God's Grace and Mercy vs Grounded Morality

To me, I am a very sceptical person when it comes to religion. Religion has caused more wars in this world, caused more discrimination and creates weak, selfish individuals who believe that no matter whatever they do, they will be saved by God's 'grace and mercy.' People who believe in the higher power in God, don't have enough strength to believe in themselves AND do not take responsibility for their own actions. They seek forgiveness from God, who apparently loves all of us, and through that forgiveness of a spiritual being, they are guilt-free for their despicable actions on this Earth. How is that so?

Now, I've been brought up to be responsible for myself to the other degree - rarely if not any support from those who declare they love me financially, emotionally or physically, and if I don't have a belief in myself to get through any hurdles that I go through, then I have only myself to blame. My roots don't want to hear the sob-stories, and certainly have no compassion for them, even if one of us in the midst of a suicidal depression, they just want to hear that we're alive and doing ok.

So how can someone, who has been brought up on Christianity be so lucid to think that if God can give His forgiveness to him or her, knowing that their penance was heard, that they can be so dumb-founded when man on Earth, including the law, decide that they are guilty of an un-lawful act and punished accordingly? I just don't get it. I have known people who have broken all but one of the Ten Commandments (the only one being murder), yet claim that they can be completely forgiven after they had spent a small amount of time re-reading the Bible, praying and 'talking to God', as they hadn't been completely blasphemous because they hadn't broken ALL Ten Commandments. They will go back to their merry ways and continue to sin and break their beloved Christian laws, because they know in their heart they will be forgiven by God. I'm sorry, but it is completely and utterly morally and lawfully wrong.

For instance, 'thou shalt not steal.' Someone shoplifts, gets caught, asks for forgiveness from God, it's a first offence, so she gets a slap on the wrist and told not to do it again. Two weeks later, she does it again, doesn't get caught. A month later, she goes for a bigger ticketed item, gets caught, gets locked in jail for a month and gains an official criminal record and wonders why. She had God's forgiveness, she even had the law's forgiveness when she first broke the law, so why is she being punished now? It's that sort of mentality that completely blows me away! You did something wrong love, live with it and the consequences!!

If a man has committed adultery, and his wife finds out, the first time she may give him her forgiveness, purely on the fact that she thinks that all it was was sexual intimacy, not emotional intimacy. So he makes an effort to appease his wife, and all is forgiven. Again, it was all so easy to get her forgiveness, and God's grace and mercy, so he goes and finds another escape, but this time it's a longer more meaningful relationship. His wife finds out again, and she starts to evaluate that it may not be his sexual addiction that has led him to this adultery, maybe something is completely wrong in their marriage that was underlying but no one had ever spoken about it. She questions herself, she questions their love, she thinks back to all his awkward behaviour and now understands why he was the way he was. Her trust in him is completely gone, because it wasn't just the sex, it was the lies, it was the emotional attachment to someone else, it was the complete disregard to their wedded vows that he had betrayed. Can she go back and forgive him, even though he vows never to do it again? Can she live in peace with herself and her husband knowing that he may have God's forgiveness, but will he truly have hers?

Why isn't the law on Earth the same as religious law? Is that why so many people are confused about what is right and wrong? Divorce in most states is 'at no-fault,' which means that even if someone did a wrong-doing to their spouse, they are divorced and financially separated with equality.

My argument with the Bible is that you can look at it until you are black and blue and find things in it that suits the argument, or belief you want to continue in your life. There are many things in the Bible that are outdated - the religious expectation that women be fully clothed in public, slavery, even the concept of 'love thou neighbour' has changed from the thoughts of your 'neighbour' being equal in race, financial status, sexual preference and gender to you, to now your 'neighbour' is all of humanity and that different races, religions, gays, lesbians, heterosexuals, children, the elderly, the poor, the wealthy, the educated and non-educated are ALL our neighbours and we should all be treated the same.

I have always been told to treat people the same way I would like to be treated. It is very rare for me to lash out on others for my feelings of inequality in the events or efforts of another upon me. However, those who are devoted to their religion, bar one possible exception, have treated with me with such contempt because of their 'own' wrong-doing, misfortunes or immoral guidance and actions.

