Warning: This post may offend some people. I do not write it with that intent nor do I write it hoping to cause any type of frustration, disagreement, or upset; this is truly nothing more than a writer's musings. Please take it as such and if this upsets you, I am truly sorry.
This post is about religion. But not about my beliefs. More this is about the STORY of religion.
What exactly do I mean by that you may be asking now. I am not here to debate who is right or who is wrong. I am not here to ask you to believe anything other than that which you already do. But I am here to question what part of the STORY drew you in?
After all, let's think for a moment. Whether you are Jewish (one of the oldest still practiced religions on Earth) or perhaps Mormon (one of the more recent belief systems), or anything conceivable in between, none of us have lived the creation of any of our religions. To us they are all stories. Some of them are simple, some of them are infinitely complex, but they are all stories that caused us to believe in something. I'm not sure about you, but when a story causes you to believe, I think that is the most powerful story of all.
We read our novels, our works of fiction that we so carefully treasure and some of the best cause us to believe. Some make us believe in love, some cause us to believe in hope. There are stories to make us believe in every human emotion we could possibly imagine. Those are powerful and amazing works of art.
But then we have stories that make us believe not just in emotion, but in salvation. Stories that direct our life. Stories that push and pull us along every step of our waking path. What do those stories have that others don't?
Some people are raised with a specific set of beliefs. Some fall into their beliefs simply because it feels "right". Some are persuaded by other believers. Some believe because they have nothing else left. There are so many reasons for people to believe the things they believe. It's intriguing. It's fascinating. It's incredible.
To my readers: I don't ask to know your religion. I don't ask to know what you believe. I don't even necessarily ask how you came to believe it. You can share if you'd like, but this is not what I ask.
What I DO ask is what about your religion's story draws you in? Look at the story and nothing more. What about the Torah sings to your heart? What about the Bible or the Koran or the Tao Te Ching or any other religious text fills your soul with absolute belief?
Don't think about what you've been told. Don't think about how you were raised. Don't think about what your minister or preacher has said. Don't think about what you believe.
Think about what the STORY says to you. The story and nothing more.
Why does the STORY tell you to believe?
Yours Truly,
Mrs. C
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Though religion is a touchy subject, I love how you were still able to use it in a way that was respectful and true.
ReplyDeleteI, personally, don't believe in a god of any sort. I believe in science. What I can see, and feel, and be proven to me. To me the Bible and any other religious text is just another fiction story. At the end of the day it's me that I believe in...
But that doesn't mean that I think religion is bad. Because I don't. Faith is an amazing thing. If believing in what ever god you believe in gets you through today. Or makes you happier. Makes your life more fulfilling then I encourage that. The only things I don't like about religion are having it forced upon me/being told I'm a bad person for not believing. And killing in the name of religion. People should be more accepting of all religions I think.
I realize now that I sorta just ranted so I apologize. But as far as the question... The story(s) are just make believe. Stories told a long time ago that somehow drew people in. And somewhere the truth got lost. If this truth will ever be discovered, who knows. (oops ranting again!)
But lovely post :)
What about The Story draws me in? The promise that I can become something that would be impossible in my own strength. I also marvel at the fact that I can open my Bible and find something that applies to almost any situation I could find myself in.
ReplyDeleteIt's also the ultimate love story, though. It transcends time, has its tragedy, and shows you every facet of humanity, then ends in triumph!
This is a brilliant post. I know and have met many people who are fervent believers. They have studied the text of their religion, read as much as they can on it, attended lectures and preached it to everyone. They are as passionate about their religion as book lovers are about their books.
ReplyDeleteI don't fully appreciate religion or know enough about it, but at times I have drawn comfort from it and that is another parallel to literature.
I like that you have made the link between readers believing in love and other things from what they read. Poetry is especially powerful in that way.
Words are an extremely powerful tool and I think that plays a large part in making believers. There is a special relationship between a writer and a reader, that bond which we as writers try to recreate when we put pen to paper or in this case, fingers to the keyboard.