If Religion is Made
Up then Why are People Religious?
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You could say that in both cases time played an issue. The dripping fontanel eventually would have stopped and basically JT infected me with the stomach virus. It had nothing to do with prayer a skeptic would say. But if I am raised in a particular faith and I am a believer in that faith, I am naturally going to give credit to my religion even if it had nothing to do with it. The Buddhist would have said, “Thank you Buddha,” the Hindu—“Thank you Krishna,” the Muslim, “Thank you Muhammad.” I said, at that time in my life, “Thank you Lord.” In this case here, we can see that perception is reality. Religion working is perception. You know, when I say that to some people, they say back to me,“No John. I KNOW FOR A FACT MY RELIGION WORKS AND IS REAL!” I say to them, “I know it works for you and is real to you but do not discount the power of perception and belief!” The mind has great power!! And I say to you, “DO NOT DISCOUNT THE POWER OF PERCEPTION AND BELIEF! It may be that our gods come to life right there! It is not that one faith is better than the other. It is not that one works better than the other, but rather, healings and miracles happen all over the world and would happen even if religion did not exist. Where there is a believer, there is a religious miracle attributed to a practitioner’s faith. But without the faith there is still the miracle. In the Methodist Church I grew up in, my preacher would say, “When you pray John, God has three answers: “Yes, no, or not now.” I said to the preacher, “IT SEEMS GOD HAS COVERED ALL THE OPTIONS!” For me, life is the master healer and miracle worker. Life giveth and taketh away, no matter the faith. Life provides miracles and also misery. Life says, “Yes, no, or not now.” And the Atheist and Agnostic also get this message. With that said, religion works. Prayer works; meditation works, thinking positively works…. There is a power in the mind and a universal cosmic energy that moves and stirs and pricks our consciousness and it does every now and then send us miracles that cannot be explained. But this power cannot be boxed in. It’s “so high you can’t get over it, so low you can’t get under it, so wide you can’t get around it.” It is the creative sustaining force in the Universe. Buddhists are not Buddhists just because they grew up Buddhists. Many are faithful to their traditions because through years of practice they have found a wonderful bliss in trying to be the best Buddhist or Hindu or Muslim they could be. It does not matter what religion you practice. You have to find the one that meets your sociological, psychological and theological needs. You are here so I guess you have chosen Unitarian Universalism. The best thing we can do is be the best Unitarian Universalists we can be; to make our faith work for us. I like what Huston Smith said, “WE MUST LISTEN FIRST TO OUR OWN FAITH, FOR EVERY HERITAGE IS INEXHAUSTIBLE AND THE WAYS OF SPIRIT, EVEN AS CHANNELED THROUGH A SINGLE TRADITION, ARE BEYOND THE WIT OF ANYONE TO MASTER COMPLETELY. We have so much to learn, even within our own faith tradition; so many miracles, so many mysteries to contemplate. So much to discover that we need NOT spend our time proving our faith is better than the other or proving we are the best and they are the worse. The world is much too much small now; much too much small now to think our faith is THE FAITH; that our faith is, as I put it often, THE BE ALL AND END ALL OF EXISTENCE. The world is much too much small now to think “that whichis foreign is inferior.” “THE DIFFERENCES in religions ARE BUT DIALECTS OF A SINGLE SPIRITUAL LANGUAGE THAT EMPLOYS DIFFERENT WORDS BUT EXPRESSES THE SAME IDEAS,” that’s what Huston Smith said. So the crescent and cross must quench their thirst for power by seeing ultimately their higher power calls them to a higher love and mutual respect. We are one. Why are people religious? People are religious because their religion works for them-- but there is no exclusive theology. There is no religion that works or is better than the others. To my professor if you can hear me (I know you can’t but if you could) with all the respect I can muster, I want to say to you this (and to all of you): the Spirit of Life is much bigger than any religion’s exclusive claim, as far as I’m concerned. Perception is reality with religion. We waste too much time attempting to prove our religion is better. You can get a PhD in “Apologetics” showing how one faith is better than the other. There are millions of books that have been written to prove one faith is better. But, I thank something else is better. Creating a world of mutuality and reciprocity—that is better. Seeing the beauties in life—that is better—enjoying the many pastimes and hobbies in life—that is better; enjoying my loving relationships, that is better! And I think giving thanks for each day as a blessing—as a day to experience and learn more about my faith, my life and living, that is much better than spending time learning how to prove my faith is better than yours. Life is too short to hate. And so stand with me at this time and sing, with a joyful heart, WE GIVE THANKS (it is an insert in your order of service). We do give thanks for this day to celebrate life once again… Thank you for your time this morning. Please stand. Amen.
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Copyright by Rev. John T. Crestwell. All rights reserved. Please contact him for permission to use. |
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