I know religion is a very large part of this world, and most God loving people will say that it was mis-guided men who created the wars, used their absolute power to molest children in the Catholic Church and private/Christian boys' schools, and refuse to take responsibility for their own actions. If we were taught at school to believe more in ourselves, know the different between right and wrong  and take responsibility for our own actions, and if we did do something wrong, then we would need to live with that guilt for the remainder of our lives, then there would be less wrong-doings and more right-doings, as the guilt would just eat us all up alive. However Christianity, has given us the freedom to know that no matter what wrong we do, we don't have to hold onto that guilt, as God has forgiven us, and we are free to make the same mistakes over and over again, until the law here on Earth decides to punish us. Christianity doesn't breed strong moral citizens, only weak people who know they always have a back up, as they truly believe that God will never fail them, even if they fail themselves.

Being True to Yourself

I just watched a documentary about Apple and Steve Jobs.

I'm a big Apple fan - I like it's simplicity, it's functionality, it's effortlessness and it's streamlined design. It's iconic, it makes a statement and it's constantly reinventing itself, but staying true to itself.

Steve Jobs was essentially a hippy. He lived simply, he didn't believe in possessions, he in fact wasn't controlled by money... he was a man who believed in himself and how he could change the world. And that he did. He had people working for him who had the same philosophies, but had their own roles in Apple - designer, accountant, marketer, researcher, secretary, who ever they were, Steve employed people who were true to themselves and their common philosophy to change the world.

No doubt, he was proud of his achievements, and when he died, I'm sure he felt that he succeeded in his personal conquest to change the world, which would have allowed him to rest in peace. But his story is a truly inspirational to everyone... be true to yourself and you will succeed.

He had an advertising campaign in the mid 80s when he launched the Apple II. It simply said 'be different.' It highlighted those we all know as being he crazies in this world - Albert Einstein, Martin Luther King, Steve Biko, John Lennon, etc... all those who stood for what they believed in and made a statement about who they were and how they could change the world. They were his visionaries. They were his heroes.

Steve treated his employees as his family. As his true employees treated him. He would call them at 2am in the morning if he had a sudden brainwave for a new idea, he had staff come to his side at home when things were unbearable for him. It was part of his philosophy. It what was true to himself.

And I guess that's what's so humbling about him. He didn't care what people thought of him, he only cared about how he could change the world. And to do that, he did it in a demanding, yet passionate and loving community.

So I guess what I'm saying, is that Steve Jobs is a true role model in how we can be true to ourselves. Don't be bullied by people who preach their views - stick up for your own views. Have your own views! So many people don't have any opinions on certain ideologies, social cultures, religion, politics, their favourite foods, music, sports... they just go along for the ride. But having a view makes you passionate about something, and being passionate is what makes you 'you.'

I had a chat with a lady today about God. She was a born again Christian (self confessed) and told me that they only way you can have peace in your heart is if you give it to Jesus (and God). She was telling me that we need to go to church to have a sense of community, and that we must read and understand the Bible to fully feel the benefit of giving ourselves to God. She tried to convince me by asking me where do I go (where does my soul go) after I die if I don't believe in God? She tried to tell me that my soul goes to God. But for me, I believe that my soul goes to the next body that needs me. My life lessons from this life will benefit a new body... reincarnation at it's best!  But I also questioned her faith in the Bible... saying that if it is written by Jesus and his disciplines 2000 years ago, and the printing press was only invented in the 17th century, then there was a lot of hand-written Bibles with human error in them, that could have transcribed the Bible unintentionally without the true meaning of what Jesus and his disciplines had originally said. She argued that the Bible only talks about love... but that for me is doubtful. There are some harsh realities in the Bible, commandments that essentially some things are unforgivable and crucifiable. But we are allowed to agree to disagree.

For me, I listen to all sides of the argument before forming my opinion. Sometimes I get swayed, because I want to believe in that person and what they stand for, but I know I have to stand up for my own opinions too, and stop being a wallflower. It's building the courage, and we might be considered crazy for making a stand and telling the world (God forbid blogging is a forum for stating your opinion), but once we have the courage, the voice and the vision, we too can change the world... well at least our own world, just by being true to ourselves.