Anyone who knows me well, knows that religion is not my thing. I was raised by two athiests. My parents are very open and I'm sure if at 15 I'd chosen to convert to Judaism, Catholicism, or even Jehova's Witness, they would have been very accepting.
However, I personally do not believe in God. I'm very spiritual I think, despite my athiesm, and that is what I think is important. I hope to make life better for other people, for the earth, and for myself. I suppose my religion is kindness. That's all I try to do. I do not need a God to help me to do the right thing. And I find that satisfactory for myself.
Some people, though, need God, want God, and hope for God. This does not bother me. I do not think that God is 'evil' or 'stupid' as many of my athiestic cohorts might be found to say. If you believe in God, that's great. Good for you, and I hope you are right because heaven seems like a pretty cool reward for being nice.
Even though I am athiest, I attend church pretty regularly. My mother gets paid to sing with Sacred Heart Church, and whenever I'm able I go along with her. My mother just left South Congregational Church in Hartford due to the anti-gay, anti-music, anti-women minister. What surprised both my mom and myself about the Catholic church was it's liberal outlook. Father DeVito, the priest at Sacred Heart gave a sermon this morning, at the Midnight mass about Fear. It was a facinating sermon and very moving at times. He encouraged the congregation to "Fear Not" and spoke of the fear we have of our leaders, our friends, our coworkers, and of our lives. He said that fear and anxiety were not good and that Jesus told his people to "be not afraid."
I think this message is an important one. Whether you are religious or not the value cannot be lost. In today's world we are constantly being made afraid. Is someone spying on me? Is that man a terrorist? Will I make it home safely in traffic? Will global warming destroy the Earth? Was 9/11 the work of our government? Can my child walk to school safely? Is that man wearing the trenchcoat a robber? a rapist? a murderer? ...
We are an afraid people. We fear each working day and each night as we lie in bed. Our world is globalizing as we speak. I can pick up my cell phone right now and dial a friend in Korea. I can get on my I-Pod (if I had one...) and listen to any of a thousand songs at the click of a button. With this comes the expansion of an entire network of people. Whereas my great-grandparents had the next door neighbors to worry about, my generation fears people in other time zones, in other countries, and on the other side of the world.
Father DeVito was right. We need to be not afraid. We need to not fear each other or ourselves. As Regina says, "'Cause people are just people like you." We need to bond together and become a stronger, happier world.
Merry Christmas and Happy Holidays to all!
