Questioning Religion
I recently came across news that a 1,700 year old Egyptian coptic text aka the lost "Gospel of Judas," was made public last week. It portrays Judas not as a betrayer, but as Jesus' confidant whom Jesus secretly shares spiritual truths with, and not the other apostles. I'd be interested to read these writings. There's a lot of undiscovered historical documents out there.
Lately, I've been interested in reading up on Buddhism. My dad and I had a conversation a couple of weeks ago about Christianity and faith. I never get to have deep conversations with my dad mostly due to the language barrier, but we actually had a good discussion. My dad has lately been falling away from Christianity after some renewed interest a year ago. He told me the thing he doesn't like about Christainity is that there is only one way. He believes it's a very strict religion. He thinks that if you're a good person and seek to help others when you can, good karma will come your way and you will have lived a successful life. He went on to tell me the story about Buddha. My dad feels more close to Buddhism and its teachings than he does with Christianity. I can see how that is. Christianity and Buddhism share quite a few similarities, but the difference and most controversial is Jesus.
I'm looking forward to seeing The Da Vinci Code. I'm sure there will be some protests at movie theatres from Christians like there are at theatres showing Jesus Christ Superstar. But I believe you have to challenge the mind and question the things that make you uncomfortable because it only makes you sharper.
There is so much I want to learn in life. I'd love to read up on everything. I think that's why I believe it may not be a good thing for Christians to shelter themselves from the bad things. I've learned a lot of good themes from R-rated films and have embraced some honest truths from the underground hip hop I listen to. Some Christians believe the bad will influence them, and maybe it will and maybe it won't. In my mind, it'd be a measure of how strongly you believe.
The more I learn, the more reasons I'm given as to why Jesus is important to me. Happy Easter!
Peace.
Lately, I've been interested in reading up on Buddhism. My dad and I had a conversation a couple of weeks ago about Christianity and faith. I never get to have deep conversations with my dad mostly due to the language barrier, but we actually had a good discussion. My dad has lately been falling away from Christianity after some renewed interest a year ago. He told me the thing he doesn't like about Christainity is that there is only one way. He believes it's a very strict religion. He thinks that if you're a good person and seek to help others when you can, good karma will come your way and you will have lived a successful life. He went on to tell me the story about Buddha. My dad feels more close to Buddhism and its teachings than he does with Christianity. I can see how that is. Christianity and Buddhism share quite a few similarities, but the difference and most controversial is Jesus.
I'm looking forward to seeing The Da Vinci Code. I'm sure there will be some protests at movie theatres from Christians like there are at theatres showing Jesus Christ Superstar. But I believe you have to challenge the mind and question the things that make you uncomfortable because it only makes you sharper.
There is so much I want to learn in life. I'd love to read up on everything. I think that's why I believe it may not be a good thing for Christians to shelter themselves from the bad things. I've learned a lot of good themes from R-rated films and have embraced some honest truths from the underground hip hop I listen to. Some Christians believe the bad will influence them, and maybe it will and maybe it won't. In my mind, it'd be a measure of how strongly you believe.
The more I learn, the more reasons I'm given as to why Jesus is important to me. Happy Easter!
Peace.
posted by Arnold at 12:47 AM
1 Comments:
I've been a Christian sine I was 8 and grew up in the church...so I completely agree with challening the mind. Sheltering can result in some pretty narrow-minded..extremist Christians who end up just judging others all the time (I think I am guilty of this for a 2 year time period.)
Hmm... so much to think about..
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