Friday, October 19, 2018

A Few Thoughts on Religion


1.        Religion is not about getting but about giving.  Ask not what you can get from religion, ask what you can give to care for the neighbor and make the world a bit more just.  

2.       If you want to know what someone believes, do not listen to the mouth, follow the feet.

3.       Keep trying to change what is wrong even when you fail, or what is wrong will ultimately change you. That means vote, vote, vote!

4.       Faith is trusting without knowing for sure.  Theology is talking about God without knowing what you’re talking about.  A true theologian is haunted by the silence of God and knows that she or he does not know.

5.       Whether we like it or not, there are different religions and different ways to be religious.  Some ways of being religious are helpful and wise, while others are not.  The key lies in the communal argument not the conclusion.

6.       In religion, the question is more important than the answer to the question.

7.       Arguing about which religion is the best, the truest, the right one, is like arguing about which star is brightest in the dark sky.  They each have their moments, some constructive, some destructive, some explosive, some implosive.

8.       Religion is a mysterious romantic adventure.  It gives people hope, keeps them sane, trains them to act well.  But it can make other people crazy, mad or insane.  Pascal was right, “Men never do evil so completely and cheerfully as when they do it from religious conviction.”

9.       Facing the limits of religious truth takes wisdom and courage.  The serious religious person searches for truth and is skeptical about any unsupported assertions. 

10.   Do not be too religious.  Religions offer us but a glimpse into the mystery.  At the same time, do not dismiss the power and force of religious truth.  Religions were invented by human beings; what God has to do with each religion, only God knows.

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