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Hello all, and welcome to my journal. I suppose im gonna write about religion, as it is something i am starting to think about often. This may take a couple of days. You may not agree with what i write, and may be offended sweatdrop , but i hope not. All im trying to say is, if you're a total zealot, (jk) try to keep this in perspective. If i have any factual errors please point them out. Advice and insight is encouraged.

I began to think about religion fairly recently. I suppose it started when Vote Nixon began to play some Rage Against the Machine songs. I visited www.ratm.com and looked at their recommended reading list. THe majority of the books dealt with anarchy, socialism, and radical leftist thinking. I attempted to expose myself (note: I'm not so psycho that i believe that its time for a violent revolution) to this stuff by checking out a collection of Emma Goldman's Mother Earth anarchist works in a book titled Anarchy! and one thing that struck me was a chapter entitled THe Philosophy of Atheism. This was one thing I had been curious about since i saw Ronald Reagan Jr. on Larry King Live. Ron described himself as an atheist, and my dad raised a question. What is the benifit of stating that God does not exist? If you believe in Him, then that makes sense. If you say that you are undecided, that's reasonable. But why would you state that God does not exist? The chapter on this philosophy was rather interesting. THe author stated that "If God existed, it would be necessary to eliminate him." But why? Apparently, anarchists believe in total control of ones life, and view God only as an inhibitor to their liberties, comparing Him to a dictator of sorts. THe author stated that God no longer serves the same purpose, which was to explain mysterious happenings in the world of the believers.

I brought up my findings during a Cross Country practice and had a lengthy discussion with my running partner, an attender of First Babtist. He and I discussed the philosophy of religion as a whole. One topic was whether or not all religions around the world coincide. Most theistic religions have similar features, such as one God, and similar practices. The only problem that arose was whether or not God and the Muslim Allah are one and the same. The Muslims believe in Allah with such passion that they wage holy wars in his name. I asked Conrad whether or not this makes the Muslims "wrong". He stated his belief that "God judges the heart" and related to the Chronicles of Narnia where a character unknowingly fought for the evil side in a battle, but because he was following his heart, he was found innocent in death. But I wonder, President George W. Bush has stated that he is acting "as God wills him to," so is it God's will that Iraq be attacked, innocents killed, and huge numbers of soldiers lost to both sides? If God and Allah are one and the same, and the leaders of both sides are acting according to the will of the deity, then God is pitting his creations against one another. But that sounds not like the loving God that people sing of on Sundays.

It seemed at this point to me that the will of God is being misinterpreted. For example, the early Catholic Church (and I'm not presenting a personal attack on its followers. Hope you don't mind, Jess)
used practice of the inquisition, as well as other methods, to enforce religious practices. I doubt that a loving God would have elected for nonbelievers to be tortured and executed, so either His will was mistaken, or deep corruption permeated the church. And if corruption was able to influence the beliefs of the religious, what assurance do the people of today have that they are being mislead by the institution that they value the most?

Another aspect i find curious is the practice of missionaries. I find that dedicating oneself to "saving" those that are in need is an admirable action, but, as i asked conrad, what makes the religion you value the correct one? What is the difference between him, projecting the values of Christianity, to another cross country runner in Japan, who would encourage the following of Daoism or Buddhism, which do not hold to the same type of practices of Western religion, since these are based on philosophy and not the teachings of a higher being? I'm still pondering that one.

Currently, and this could change, possibly if I get enlightening feedback, I'm positioned to believe that all religions are more of a philosophy for living. The stories of the Bible, whether true or not, can be related to anyone, and it seems to me that they are more like fables than histories. But my last thought is this. If I remain thinking this, and live by those principles, what if I'm wrong? Denying God is supposed to be an unforgivable sin, is it not? But what if I were to remain undecided or even *gasp* become atheistic, would my heart be judged above all else or would I be destined for Hell? A good question, I think.

So, friends with valued oppinions, if you have anything to relate to this, go for it. I know it was a long entry, and thanks for your time.
-JL