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Religion
I Participate In Sheilaism, No One Religion Defines My Beliefs
I was raised by a Lutheran woman and a Jewish man. It might be obvious how things got a little fuzzy.
27 March 2019
681
Bobbie Hall
Two months after I was born, I was baptized. This was a very joyous moment in both my parents' lives. I mean, it was their first child together and I was being baptized in the church where they were married. The same church they sang 'For Bobbie, For Baby' in during their wedding, and consequently, years later, named me after that song.
As a young girl, my mom brought me to church almost every Sunday. I was baby Jesus in their play at Christmastime, and all the older adults loved pinching my cheeks. I was basically a poster child for a Lutheran child.
When I got old enough I began going to my mom's favorite summer camp: Lutheran Memorial Camp. My first year, it was only a couple of days, but after that, I wanted to go the full week. Camp was a lot of fun. We played games, swam, sang worship songs, took hikes, and even slept outside.
Sleeping outside was definitely my favorite part each and every year. Something about hearing all of nature, no matter how noisy it was in the summer, made me feel content. This is where I began to transition from strongly one religion to... many, I guess.
On some of those nights, we would tell our God stories. From year to year, campers told their story, but I never quite felt the same way about it. They all saw God in people around them: grandparents, friends, strangers.
But I saw my God, whatever that might be, in nature. Nature was where I felt content. I didn't feel connected unless I was with nature. God was still an important part, yes, but the power I felt from nature is what strengthened that passion.
During this time, my Dad converted from Christianity to Judaism. He's never been one that passionate about organized religion, but regardless, he felt that it aligned with his beliefs more. After he converted I began to learn about two religions, both Christianity and Judaism.
Some things in Judaism just made sense to me. The biggest thing to stand out was a lack of belief in hell. I have since discovered that this lack of belief doesn't apply in all cases, but for simplicity's sake, let's pretend it does. Anyway, if God loves all his people, as the only God I want to praise does, it makes no sense to me why anyone would go to hell (except maybe the devil). Jesus died for all peoples' sins, right? So why is hell an option anymore? I don't know, I'm no theological scholar, and I haven't even read the Bible in full, but still, it's something I question.
Anyway, having these two opposing religions from people I looked up to made my stance more blurry. Both seemed kind of right in their own ways.
I didn't know which was more right. Either way, I connected more with nature than I ever connected with words on a page. Those words never meant that much to me. Even as a child, the stories I was told in bible school were just that, stories. I knew they were meant to teach me lessons, but none of them felt real (maybe that was because they were VeggieTales, though).
During my late teens, I began to synthesize all these thoughts. I pulled away from religion and leaned into science. Still, when times got hard, nothing made me feel better than going outside and praying to whoever was listening.
In college, I took a religion course where I learned about this type of religion I had never heard of before called Sheilaism. Essentially, how we were taught is that it takes beliefs from many cultures and religions and puts them all together to create essentially your own personal religion.
This made the most sense to me. I don't know if I believe in God as many see him, but I do have faith in some higher power, whether that be scientific or otherwise. Also, I still feel more content when I am in nature and talk to some unknown and invisible being. But am I religious? Not really. I'm spiritual, though. I believe we all deserve second chances and I think if our God is who we say he is, that he would believe that as well.
Participating in Sheilaism means I don't quite know where I stand in religious situations. I do know a few things, though. Humans are one of the most beautiful creations this universe has made, only falling short of nature. In nature, I truly find God, whoever he is.
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Christianity
We Were Created To Reveal God's Garden-Paradise
There is more to our bodies "being a temple" than guilt-tripping us over sin.
30 January 2019
96
Over the past week, I've been slowly studying the opening chapter to the Hebrew Bible: Genesis 1. It's a famous story, where a powerful, spiritual being transforms a chaotic wasteland into a garden-like paradise where life can flourish. The being (who possesses the title "God") appoints these creatures He creates called humans to partner with Him, to spread across the whole earth with the hope of transforming all creation into this same, garden-like paradise.
Each morning, I wake up early, and then I fall back asleep because I love my bed. But when I wake up for the second time, I try to have a time of prayer. Part of that time is spent reading and studying Scripture (The Bible). I believe that through these words written by humans, God is guiding and communicating themes and ideas about who He is and how we as His people should live. In a sense, I'm trying to relearn and remember how He wants me to build the garden: how can I live in a way that brings order to the chaos around me, that brings life and light into dark situations.
Today, I meditated on a single verse. It comes at the end of this myth from the beginning of Genesis:
"Thus the heavens and the earth were completed
in all their vast array" — (Genesis 2:1, NIV).
Two deeper observations made this verse really stand out to me.
