Religion has been at the forefront of daily life. Not in a bad way, like we are deciding whether or not we are going to hell, but much discussion has happened around religion between me and Meicka, Terry...well...I guess that isn't a lot of people. It has been at the forefront my mind then.
I'm reading this book called "Living a Year Biblically". It's about a man that has taken the rules and laws of the Bible and is living out all the rules. This includes no lying and stealing, but also the more obsure ones like no shaving, stoning (with pebbles on peoples shoes), wearing white. Oh yeah, and a beard to boot. But the book has got me thinking about why are all the rules in the Bible. Why would God want us to cut off the hand of a woman that grabs the private parts of thier husbands in a brawl? (No lie, it's in there. Deuteronomy 25:11) Do these rules make us more connected with the higher being? Will we go to hell if we don't follow these rules? Or are all the rules a bunch of mumbo jumbo? (hehe...mumbo jumbo).
This is what I have decided.The Bible is comprised of different books written by a mirad of different people. There are some books that are said to be written by one person, but the contanance, and the way the book is written is highly unlikely the books were written by the same person. And by these books being written by so many different individuals, there had to have been different opinion. I mean, look at the church or social organization or what have you that you have a group of like minded people. Even though we are all like minded, there are some things that we won't agree on. I mean it's bound to happen (unless you are in a cult...screw that. I even think in cults you have people that may have different views than the person next to them. One person may be thinking "Maybe I shouldn't drink the Kool-laid?" Just a little humor. No against the cults). Either way, as people, we are all way too diverse in culture, shapes, sizes, and experiences to have the exact same mindset as the person that we may call friend, brother, sis, etc.
This has brought me to believe that the Bible is made up many different people convictions. And these convictions of the individual were deemed important enough to write down. Now I'm not trying to down play the Bible. I mean the text has been translated into thousands of different languages versions and so on for hundreds of years. No I'm not trying to do that. But what I do mean is this: I don't have the conviction to not eat meat. I like my hamburgers, hot dogs, and steak. But I do know people that have been convicted to not eat meat and is therefore the law of their daily lives. Not that our lives are better than the other, but to be a better person, the person has decided to not eat meat whereas with me, I have my own convictions, and the conviction of not eating meat just isn't mine. But I really do respect people that don't eat meat.
I believe that convictions of the heart and mind keep us conscious of ourselves, the world around us, and the higher beings within our lives. If we eliminate something that may be causing us harm to ourselves I believe that we become a better person. If a person feels convicted to stop smoking and the quit, after a couple of months they realize that they can walk those stairs they couldn't walk when they were smoking and feel a sense of accomplishment and awe within themselves and the willpower to climb those stairs. A lot of times, it takes courage to follow your own convictions. I'm pretty sure the guy who wrote the part about being grabbed in the ball sack was pretty embarrased to write that. It probably happened to him. Not that I'm condoning the punishment, but I can see the point.
I believe that the reason that the Bible has been around for so many years is because it convicts the hearts of people. There is a little something for everyone within the Bible (and I also believe this about other holy text ie: the Koran, Torah, etc.) And I believe these convictions that people past have written down and we see them before us and it lets us know that we aren't alone. That we aren't the only one that feels convicted to not have tattoos or to rest on the Sabbath. It's like a connection to someone. It's like going to a meeting of people that have been marginalized may it be by sexual orientation, addicts, people of color, socio-economics. While we have different stories, some of the stories correlate and we feel less alone is this world. We know someone is feeling the same way we have felt.
With so many different convictions, there is no way my convictions are going to match up with yours. Just no way no how. How do you think that we have so many different denominations of religions? Because some people felt that one part of the Bible was to the held in higher regard than others and so on. And the crazy part about it is that these demoninations will split off themselves. And when you think that you have a church chuck full of people that believe the same thing the person next to them believe, there are still differences within the church. Why? Because people have thier own personal convictions. And no one's personal convictions should be held higher than anothers person's convictions. Different convictions occur for different people I believe as to how the interpet thier lives. I will use me as an example. Growing up, I was a sheltered kid. The Bible was held in high regard but not really taught in my household. So when I grew up, I decided to find my own spirituality. I didn't want to do something and not know why I was doing it. I felt convicted to spiritually develop and find my own place in my own spirituality.
As I write this, some of you may be thinking, "Zuri, this is a bunch of bullshit," or "Zuri, you LAAAAATE!!!!" or you may close this blog and think about it or not. Just a thought.
