil sects lar).
If you think your religion is the right one, good for you. Continue with it. Share it if you must but please, do not force it unto others. I am sure you do not want others to force their religion on you, right? So, to each his own.
Why fight over it? Why kill over it? I am sure God does not order humans to kill each other just because they could not agree with the way to worship Him. So, feel free to practice your own religion but, please do not force it on anyone else.
I will end with this quote:
Religions are like wonderful rivers, it all flows to the one ocean.
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Ah Foong….you believe in the father, the son and the holy Goh?? Hahaha,
Of course all religions are essentially the same because there can only be ONE truth.
Some religions have many Gods or is it because the followers are misguided? God has many virtues like Mercy and Forgiveness. Could it be the followers have mistaken each of God’s virtue as a different God??
It is often asked “did God create man or did man create God?”
Well, personally I prefer to believe that God created man and man created religion. And it is religion that created all our problems.
When one looks at the history of religion, most of the problems arise when men & women turned preaching of their religion into a profession. Yes, it is the clergy that is largely at fault.
Whether it is Christianity, Islam, Hinduism or Buddistism when you look back in history isn’t it the priest, the imams and the monks trying to impose their personnal beliefs onto others that created all the problems?
So, is there a religion that does not have a clergy?? Yes, there is. The Bahai faith does not have a professional clergy. They believe in the independent investigation of the truth. The Bahai faith is run by elections done on a annual basis at the local level and bi-annual basis on the international level..
Believers elect by secret ballot, leaders to administer (not lead) the faith. Election campaigns are forbidden. Believers should already know who they want to elected by the deeds of those that they want to choose.
Independent investigation of the truth is the key element. Bahais are forbidden to make statements like “If you don’t believe in Jesus, you will go to hell” or “if you don’t do this then you are the devil”.
What you believe is up to you to go and find out and accept what you think is right. The central belief in one God is essential and all religions come from that one and the same source. The central concept is the concept of “progressive revelation”. That means God had reveal his messages to us over time.
Just like different chapters in the same book, God had revealed himself to us through different prophets, his son and other prophets since then. He has given us different levels of teachings as our intellectual capacity grows.
What Muhammad had taught us 1,000 years ago may not be applicable today. Hence all these going back to fundamentals and sariah law I think is wrong.
Whether it is Islam or Christianity. Any extreme views is wrong and only they are right and everybody else is wrong is unacceptable to me. I would rather make up my own mind. Thank you very much.
OK I better stop ranting on otherwise I offend some people. But do I give a rat’s arse. I think like you Ah Foong, we don’t really care.
Engineer:
wah, such a long religious sermon…
All religions are based on the same set of untruth and yeah some claimed to have found god except that it’s not there, and some would prefer to call it mental.
Some religions pay “commission” for converting others into their religion and it gets you to heaven faster. Just like selling insurance, its an incentive to stuff their product down people’s throats. Some religions go a step further. They threaten their followers that as long as there are non believers in their midst, god will punish them. Its another reason to stuff people. Sometimes I wonder does god need people or do people need god.
godIsManMade: to each his own…
Kathy: wah, got commission wan ar? Wat next, pyramid scheme?
I have been to one “sermon” where the “reverend” promised that if convert god will put money in the pocket.
And then he went on to speak “in tongues” i.e he can talk to God in a language we ordinary people cannot understand. I reckon he just simply talk mumbo jumbo.
Also they have healing sessions. Those who believe he just touch their foreheads and they fall over.
I don’t believe, that fellow push me also I won’t fall down.
I see many people turn to religion hoping to get material wealth or try to make a deal with God, something like “if I convert what will I get from you”. I think this is wrong.
Also some religion for example if you marry a muslim you must convert, regardless if you believe or not. Isn’t this a bit pointless.
Also others like Hebrew or Zorastrian you have to born a Jew or a Zorastrian. You cannot convert. They believe they are the choosen ones. Again isn’t this a bit bloody ridiculous??
Anway I don’t want to be a Jew or a muslim, they cut your “khoo khoo” and it is already short enough.
The Lord brings
His bounties to all
No color no creed
No condition at all
His world is in His hands
Hold it warm caressing flow
The feel of the inner glow
He brings His world to you
Even when you are down
Hopelessly out of the loop
He doesn’t make you cry
He comes with His welcoming sign
His world in your mind
You never be alone in time of need
He is there everywhere
Looking after your interests
You won’t go astray
The world is in His hands
He grants wishes and hopes
Bringing His people to the light
When you look deeply
You know you aren’t alone
engineer: yeah, religions is truly man made at most with man made rules so some could be ridiculous.
caravanserai: that is beautiful. thanks
In the book, Journey to the Underworld – Jigong Buddha mention that originally there is only 1 religion. Later then it was divided into 5 religions that is Buddhism, Christian, Islamic, Hindu and Taoism.
Imagine religion as a school, if the number of students is growing then they will need to expend the school. So then we have 5 schools namely Buddhism, Taoism, Christian, Islamic and Hindu which is recognized by Heaven and Hell.
Remember, religion is about learning.
Lee: err…thanks…I think…