One, this verse completely contrasts with the opening image of the poem, where God's personal Presence (His Spirit) is hovering above a wild wasteland and chaotic waters. It is after God's Spirit moves and brings order that, even in their vast array, there is a completion, stability to the skies and land.
Two, this poem uses a seven-day structure to explore God's character as He orders and fills creation. Seven days was the duration of temple inauguration ceremonies in ancient Israel (the nation of God's chosen people, from which the Scriptures originate from). It makes sense to me that Genesis 1 is saying something incredible about God's intention for creation:
Genesis 1 is about God building a temple, the garden-like paradise, where he has rebuilt and cleansed the space to reflect His ideal for creation.
Now, we're often taught that our bodies are temples. That sounds weird. Essentially, God's Spirit (His personal Presence) fills a temple. It fills the giant garden-paradise temple of Genesis 1, it fills the makeshift tent-temple when God's people are in the wilderness, and it fills the actual temple God's people make in the capital of their new homeland. Because God's Spirit now rests on and fills all of His people: God's personal Presence resides in each of us, like how it would reside in a temple.
So that's cool, we're like a walking, talking temple...but for me, that brings me back to Genesis 1, where I see an inspiring, motivating aspect of God's temples:
God's personal Presence, His Spirit, cleanses the spaces of where He resides. That now includes us!
I think about areas of my life, where the "wasteland" makes itself known, especially my critical-ness. I look at conversations and exchanges with others, and I realize how much I am not bringing life into chaotic circumstances, or light into darkness.
But that's the desire of our God, who is personally cleaning and rebuilding each of us: to heal these broken areas, to allow others to experience a glimpse of the "garden-like paradise," which we as Christians believe the earth will fully be made into when Jesus returns.
For now, I encourage you to journal and reflect on what areas the cosmically-invested, incredible God of the universe wants to delicately and personally clean and restore in your own life. How can you focus on giving the others the chance to experience God's healing power through your actions and words to them?
I think the words God Himself, speaking through the prophet Ezekiel, give us the best poetic image of this:
33 "'This is what the Sovereign Lord says: On the day I cleanse you from all your sins, I will resettle your towns, and the ruins will be rebuilt. 34 The desolate land will be cultivated instead of lying desolate in the sight of all who pass through it. 35 They will say, "This land that was laid waste has become like the garden of Eden; the cities that were lying in ruins, desolate and destroyed, are now fortified and inhabited." 36 Then the nations around you that remain will know that I the Lord have rebuilt what was destroyed and have replanted what was desolate. I the Lord have spoken, and I will do it'" — (Ezekiel 36:33-36, NIV).
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Lifestyle
Anti-Semitism In The USA Is On The Rise—And The Tree of Life Shooting Won't Be The End Of It
Even in an an age where "lone wolf shooters" are becoming the norm, we are doing absolutely nothing to stop them.
07 November 2018
133
On October 27, 2018, Robert Bowers open fired during a child's bris in a Jewish synagogue. Four and two worshipers were injured, while 11 people were killed. The eight-year-old infant was safe, but he will never know his almost-100-year-old grandmother that was murdered during his naming ceremony. His hatred—or perhaps the sense of superiority—was so intense that he went in there, knowing that a bris was occurring, with the intent to kill everyone involved. If given the opportunity, he probably would have killed that little eight-day-old baby, too.
Most people won't go to these lengths though, and this poses a problem: we don't see it, so we don't think it's a problem. We never see people walking around with swastika tattoos, we assume everyone saying "lizard people" are trolls, and anyone who claims that the Jewish are "greedy" or "money-loving" must just be ignorant. It's something that looks harmless, but that's far from the truth.
In a report released by the ADL, four things stood out:
1. Between the years of 2016 and 2017, the number of self-proclaimed neo-Nazi groups rose from 99 to 121;
2. There was a 258% increase in anti-semitic propaganda on college campuses;
3. Twice as many hate crimes were committed by self-proclaimed white nationalists; and
4. Jewish journalists are coming under attack on social media platforms, especially Twitter.
One journalist in the report, referred to simply as "Josh," wrote almost solely on libertarianism, white nationalism, and Donald Trump. After the elections, he started receiving Photoshopped images of his face in gas chambers and threats of revealing his address so that white nationalists and neo-Nazis could find him.
But we don't see it so it's clearly not happening, right? And even if it is, Bowers was clearly just a deranged lone wolf; there's no way those people on the internet are anywhere near as dangerous as he was at the Tree of Life Jewish Synagogue.
That's where you're wrong. We sit in complacency and watch these numbers rise, listen to our crazy uncle as he rambles on about "those greedy Jews, "shake your head as people wonder if the Tree of Life shooting was karma for the war in the Middle East, laugh as people spew conspiracy theories about wealthy Jewish families and how "the Jews rule the world"... until another Bowers comes along.
