The Holy Lamp-Post

(A part of a conversation which took place nearly 20 years ago...Note - when I speak of the prejudiced people I've met, I don't mean that *all* Christians are like this....just that the prejudiced people tend to claim Christianity as their religion)

Maybe that's it in a way......I see God everywhere, and I don't see the people around me, whether it be in church or on the street, respecting *all* the world as holy.

I keep a small circle of friends because we can be free with each other, and I've never felt that kind of camaraderie in a church. The only time I've ever been hugged on the way out of a service, felt a warm glow inside was when I visited the service of a friend who's not even Christian. I had no problem relating to 'god' in that setting because I recognise that God is god no matter what name is used.

Thru my travels on bbs's, I've run across people from *all* religious backgrounds, it seems......from strict Missouri Lutheran, Jehovah's Witness, Buddhist, Mormon, Qabalistic Jew, a type of Jew I don't remember the name of but he would censor the name of G-d because to say it was considered blasphemy to him, atheist, agnostic, pagan, Wiccan, Satanist, nearly every denomination of Christian there is, Taoist, Moslem, etc, etc, etc. Oddly enough, there are things I agree with with almost all of these groups.......The only thing the satanist and I could agree on was that the constitution provides freedom of religion for everyone......unfortunate, but true. The sad part is the most narrow-minded, bigoted, prejudiced people I came/come across are the ones who most soundly profess to be Christian. There was one young man here who told me I wouldn't know Jesus Christ from a lamp-post. I told him that God is everywhere......even the lamp-post. He wrote me off as a lost cause. And I already believe in God......

Perhaps the reason I'm so burned on organized religion is because it has strayed so far from its true purpose. I ask people if they could be a Christian without a bible, without a church, without a cross and they look at me like I'm crazy........why do we place so much emphasis on outer accouterments instead of inner sanctum? I could be deaf, dumb and blind, lying naked in the woods alone at night......and still find God. Why do so many others who profess to worship God place so much value on attendance, offering and the appearance of respectability. Is my money not going for God's purpose if I give it to someone who needs it or does it only work when I send it to the church? Am I a better person for having spent a morning in church as I am for having spent the night beside my brother in the hospital? Does a haircut, designer dresses and makeup mean so much to God?

Why do I see so much emphasis on these things, and so little on participation? It's a common joke about the empty pew in the front row, about getting volunteers being like pulling teeth, and the same core of people who do all the work. Holier than thou is a put down...not a term of respect. Would we turn Mother Theresa away at the door because she's dusty and grimy when she arrived? Hypocrites....all I see are hypocrites. One upon a time religious fervor, the excitement and purpose may have been present, but I feel like "church" needs to undergo some major reconstruction. I can understand why there are so few people my age in the pews.......we are interested in the environment, in taking care of the rest of the world, and we don't have any interest or energy to devote to one more place where someone wants something from us. My generation, unlike the yuppies, isn't me-centered.....we've spent so many years taking care of everyone we've never had time for ourselves. The latch-key kids, the children of divorced parents, the children of alcoholics....the only names people can find for us define us not by ourselves, but by our parents. Adults, especially senior citizens, seem to think we have no motivation because we don't care to waste our lives plodding down the same road they did.....yet we're not sue there will even *be* a road next week, much less a reward at the end of it. Previous generations have spent so much time destroying this planet that our legacy is to play clean-up batter, caretakers of the world. No wonder no one sees our motivation...they're expecting us to want a little house with 2.7 kids, a dog, 2 cats and a goldfish, and we're hoping the grass will still grow next year, and that there will be enough air for 2.7 kids (probably adopted - who needs to add to the population) to breathe.

A hundred years ago, when someone promised their kids the world, it was a promise......not a threat.

I don't see the church of today responding to these needs......show me a church that has no building, that has a garden, that takes care of its people, a community, where birds and spiders and rainforests mean something......where the words of God are truly *manifest*....and then I will see some hope for it. Until then....I've got better ways to spend my time.