I'm reading this book called "Living a Year Biblically". It's about a man that has taken the rules and laws of the Bible and is living out all the rules. This includes no lying and stealing, but also the more obsure ones like no shaving, stoning (with pebbles on peoples shoes), wearing white. Oh yeah, and a beard to boot. But the book has got me thinking about why are all the rules in the Bible. Why would God want us to cut off the hand of a woman that grabs the private parts of thier husbands in a brawl? (No lie, it's in there. Deuteronomy 25:11) Do these rules make us more connected with the higher being? Will we go to hell if we don't follow these rules? Or are all the rules a bunch of mumbo jumbo? (hehe...mumbo jumbo).
This is what I have decided.The Bible is comprised of different books written by a mirad of different people. There are some books that are said to be written by one person, but the contanance, and the way the book is written is highly unlikely the books were written by the same person. And by these books being written by so many different individuals, there had to have been different opinion. I mean, look at the church or social organization or what have you that you have a group of like minded people. Even though we are all like minded, there are some things that we won't agree on. I mean it's bound to happen (unless you are in a cult...screw that. I even think in cults you have people that may have different views than the person next to them. One person may be thinking "Maybe I shouldn't drink the Kool-laid?" Just a little humor. No against the cults). Either way, as people, we are all way too diverse in culture, shapes, sizes, and experiences to have the exact same mindset as the person that we may call friend, brother, sis, etc.
This has brought me to believe that the Bible is made up many different people convictions. And these convictions of the individual were deemed important enough to write down. Now I'm not trying to down play the Bible. I mean the text has been translated into thousands of different languages versions and so on for hundreds of years. No I'm not trying to do that. But what I do mean is this: I don't have the conviction to not eat meat. I like my hamburgers, hot dogs, and steak. But I do know people that have been convicted to not eat meat and is therefore the law of their daily lives. Not that our lives are better than the other, but to be a better person, the person has decided to not eat meat whereas with me, I have my own convictions, and the conviction of not eating meat just isn't mine. But I really do respect people that don't eat meat.
I believe that convictions of the heart and mind keep us conscious of ourselves, the world around us, and the higher beings within our lives. If we eliminate something that may be causing us harm to ourselves I believe that we become a better person. If a person feels convicted to stop smoking and the quit, after a couple of months they realize that they can walk those stairs they couldn't walk when they were smoking and feel a sense of accomplishment and awe within themselves and the willpower to climb those stairs. A lot of times, it takes courage to follow your own convictions. I'm pretty sure the guy who wrote the part about being grabbed in the ball sack was pretty embarrased to write that. It probably happened to him. Not that I'm condoning the punishment, but I can see the point.
I believe that the reason that the Bible has been around for so many years is because it convicts the hearts of people. There is a little something for everyone within the Bible (and I also believe this about other holy text ie: the Koran, Torah, etc.) And I believe these convictions that people past have written down and we see them before us and it lets us know that we aren't alone. That we aren't the only one that feels convicted to not have tattoos or to rest on the Sabbath. It's like a connection to someone. It's like going to a meeting of people that have been marginalized may it be by sexual orientation, addicts, people of color, socio-economics. While we have different stories, some of the stories correlate and we feel less alone is this world. We know someone is feeling the same way we have felt.
With so many different convictions, there is no way my convictions are going to match up with yours. Just no way no how. How do you think that we have so many different denominations of religions? Because some people felt that one part of the Bible was to the held in higher regard than others and so on. And the crazy part about it is that these demoninations will split off themselves. And when you think that you have a church chuck full of people that believe the same thing the person next to them believe, there are still differences within the church. Why? Because people have thier own personal convictions. And no one's personal convictions should be held higher than anothers person's convictions. Different convictions occur for different people I believe as to how the interpet thier lives. I will use me as an example. Growing up, I was a sheltered kid. The Bible was held in high regard but not really taught in my household. So when I grew up, I decided to find my own spirituality. I didn't want to do something and not know why I was doing it. I felt convicted to spiritually develop and find my own place in my own spirituality.
As I write this, some of you may be thinking, "Zuri, this is a bunch of bullshit," or "Zuri, you LAAAAATE!!!!" or you may close this blog and think about it or not. Just a thought.
So obviously I can't spell. I didn't mean "confictions" but "convictions". Sorry about that.
ReplyDeleteI feel that ;) You are spectacular
ReplyDeleteThanks l.b. I saw a kid in the library that was chasing her sister with a book and she reminded me of you.
ReplyDelete