And then we label him as another lone wolf with thoughts only rare, deranged extremists have. We pretend as if our crazy uncle doesn't harbor ill will towards people just because of their religion, and we pretend our best friend is just quirky rather than paranoid. It's a vicious cycle, and there are only two solutions.
We can either fight back against these views or find ourselves guilty by complicity.
Clearly sitting back hasn't done much, with neo-Nazi and anti-semitic groups growing stronger by the day, but no one seems to care. No one seems to want to step up and say "we have a problem." No one wants to acknowledge that these "lone wolves" are becoming the norm.
But what would I know? I'm just a "filthy Jewess" after all.
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Religion
Your Thoughts And Prayers Are Not Helping, They Are Attacking People
To me, thoughts and prayers are a deadly curse.
11 June 2018
156
Simon Migaj
Before I set out to write this article, I found another that spoke of this issue. However, my reason for getting upset over this seemingly harmless, if not helpful, phrase is not one of the reasons listed in the other article.
Before I begin, let's talk about my religious background for a moment. I was born and raised as a conservative Jew. I even had a brief stint where I became more religious. The fact that I wear a hat almost everywhere now is a testament to that part of my life. Things seem pretty normal so far right? Will stick with me a bit longer.
The more I read the Torah, the less comforting it became to me. I began wondering whether God was lying when it said it was good. After all, my experience with kindhearted people has been that they are usually if not always tricking you. Why should God, the being that made us be any different? What really got me was the idea of God being all-powerful alongside the philosophical dilemma of the problem of evil.
However, the final straw for me was the election of Donald Trump. I noticed how striking it was that the more religious an individual was, the more likely they voted for this man. And as I looked around at what types were supporting him, that was what finally ended my faith in God.
I no longer see God as this all loving being. Instead, he or it is a creature of hate that sees us as either food or playthings. I do not feel safe praying to such a being. Instead of knowing God, it makes me look over my shoulder wondering if that dark shadow is following me.
The problem of evil is very easily solved when one becomes a Maltheist. For those unfamiliar with this religious belief, it is the sum of what I just described. The idea that God is out to get us. That this powerful cosmic entity can torment whenever it wants is how I see it. The reason that bad things happen to good people is that God itself is evil. The more I looked into this idea, the fact that Christians, Jews, and Muslims pray to the same God and yet cannot get along makes a lot more sense. A Maltheist would say that the Torah, Quran, and Christian Bible are contradictory with the express purpose of causing chaos and destruction.
Now that what I believe is out in the open, I want to bring up the other article again. Written from the point of view of an atheist, the other article talks about how some people don't believe in God at all. Thus the point of that piece was pointing out that to a person who does not have religious faith, the gesture is empty.
However, to a Maltheist such as myself, thoughts and prayers take on a much darker meaning. While the article written by the Atheist tries its best to be all-encompassing, it fails to address the fact that there are three not two categories of people. The arguments that there are many religions that have many Gods is valid. Equally viable is the argument that Atheists and their like do not worship God at all. However, the third group includes those who scorn God.
To put it in another perspective, imagine you go up to a Christian, and tell them that you hope misfortune comes to them soon. That you hope they are harmed soon. That your thoughts will be focused on it. Before you get on my case and accuse me of wanting these things, let me clarify that this is an analogy. Telling a Maltheist such as myself that we have "thoughts and prayers" is like telling us to be cursed. When one views God as the ultimate enemy such as how I do, it is not a positive thing to say.
All in all this whole thoughts and prayers deal disturbs me. Not only on the gun issues but on many things. To me, prayer is synonymous with a drug addiction. To me, religion is a deadly brew that is capable of great tragedy. Yes, I understand that there are genuinely good people who practice every faith. But those people are not the God they pray to. My beef is with that entity these people pray to.
I do not find comfort in prayer. I do not feel safe around fundamentalists and see no peace by following those doctrines. This idea seems to be so foreign to so many people in the world. According to the average person, there are two types of humans in relation to religion. Little detail is paid to the third. Those who believe in God but refuse to pray to it.
There are many theories about the truths of the universe. Equal numbers of debate involve what happens after death. People are able to believe in a wonderful heaven in the afterlife, or a vast and wonderful universe. Why is it not also possible that the universe is cold and uncaring. The human race exists to be nothing more than food.
I ask those who seek to be more inclusive: Please think before you toss thoughts and prayers. One cannot assume the religious beliefs or lack thereof. I ask those reading this to realize that there are people who pray to God. That there are also those who do not believe in God. Lastly, I want to ensure that those reading this realize that there are those like myself, who spit in God's face.
Those thoughts and prayers do less than help, in my case. They are an actual attack on me. Please keep them to yourself.
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