Don't throw the Baby Out with the Bathwater when it comes to having a Spiritual life...
Consider this song:
Artist: George Harrison
Album: Concert For Bangla Desh/all Things Must Pass
Title: Awaiting On You All
You don't need no love in
You don't need no bed pan
You don't need a horoscope or a microscope
The see the mess that you're in
If you open up your heart
You will know what I mean
We've been polluted so long
Now here's a way for you to get clean
By chanting the names of the lord and you'll be free
The lord is awaiting on you all to awaken and see
Chanting the names of the lord and you'll be free
The lord is awaiting on you all to awaken and see
You don't need no passport
And you don't need no visas
You don't need to designate or to emigrate
Before you can see Jesus
If you open up your heart
You'll see he's right there
Always was and will be
He'll relieve you of your cares
By chanting the names of the lord and you'll be free
The lord is awaiting on you all to awaken and see
Chanting the names of the lord and you'll be free
The lord is awaiting on you all to awaken and see
You don't need no church house
And you don't need no temple
You don't need no rosary beads or them books to read
To see that you have fallen
If you open up your heart
You will know what I mean
We've been kept down so long
Someone's thinking that we're all green
And while the pope owns 51% of general motors
And the stock exchange is the only thing he's qualified to quote us
The lord is awaiting on you all to awaken and see
By chanting the names of the lord and you'll be free
I believe a lot of people have lost their way today. They have their energies invested in meaningless activities and try and numb the pain of this with drink, drugs, consumerism and following the lives of so called celebs.
>You don't need to designate or to emigrate
> Before you can see Jesus
Interesting how he mentions Jesus in this song although he was a devout Hindu… I think that if people followed the teaching of Jesus and not the dogmas set by the man made church institutions then people might be happier. I am not saying happiness cannot be found in other religions but I use this example as it the religious framework I am familiar with.
People have thrown the baby out with the bathwater in my humble opinion. They have turned their backs on "the church" but they have also turned their backs on a spiritual life. It also seems to me the people with the loudest voices are the fundamentalists
If one takes a belief in God as a given then we are all children of God. We are all the same.
I grew up in a Christian family so I am using Christianity as the example I am most familiar with. I believe the worlds major religions are like different paths on a road that lead to the same destination.
So let us look at Christianity...
Jesus' wisdom teaching points to the world of conventional wisdom as a world of blindness. His aphorisms and parables invite us to see differently.
The theologian Marcus Borg tries to show us this e.g.
C:Conventional wisdom
J:Jesus' alternative wisdom
C:God is punitive lawgiver and judge
J:God is gracious
C:A person's worth is determined by measuring up to social standards
J:All persons have infinite worth as a children of God
C:Sinners and outcasts are to be avoided and rejected
J:Everyone is welcome around the table and in the kingdom of God
C:Identity comes from social tradition
J:Identity comes from centring in the sacred, from relationship with God
C:Strive to be first
J:The first shall be last...; those who exalt themselves will be emptied...
C:Preserve one's own life above all
J:The path of dying to self and being reborn leads to life abundant
C:Fruit of striving is reward
J:Fruit of centring in God is compassion
The pre-crucified Jesus was a social profit, healer and He tried to teach an alternative wisdom. He got on the wrong side of the authorities of the day and was crucified for it but his spirit lived on. You can look on this as the metaphysical spirit or the spirit of His teachings. The post Easter Jesus is something different.
Christian experience is born in the Easter experience.
Easter does not have to include something happening to Jesus' body.
The foundational meaning of Easter is that Jesus' followers experienced his continuing presence as a living reality.
An empty tomb is one way to talk about that experience.
The community speaks of Jesus as:
Light of the world
Bread of life
Messiah
The way, the truth, the life
The only way
These are images/metaphors people used to describe their experience of Jesus.
They are profoundly true though not literally true.
Jesus did not speak of himself in these ways.
They are vivid testimony about how the community experienced and thought about Jesus.
The post-Easter Jesus can also be the word, light, and bread, of God for us.
For more see http://www.united.edu/portrait/index.shtml
Anyway my long rambling point is this. George Harrison's music seems to show that the quiet Beatle had a healthy attitude to spirituality and he recognised the subversive message in following a spiritual life. A spiritual life can reward you with a life of meaning although its not really about what you can "get" for yourself in my humble opinion. I grew up in Northern Ireland and this could put you of religion for life! I constantly remind myself that if there is a God or higher power then He/She is much larger than our limited minds can comprehend and that the religion is a human reaction to this mystery.
So try not throw the baby out with the bathwater. If you have given up on religion don't give up on having a spiritual life.
Good Luck!
Allen
Posts
No comments:
Post a Comment