By Allen Van Hoosier, Recovering BaptistIn the Baptist Church I grew up in, there were small sub-factions that each held different "takes" on what it meant to be Baptist. These factions ranged from the left-winged Baptists (inasmuch as a keft-winged Baptist could be and still be considered a Baptist) to the extreme right-winged baptist collective which were the life-longers and nuvo-baptiste.' Theg latter were usually recovering drunks, drug addicts, people for whatever reason had lost hope of that they were able to do on their own, and thence decided to give Jesus Christ a shot in the vein. But the most extrmemist of the nuvo's were like Gold to the Baptist congregation: The Catholic convert.
The "Baptist-olic" as I call them, and recall from memory were the most extreme of the Nuvo-Baptist. You see- the Baptist-olic had spent their entire life giving God a chance, but paid no attention to God - sort of like calling God up every morning but leaving the phone off the hook. They hear of another denomonation, readilly, the Baptists, and learn that not only can you call God on the phone, you
can talk to him ad-nauseum. Notwithstanding, life-longer, recent convert or Nuvo-Baptiste' , it is indeed the "Baptiste'" that counts.All of my life while listening to the sermons, attending the prayer meetings, the special events, the dinners, the business meetings, the church presentations, I learned a few things along the way. All infrastructures inevitably implode from within. This is a law of nature.
And ever 39 years of being alive, and 25 of those searching to find a relationship with God that I can understand, I now am certain that I walk a thin line. I work everyday giving unto Caesars what is indeed his, but what greater good? None really. I'm an engineer for a finance company. But there are those among us lowly humans who DO get it and they truly serve God, as in the biblical sense. And those are Buddhist Monks, Hindu Priests, and the Jesuits.
From the minute they awaken till the time they go to bed, all they do in service to him. And when it was when I had gotten to a point in my life where I had personally known one of each of these people, I then realized my relationship with God was a false one because it was a social function, it needed the building, it needed the committees to be on, it needed to decide who was going to read scripture and devotionals on Sunday, it needed to find Sunday school teachers. My relationship was more about "bringing a covered dish" than it was clothing my neighbor when he was sick, lifting him up when he we was down.
The Jesuit, the Sikh, and the monk got it, they loved it and the lived it every second of their life. They didn't live a double life where it was career first, family second, and then God on Sundays. And that it something that will plague me forever.I get up and go to
work. I do not go to church on sunday, in the same manner that I do not go to a Temple on Saturday, or a Mosque on Saturday. I am neither Baptist, nor Catholic, Jew or Gentile. But I do have a relationship with God. I long to make it closer. But we have careers that make it difficult. No man can serve two masters: for either he will hate the one, and love the other; or else he will hold to the one, and despise the other.Ye cannot serve God and mammon.Mammon being the career, the auditing department, the Sunday school committee, the deacon committee, etc, etc, etc,.The Jesuit, the monk, and the sikh do not suffer from this err in judgment. Their service the great architect is pure and true, without confusion at it's base. I am cursed to long my entire life hoping that my interpretation is correct, that it is ok to build career, belongings, income level, 401k's rather than devote my life to feeding the poor, educating the illiterate, giving medicine to the ill. Only then I would lay my head down each night with a heart and conscience of purity.
For now - I cannot.
- All
en Van Hoosier
I'll tell you the easy way to reconcile your relationship with God. Sit back for an hour or two and think of one single thing that leads you to believe that there is actually some higher power pulling the strings, taking names, and keeping count. If you boil it down to those simple factors, you'll realize there is no God, and that if you can't be good and do good to others for no reason other than the fact that it's the right thing to do, or more to the point, the way you want to live your life, then wander around with the rest of the sheep.
ReplyDeleteGod was a myth when Zeus ruled, just like God is a myth now. Be good for goodness sake, not because God, the Boogie Man or the Jewish Zombie wishes it.
And when you get busy worrying about whether it's OK to serve Mammon rather than God, think back to the last time that God actually asked you to do a damned thing. If you can come up with something, ask yourself this question: "Did God ask me, or was it some Earthly servant of God (i.e. another human being)?" If it was God, let me know because I'm obviously wrong. If it was a voice in your head, see a psychiatrist before you run off to Church.
Do good - firstly for your family, then for your friends, then for everybody else (if time permits) - but don't wallow in doubt about whether some divine power approves.
I don't think that Buddhist monks, Hindu priests, or Jesuit brothers have the market cornered on an intense "plug-in" with God. I think you would be surprised to find that there are many everyday people that have a fulfilling and personal relationship with their Creator.
ReplyDeleteJay V.
I think you are right that some denominations and religions feel that they have the only "approved" pathway to the divine. I, on the other hand, like to think that Brahman, Yahweh, Jehovah, Allah, El Shaddai, the One, the Great I AM, the Spirit in the Sky, the World Soul - whatever you want to call Him/Her - is always receptive to people searching and questioning the meaning of it all.
It gives me great comfort to believe that one can experience the Creator in a myriad of ways - that no one way is the correct way - that there are many paths to salvation - and that the Supreme Being, with a great big smile on His/Her face, is right there saying, "Hey! How are you little buddy? You know, you are always welcome at My house - no matter what you wearing or what you own. The only thing I ask is that you treat your neighbor like you want to be treated."