I used to be a Roman Catholic. I was all in. Alter Boy, Columbian Squire, Catholic Youth Organization…all that stuff. Then one day, it occurred to me that my real belief in God, had next to nothing to do with the construct of organized religion. As I grew and read about religion, I grew more and more into a spiritualist. Believing in the same god, but without all the historical baggage that organized religion brings with it.
I have nothing against those who express their faith by worshiping in a church or temple. I just do my worshiping in a different way.
Over the centuries, religion and its predatory nature and need to grow have been responsible for more death than all the great political wars combined. I had trouble reconciling that with my notion of faith and my idea of God.
Religion’s Game
You can read the Holy Bible
Till the pages all feel the same
You can try but you will never
Understand religion’s game
You can read about the life of Jesus
But you will never know
The fear he caused when his preaching
Played havoc with the status quo
You can celebrate all the high holidays
Take communion from your holy priest
And somehow feel protected
From the wrath of the unholy beast
There are many interpretations
Of the holy word of the Lord
But the reality dwells in the ancient land
Of religion’s marauding hoards
So many lives lost in the name of God
So much suffering and so much pain
You can try but you will never understand
Religion’s game.
They go forward with the sacred idols
Carved into their shields
They targeted the unbelievers
And those who would not yield
They murdered in the name of God
And his own son’s sacrifice
And over time they have constructed
A world of fire and ice
And yet every Sunday morning
The faithful sit and pray
The God they love can do no wrong
But their faith in is shades of grey
And what is to become of our souls
When our body gives up its claim?
Or will we be forever bound to play
Religion’s game?
I do not know the answers
But I do believe one thing
That we are all connected
Through a powerful energy ring
If this was the creation of a God
Then I worship In his name
But know my belief is a far far cry
From today’s religion’s game.
Organized religion is just a business like everything else. If you read The Confessor, a novel by Daniel Silva, you will see just how much of a dirty business the Catholic churcf is. I’m sure that this is not unusual in this business segment. I can relate to the Ricky Van Shelton line.
Another book: “God A Human History” by Reza Aslan. Simillar, but far broader than the Catholic church.
Wow, Jim – this is so powerful and says where my head has been for a long time. I particularly like this:
I do not know the answers
But I do believe one thing
That we are all connected
Through a powerful energy ring
If this was the creation of a God
Then I worship In his name
But know my belief is a far far cry
From today’s religion’s game.
As I began my questioning process several years ago I discovered Ricky Van Shelton’s “Talking to God” –
You may not find me every Sunday sitting on the front row pew
There are other ways of praying, I believe we still get through
The quiet of the backwoods with a boy and a fishing rod,
That’s just my way of talking to God
Today, what is being claimed as truth (aka religion) seems to me far more exclusionary than caring. And that just seems wrong on so many levels.