Spiritual Thinking

Anyone who has read through the collection of early writings (ideas transcribed from the late 1980s mostly) that are on this site will know that I embrace spirituality. For me, there has to be more than what we see and experience, and that 'more' has to do with an inner self.

This inner part, a soul - if you like - can, if we permit it, help to guide us through life. The advantage of that inner guide is an absence of that part of human nature which constantly looks for gratification - the ego, if you will.

As an illustration of how that works for me in practice, there is musical performance. Someone who is full of desire to make others notice and praise them will get inordinately nervous when they are going to play or sing in front of others. I remember being that sort of person. I now find that it is more important for me to express an inner vision of that music when playing (I don't sing these days). Making a mistake is not a tragedy (oh dear, they must think I'm terrible), but, instead, part of a path to eventually expressing the phrase or piece in an internalized, ideal way. I don't get any more nervous when someone is listening than I do any other time I work on that music. My focus is the music.

At one time, I found it necessary to seem to embrace Christianity. My children were young and there was pressure from some in the family to 'raise them in a Christian home'. I agreed that we should attend a local church. We would all go to church until the children were of an age to be confirmed. At that point, I felt, it would be their choice whether to continue in that church or any other. As it turned out, neither of them now attend a church. Whether they self-identify as Christian now is their business. I do not.

Why am I not a Christian? Some have written whole books on this subject. Bertrand Russell is likely the most notable of these. I am no Russell, so I will keep this short. I believe that the roots of Christianity were as laudable as any other spiritual endeavour. What seems to me to be the problem with Christianity is that it is a religion.

A set of personal beliefs doesn't have to be a religion. In fact, a personal, deeply-felt set of beliefs is what I embrace. Religions, on the other hand, must be codified and followed, well, religiously. For a religion to remain in its pure state, a priesthood must exist. Followers must be protected from straying from the religion's pure set of ideals. There becomes a we and a they. We are not like they are, implying that we are better than they. This is all meant to feed the ego. "You are now baptized. You belong, with all the rights and responsibilities that membership gives you."

Now, I know, I have an axe to grind, just a bit, on the subject of religious belief. There are people whom I cared about (who am I fooling ... I still care about them) who felt it was impossible to be a friend of a 'person like me'. I seem to have broken at least two important rules of their religion: violating my body and marrying someone of the same gender. 

How do they know these things are wrong? They just know. The leadership of their religion says so. What do they feel personally about these things? I'm not sure they know the answer because they don't think for themselves. They are told what to think, so they can stay in their church and be acceptable to their faith. Rant over.

Seth Andrews is the author of Deconverted: A Journey from Religion to Reason. The video below would be of interest to those who wonder what it is like to be highly-devoted to a religion and, then, seemingly suddenly, abandon all of that. I do wish some of my friends and relatives could undergo such an intervention. It would be lovely to know what they feel and what they think about personal relationships, love, and, well, all the rest of what makes living meaningful.

I found this video to be well-spoken, humorous, and poignant. I do wish it was possible to send it to anyone who needs an intervention.