Religion

I've been gone for a week to North Carolina visiting my brothers. How have these guys gotten along without me. Naturally, I'm the first to arrive--we have a system, don't be waiting around. I have my usual: double shot of wheat grass, large carrot juice, and oatmeal with blueberries, bananoes and cinnamon. We are talking healthy here! Michael drags in and then Gary and finally Andy. So, here we go with the relevant topic.

We start off talking about the war and then quickly transition to religion. I don't remember why. Andy is an atheist and thinks religion is the bane of society. "What we all need to do more is love each other and accept everybody and be happy." I told him he had been hanging out in Berkeley too long.

Not that he is wrong. Gary is a Methodist type. His girlfriend, is a former Catholic who at best, according to Gary, is an agnostic. Michael is a Jew but says he's a Buddhist, has done all sorts of things, Zen, etc.; we all agree that religion has been the cause of beaucoup problems as it is practiced in the world. As a Christian, I allow as how often it is a matter of how it is misinterpreted and one has to realize that religion and Christianity the way I practice it is based on faith. I mean, nothing to be proved, whatever.

What our talks do for me is allow me to really think about it, as these guys challenge everything. You could say that the sun is up. They would want to know how you know. My basic belief is that if one follows Christianity, then always deal with the first four books of the New Testament: Matthew, Mark, Luke and John, these are the books that record what Jesus did and said. Can't go wrong if you are interested in the "basic." He was always the champion of the poor, the downtrodden, the disenfranchised. Whether it was the women of his day, the hated gentiles, whoever, always took the side of those who had no champions. It is only when what he did and said is interpreted is it a problem. Mostly the interpretation is by Paul, who is credited with beginning the concept of the Church. I see Michael's eyes glazing over?

Andy wants to talk about when he was a youngster in Greece. He was a twelve year old when all the adult men in his village were rounded up by the Nazis and killed. Where was God when all this was going on? I allow as that I don't think that God is very involved with us down here and we could say, "where was God when people are starving or the Germans zapping seven million Jews or some drunk father is abusing his daughter or the innocent die."

Michael thinks it is the Catholics. They brain wash from the get go and then spend all this time proselytizing. And, there seems to be something common with all Catholics, he sees it in how they see things. They can't quite get away from what they were taught and be open. And, what is it with the Pope trying to stay alive anyway?

I explain that the Pope in Catholic theology is viewed as Jesus on earth and in a sense, when he suffers it is Jesus suffering and now with this present thing, he is really replicating Christ suffering on the cross. They all look kind of skeptical. Definitely to be continued.