Posted by Raphael on Jul 31, 2012 in Personal, Rants | 0 comments

If there’s anything I’ve learned in all my years…people make their own decisions about both religion and politics that NEVER changes. (Hmm…maybe I should alter that since I made a major religious shift in thinking at some point in my life)  I think it’s more accurate to say it RARELY changes. You can argue all day with people about these subjects and you’ll very rarely hear “You know what?  You’re right. From now on I’m going to believe the same way you do”

The Oatmeal recently put up a comic strip I just love, “How to Suck at your Religion”.  No I’m not here to push it on anybody…mainly wanted to bookmark this for myself because in one simple strip he managed to express just about every thought that has crossed my mind at some point or another. In the end, the point is there…I support your belief if it makes you live happier.

For me, I’m still making my own personal journey through my belief system. My own convictions were shaped early on by my mother but severely ramped up once I hit high-school (did you know that David Koresh personally spoke to my class once?). I could have been a cultist. It was a very strong influence where I was told to exclude all other religions. I was once told my own father wouldn’t make it to Heaven because he wasn’t religious.

And then I discovered AC/DC….

No, seriously, it wasn’t until I hit an upper level English course where we were told to read Siddharta where my eyes were opened. Here was a concept that was new to me…pursue knowledge, learning and selflessness. Really?!  You mean I can ask questions of things that don’t make sense to me and not feel guilty about it? How are these not concepts adopted into the religions I was brought up with?

Ever since then this is the way I’ve been going through life. I keep an open mind, I listen to everyone’s opinions, and I make my own judgement call based off of the best wisdom I have at the moment. It just feels right for me to live this way. I figure, if there really IS a God, then I would imagine he/she would hold nothing against me if I used the mind he gave me to begin with?

While on the topic — don’t you find it funny after all these years, someone like Ozzy Osbourne is known as a good husband and family man, Alice Cooper is a golfer, meanwhile someone like that Koresh guy is very likely the one burning in Hell. I want to go back to all my old highschool teachers and say “SEEEE!?”