RELIGION HAS NO NAME

I DONT MEAN TO TEASE/MAKE FUN OF THOSE WHOSE RELIGIOUS BELIEF SHAPE THEIR LIFE.  THIS ONLY PERTAINS TO A FEW INDIVIDUALS (THAT I'VE ENCOUNTERED) WHOSE RELIGIOUS BELIEFS HINDERS THEIR ABILITIES TO BE OPEN MINDED....

I was taught that if I didn't go to church every Sunday, I'd go to hell, so I went ... Turning point was when I went to college.......
.........Living on my own, with my friends, away from my parents, I started to see and  recognized diversity.  I stopped practicing Catholicism blindedly...that is...going to church on Sundays to avoid hell, believing that GOD's only name is JESUS; convinced that people who practice other religions are wrong....I left all of that behind me.  I started to get to know other religions, such as Budhism, Hoa Hao, etc...I discovered that the common theme among ALL RELIGION is  TO LOVE OTHERS AS YOU LOVE YOURSELF.  From this, I take a little bit from each religion that I learn and incorporate them into my life.  I went to Budhist temples and pay respect to Budhist, I also continued to go to Church to worship and and attend mass.  This time around, I went to church because I wanted to be there, not because I was scared to go to hell.  My parents thought that I was "lost" and needed to be "saved".   I DIDN'T MIND BEING "LOST".  Only when I am lost that I will be found.  If I acted as if I was saved already and not lost,  NO ONE WILL FIND ME AND TRY TO SAVE ME.


It amuses me when someone claim that his/her life is COMPLETE because he/she FOUND GOD.  As if he/she can sit back, relax, enjoy the company of God and watch others rot in hell because they didn't find GOD.  Trust me, if GOD ever made HIS/HER presence (God is not necessarily a male, remember?), you woudn't know!!! It's only the beginning my dear, keep working at it.   GOD can be quiet and sneaky like a thief, or loud and scary like a storm,  and takes many form, he is buddhist, Jesus, Alah.  He is also that punk who stole your bike when you were a kid, the bully at school who called you fat, the teacher who didn't like you that much, the homeless around the corner, the ex-boyfriend that dumped you, the police who  gave you a ticket for speeding....GOD IS EVERYWHERE, EVERYONE, EVERYTHING, AND NOTHING AT ALL.  So when you put down others simply because they don't believe the same God as you do, or they don't believe in God at all, you are putting down the very own God that you claim to worship.

"MY religion, YOUR religion"....There is no such thing! Religion is not owned, mortgaged, or brought.  It's not physical!  Have you seen your religion with your own eyes?  Is it pink? red? blue? fat? skinny? shiny? stink? long? short? does it make a great pet? Is it on sale?  How is it compared to your neighbor's religion.  "My religion makes me a better person, it teaches me...yadiyadiya...." It doesn't it teach you anything, if anything, it scares you more than it teaches.  Are you being a good person because you want to be good? Or are you scared of being punished by your religion, by your God? 

GOD, whatever HIS/HER name may be, do not need mortals like us to advertise HIS/HER name.  HE/SHE will not decline in value due to lack of marketability.  That is why I am not too happy with those who advertise their God's name for the sake of bring others into their "Religion".  Religion is not what teaches us right from wrong.  Pure life experiences teach us right from wrong.  Religion is kind of like an immune system, it produces antibodies against other antigens by causing fever and other inflammatory effects when they come in contact with other antigens.  The only ways that antibodies will not cause fever and inflammatory effects is if you expose yourself to other religions (antigens) so that your body will be neutral, respectful, indifference, when other religions (antigens) are around.