I see these bumper stickers every once in a while that say "let go...let God" and I couldn't agree more. Let go of the fear, let go of all the books, let go of all the ideologies and insecurities and let God do what he will. He does anyway. We're all God's creations and there's simply nothing we can ever do to change that. Unfortunately for most fundamentalist Christians and Catholics and all of the little splinter groups of these religions, God seems to be viewed in an almost abusive paternal way. Waco simply had me hitting the books, including the Bible, again and it hit me hard how mankind has distorted true spiritual peace. I find it odd that a God who is supposed to be a being or force with such unlimited and unconditional love for his creations would have such a moral, political and financial agenda for his followers. I don't think God hates us any more than he answers prayers. God loves us unconditionally, it's HUMANKIND that doesn't know how to do that. The idea that God would forgive those responsible for something like 9-11 as quickly as he would a devout Christian is simply inconceivable to us. All religions are "ways of life" and all work from the same basic principles and formats: ideologies based on the word of man. What I get most often from the religious-minded is that the Bible was "inspired" by God. I myself feel inspired by God. Does this mean that my words are more or less valid than those found in the Bible or whatever book your religion is based on? No. If Christianity gives you true spiritual peace, then go with that. The only thing Christianity gave me was the constant fear that I might not be living up to God's expectations. The love I felt for God had to be filtered through that. When I let all that shit go, there he was in all his glory, healing me on every level and the fear was gone. I believe there was a man we now call Jesus Christ who was a healer, a teacher, and a spiritual leader who told who he could that they didn't need churches or governments to feel God's love and people started to listen. Of course, the churches and governments of the time couldn't have their "ways of life" threatened by what this man was teaching, so they did what churches and governments have been doing to the "subversives" since they established themselves: they got rid of him. Am I the only one who finds it interesting that the roots of Christianity and Catholicism can all be traced back to the Roman Empire?
It may sound like I have a personal vendetta against Christians or that I don't like it when they tell me my soul is in trouble. I don't. In fact, most of the religious-minded people I've come across have been some of the finest individuals it's been my pleasure to know. It's the religion itself I have a problem with. I've seen good people practically torture themselves to death inside trying to live up to the ideological expectations of their church. My heart truly goes out to them all, because this kind of fear is simply superfluous. God's true gift to us is life, so pick your religion, pick your God, and have a lot of fun. Although I don't believe in them, I appreciate your prayers, so thank you. I only pray for one thing anymore, the same thing Maynard from Tool prays for in the song "Anaema":
Rain. Lots and lots of it....
