For some of us, this part might get a little boring or maybe a little disturbing. I thought it best to cover this before getting into our visit to the Rastas' compound so we'd agree from the outset that one's view of any belief system will be influenced by those beliefs which one has or has not adopted for one's self. And, it can't hurt to share some of what has shaped my beliefs. First of all, know that for most of my life the word "believe" is one which I've avoided using. It means accepting or adopting as fact, stuff that you know dag well isn't. And to many practitioners of various faiths it means a pretense of piousness motivated by a miriad of personal, professional or even political goals. I gotta admit though, finding a spouse, a good-paying job or a bunch of future constituents as a result of that sort of pretense could be seen as the positive side of believing the unbelievable.
I grew up in the care of a mom and a step-father that loved me and wanted me to have the best. They regularly attended one of the protestant churches in our town (twice a year) and delivered my siblings and I to Sunday school just about every Sunday. Most of what I remember about that church experience is my DISbelief. The Scripture seemed mostly inscrutable and when understood, mostly unbelievable. (if not wholly): God tells 'em not to look back. Some do. He turns 'em into salt and probably (considering the price of salt in those days)made those who had obeyed God, quite wealthy, still in human form and able to spend! Hallelujah! How 'bout the guy of "burning bush" fame? Some time before that incident, he had surfaced as the leader of his people on their trip out of Egypt. Due perhaps to a planning problem of some sort he found himself looking out on the Red Sea, accompanied by some thousands of refugees, all without so much as a canoe, a surfboard or an inner tube and they all wanted to be on the Mount Sinai side of the sea. (Check a map of that area and you wonder why they didn't just walk a few score of leagues to the north and essentially walk around the sea).Too Easy. Not consistent with the Moses Legend. As we well know this is no ordinary man. He wants to cross the sea where they are. And why not? He's able to face east across the sea, put the palms of his hands together,arms extended straight out. He slowly pulls his palms apart and, as he does so there appears a fissure atop the sea a fathom deep and all the way across it. And that's just the very beginning....I'm sure you are familiar with the rest of it. An interesting side note: in a work of non-fiction by Professor Immanuel Velikovski, titled "Worlds in Collision" the author posits his theory involving a near-collision of the earth with another heavenly body and how this event might have caused the Red Sea to part not un-like the events described in the Scripture and, then some, according to Velikovski
But, I digress. The point here is that not being able to feel comfortable with the protestants I was with, I stopped attending their church completely and began to visit other churches infrequently ( 2 or 3 times a year). Probably looking, at least early-on, for something comfortable. But before my visiting churches became visiting churches, synagogues and mosques I abandoned the idea of actually finding the faith that fit me. It really had not been a serious issue for me anyway. I remember at that time the thing that delighted me was that my parents had not a word (pro or con) to say about the end of my church attendance. I really didn't expect a problem but you never know. At the time of my first meeting with the Rastas I had no religion but a still-strong fascination with religion and those individuals who are the worshipping kind. I've never said no to a missionary whether Mormon, Jehova's Witness or Children of God to name a few and I truly cannot remember a single person among them all that I didn't like. A lot.
Now, the Supreme Being thing: It's just that all the technologies that our scientists have had at their disposal in the last couple hundred years have allowed them to reveal so much of the heavens, inner space and outer space, that it's easy to "see" no supreme being in any of it. Everything really is everything and nothing exists without everything else.
One evening some years ago a visiting missionary was telling me how the highest officer of her church (Not the Pope but the equivalent in her church)
has exclusive access to a room in which he (and all of his predecessors) has (and have had) conversations with God Himself. I had previously heard about this room from another missionary and later thought,"Shees' I shoulda asked that guy if he knew any of the details of some recent conversations between the Highest Priest and the Heavenly Host. Given a second chance though, I did ask.
"Well",she said "I don't remember the exact instructions but it had to do with changes He wanted made to the Choir's costumes".
I know. With this Guy, expect Micro Management.
end of Me and religion
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