  Spiritual
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Is there such a thing as the right path when it comes to faith, religion and spirituality? Many people would answer this question with a strong yes. But with the many different strands even within religions, how would you know?
This week's Spiritual Newsletter, then, is a little bit controversial, as it's all about the different views that we hold.
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Different people believe different things. We all know that. What we believe in is shaped by our upbringing, those around us, our own experiences, and our own questions about life and the universe. We each seek answers, and the conclusions we reach aren’t necessarily those that others have reached.
This isn’t a bad thing. In fact, I would argue that it’s a good thing. It is good to question what we believe. After all, how can we believe (in) something without there being any reason for said belief?
I was in a discussion with someone, recently, about religion, and how even within religions there are different views, different beliefs. Within Christianity, for example, there are many different strands including, but not limited to, the Catholics, Baptists, Methodists, Presbyterians, Quakers and Lutherans. There are different strands of Judaism, and different strands of Islam.
The three religions mentioned above are monotheistic, but there are, of course, polytheistic religions such as Hinduism, and duotheistic religions such as Wicca.
There are Atheists who believe that the whole idea of a higher power, or higher powers, is nonsense, and there are those who believe that there is simply no evidence of the existence of a higher power, or higher powers, so until such evidence is found, they don’t feel that such powers can be said to exist. There are Agnostics, who feel that the existence of a God, or Gods, is unknown and unknowable. And there are Non-Religious Theists, who do believe in the existence of a God, but who, indeed, do not follow a specific religion. It wouldn’t surprise me of there were Non-Religious Polytheists and Duetheists as well.
This diversity of beliefs – which would take much more than a single newsletter to cover, as I haven’t even touched upon spiritual paths that do not involve any Gods, for starters – reflects the complexity of the human race, and of the human mind.
There isn’t much that is set in stone, when it comes to people and their beliefs. I know that several of my own beliefs have changed over the years. Not merely on religion, but on a wide range of subjects, such as politics, society, and the meaning of life. We experience, we learn and we evolve.
There are some beliefs, though, that are strongly held. Beliefs that we will carry with us until the end of our lives. They will differ from person to person, and can be about anything. I have strong beliefs about equality, for example. I believe that every human being should have equal rights and equal opportunities, that everyone has the right to what is needed to lead a decent life, such as food, water, shelter, warmth, access to medical care, access to justice, education, and so on. That is a position I cannot be persuaded away from.
When it comes to religion, there are many who hold the belief that their religion is the only correct one. For a Non-Religious Theist like myself, that gets confusing, because who is right? I was raised in a Christian household, so I do have Christian leanings, but there is such a wide variety of religions and beliefs and spiritual paths out there that I would like to offer a little thought experiment.
Let’s say that you were stranded on a small island as a child. You’d grown up without any concept of religion or spirituality. As an adult, you get rescued. You get exposed to these new concepts and you are told that you have to choose one, and you’d better choose right because your soul depends on it. How would you go about this?
My guess is that the choice you would make would be based upon the views that you already hold. And these views, again, differ from person to person. So, the choice I would make might well be a very different one than the choice you would make. And that’s okay.
It may sound like a terrible cliché, but it is true that we each have our own path to follow. And there is room for our different paths. On the whole, I figure that we’re all heading in the same direction, as there is a lot of crossover between beliefs. When you get right down to it, it’s mostly about being good and kind, about being the best person you can be, and about the hope that we have for something better than what is.
Our beliefs, then, may clash in some ways, but that does not mean that we have to clash as individuals, or as cultures, or nations. It is impossible to make someone believe something that they don’t, and meaningless at that. And it is difficult, if not impossible, to make someone stop believing something that they do. If beliefs change, it’s from internal forces, rather than external force.
Belief, religion, spirituality, then, is a case of each to their own. We can coexist quite happily if we try. One day we might find out who was right. Until then, all we can do is to live our lives and follow our hearts the best way we know how.
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Spiritual: April 19, 2017 Issue [#8246]
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