Good Morning, Everyone.
I’d like to begin with a bit of personal history this morning. I was raised in the ELCA Lutheran Church. There are a few different “Synods”, sects/divisions/understandings – if you will, of the Lutheran Church. I then went to a United Methodist church, where I received further education, eventually going on to earn a B.A. in a weird triple major of psychology, sociology and business – (I was originally really interested in how religion, business and “work” interacts within people themselves and society in general).
So, while I am full of questions and doubts, that is the structure of my very understanding of the world. What I’d like to shallowly talk about today is “religion”.
What we are seeing in much of the political realm is not religions of faith, they are religions of control.
I say this knowing this is going to be offensive to many people. But there are times when the truth hurts, and I remember reading somewhere how the truth shall set us free.
Religion seems rife with the blind – those who will not see, will not hear, because they are desperate.
I feel for those taken in by people who have found a pulpit the fastest way to power and wealth. Folks searching for answers and hope will grasp at anything that seems to be a good solution.
I believe this is the prophecy of the age. Graham was right, and he knows it to this day.
Belief in God is a very humbling thing. It is the knowledge that you will never be “all that”. What’s worse is that when you think you are, you realize you have become an arrogant ass comparing your perfection on the flaws of others and completely ignoring that guy in the mirror.
Despite getting my degree from a Christian College and growing up in the church, I no longer go to church. I sometimes wonder if God isn’t welcome there all too often. Instead I find God in all that I see, in the trees and stars in the sky. I don’t know that there is a God, but I want to believe there is, and so I do. Be it Humanist or Christian, what really becomes important in my book is that we love our neighbor and ourselves, and give a big thanks to however all this beauty that surrounds us came to be.
Love you all. May your walk be long and fruitful.
Hugs.
Randy
Scottie's Playtime 
I for one am not at all offended. I value these thoughts, and agree strongly with them. Thank you.
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Hi Janet. I’m glad you like the post. I do see some editing I should have done, but… so goes. Still, it’s a dicey subject for a lot of people, so I’m relieved to – so far – have not stomped on too many toes.
Randy
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Hi. Wonderfully beautiful post, both in the lay out and the subject. So many of the memes and the things you said made sense to me. Randy you made some very great points and one is respect for others beliefs. I can respect your beliefs without believing in them myself. I wish everyone understood that. I wish more people understood that their beliefs do not excuse bad behavior towards others. If you don’t believe in shopping on Sunday to honor the sabbath or the cooking on Saturday because that is your holy day that doesn’t give you the right to stop others from doing those acts who do not have your beliefs. If your faith doesn’t like same sex marriage or divorce doesn’t give you the right to force the entire country to follow your religious beliefs. I think I once heard it said that you have the right to think anything you wish, but you don’t have the right to make others to think it also by force. Again love the post. Hugs.
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Hi Scottie. That’s the thing I don’t understand either. Different beliefs and different ideas, different ways of thinking about things – these are the things that bring the world new ideas, new ways of doing things. If we just stuck with the same ideas, we’d still be playing LP’s on the record player, riding horses, etc.
I loved your comment. Thank you.
Hugs.
Randy
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I commented on this, it disappeared. Oh well …
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TenBears, I’d love to see it again, if you so choose to recreate the comment. I don’t expect people to always agree with me and have been called everything in the book, including late for dinner, so that wouldn’t bother me. So, definitely would love to see you redo it.
Randy
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