Path to Spirituality

Anne Rice on July 28^th 2010 posted the following on her Facebook page. “For those who care, and I understand if you don't: Today I quit being a Christian. I'm out. I remain committed to Christ as always but not to being "Christian" or to being part of Christianity. It's simply impossible for me to "belong" to this quarrelsome, hostile, disputatious, and deservedly infamous group. For ten years, I've tried. I've failed. I'm an outsider. My conscience will allow nothing else.”

Many discussions arose out of her statements, opinions thrown around as if it were Sunday Night Football.  Well, as someone who was in the same boat heading toward the same journey, I would like to throw the final touchdown pass.

I was christened Catholic when I was born in the year 1971; however I wasn’t a practicing Catholic as much as my mother wanted me to be. I have been to many churches of many denominations.  Catholic, Baptist, Mormon, Methodist, and probably a few more, looking for that peace that I was told I would receive once I accepted the Lord as my own personal savior. Instead of peace, it was anguish I received instead.

I too sat in Church services on Wednesday and Sundays listening as the Sermon was given, left more confused than I was before I walked in through  those doors.
“God loves you, but he also hates you”.  “If you don’t love God, then you are bound to burn for eternity in hell”.  Huh?  I would ask “If God loves us, and he made us, why would he burn us”? No one could ever give me a direct answer except for the “it says so in the bible”, as if that made it any easier for me to understand.

I came to the conclusion that organized religion was man made and hardly anything of God, or Christ for that matter.  It, at least to me became a self-serving organization full of hypocrisy, which I could no longer sit idly by and watch or digest easily for that matter.
I have been agnostic, bordering atheism for about 5 years now. I guess you could say I walk to the beat of a different drum, where rhythm isn’t required, for if it were, I would surely be condemned for that as well. 

I have heard bible verses being spout out from Leviticus by those who claim to be devout Christians, only to find that the ones they choose to spew are the ones that support their hatred for things which they do not know, hardly if at all following the others in Leviticus that would declare themselves an abomination as well. Surely such hypocrisy cannot be tolerated, or could it be that we have become so disenchanted with organized religion and its followers that we expect nothing less, or certainly nothing more?

I find myself cringing at the sound of “God” anymore. For I have found in truth that man created God in their image, for he hates all the same people that they do. A pity for sure, but then again what else can you expect from those who act holier than thou, as they themselves made some sort of sacrifice for the world.

I suppose that is what frustrates me, is those who are so self-righteous that you could tell them that they sky is blue, and they would argue it is green just to argue with you, as if they had nothing else better to do. I mean really? Is it really necessary to argue the points of Christianity? Is it even more so necessary to argue who Christ loves and who he doesn’t?
Since when did being a Christian become like an audition for American Idol? We vote for whom we think is a better Christian, kicking out who we think is less of one. In the words of Simon Cowell, “that is absolutely “horrendous”, and at least in my opinion has no place in our society. Although, I am sure there are some who would highly disagree with my theory on the matter.

To say there is only one path that you must follow in this universe seems to me to be at best incorrect, if not a little self-serving as to fall into line like a good and dedicated soldier. This universe, this beautiful ever changing universe is more than meets the eye. Spirituality is of the heart as well as the soul, and whatever the journey is, there are many paths to get to where you are going.
We do not need to let other’s sway us, nor do we need their acceptance of who we are. What they think of us fails in comparison, for it is what we think of ourselves that truly matter. We can be our best friend and at the same time be our own worst enemy. 

We all feel lost at one time or another, looking for answers to our questions, as if we were a child curious about our surroundings. Yes, we may never find the answers we seek, but if we look into ourselves, I mean truly look, we just might find the stepping stone we need to take that first step.