Gentle Drizzle

A child of Abraham search for meaning and guidance and necessity of religion in our lives in the Twenty-First Century. For years now I have been troubled by all I have seen and heard and have been taught in the name of religion. As I begin to write this blog, I can truthfully state I know not the direction it will take. I have many questions and observations and no answers. I believe by asking the questions the answers will come like gentle drizzle to spring flowers.

It seems to me if there is a bad taste in your mouth you spit it out and don’t constantly swallow it back. I have been struggling with what role God should have in my life. What role God takes in the meaning of the three Religions of Abraham. I have one basic question for Judaism, Catholics and Moslem. From the one many more will emerge. For I wonder what GOD is? What kind of God do I believe in? For there is one thing I am absolutely sure of. That there is a God and only one God and that we are all his children. And what resonates in my soul is that GOD loves all his children equally. My dilemma is how do I resolve that TRUTH with my questions of the following religions?

I look at Judaism and wonder at a Parent who would tell a child you are my favorite and I love you more than all my other children. Maybe the Parents words were misunderstood and made a covenant with all his children and not just one. That would make more sense. A loving guiding parent to help children grow and become loving caring stewards to life and the environment. But man true to our nature heard what we wanted to hear and claimed soul ownership excluding our brothers and sisters. Because surly every man and every woman is a child of God. And my God loves all of his children. As I love all of my children and would never set one against the other for any reason. So my question to Judaism is as a parent to your children would you choose one and set apart from the others and shower the chosen one with gifts and love and land to the exclusion of your others? Is that the actions of a loving and prudent parent? No a better question, Would you have wanted you parents to choose your sibling to give all and exclude you? If your answer is no, then why choose a religion that has a God that has done that?

For Catholics, there are so many. But where I find Catholics really went astray is when it stopped living the message and started worshipping the man. And this started with Constantine. So my question is; Jesus a man of peace who taught us to turn the other cheek and for he who is without sin throw the first stone’ why on earth would he the night before a battle put a sign in the sky and choose one man over another? It seems to me, in more keeping with His message that he preached the sign would have been to put down your arms and make peace with your enemies. If your parents told you time and again not to fight but then all of a sudden tells your brother he is permitted to beat the crap out of you, what would you think? But once again man seizes for himself something meant for all.

For Muslims, how can clerics of your religion and followers of your religion believe that God wants and demands that you take from others his greatest gift? Life. There is no god but God. And we are ALL his children. If my child misbehaves I don’t tell my other child kill him and I will reward you. I hope that he learns from his life lessons and love him just as much if he doesn’t do what I wish as I do the child that listens to me. I know that the child who listens has his reward in a more content life.

Shouldn’t religion strive to help me become closer to GOD? Doesn’t God want me to love one another as I would love GOD? Are religions standing in the way because they claim exclusivity in manner in which to praise God? What does God wish for me? How can I show my love to God? These and many, many other questions I will be struggling with in the days to come.