Religion....not Revision
My older brother Nick has his own block at http://learningtowalk.blogs.com where he likes to put down his everyday thoughts and puts his own religious spin on things. I really enjoy reading what he writes, and for someone who has been out of full time education for such a long time he writes damn well.
Whilst reading his blogs on a variety of different topics (check it out - defo worth a read) I often reflect on his religious beliefs and the difference between him and myself.
I think ultimately we are extremely similar, we look alike (i'm better looking), have (mostly) the same principles and live our lives as well as we can. One thing is majorly different and that is our view on life. He is an optimist and, although he might struggle sometimes, he always manages to see the positive side of things no matter how crappy they may be. This is a massive change from myself who is the synical pessimist of the century.
I was always brought up with religion rammed down my throat, this combined with modern society and the people I socialise with has really put me off religion, I don't especially fancy living my life according to what I see as an (extremely) ellaborate story, which is what I essentially see religion as. This is in NO way meant to offend anyone, but is purely my view. But I can't help but realise, and be jealousof, the happy, social and altogether close community that my brother seems to be a member of, no pressure, no need to impress your peers......this is purely down to his beliefs and others that share that same factor.
I have thought for a long time about religion, I have tried my hardest to make myself believe, but it was upon being told 'If you have to force yourself, it is not a true belief.' This rang true and I have (for now) given up, who knows what the future holds.
I think ultimately, I like the idea of believing, it answers unanswered questions and generally makes things a lot easier, the community religion provides is also outstanding and that is something that no-one can ever take away, the support given and the friendships made is truly amazing.
Whilst reading his blogs on a variety of different topics (check it out - defo worth a read) I often reflect on his religious beliefs and the difference between him and myself.
I think ultimately we are extremely similar, we look alike (i'm better looking), have (mostly) the same principles and live our lives as well as we can. One thing is majorly different and that is our view on life. He is an optimist and, although he might struggle sometimes, he always manages to see the positive side of things no matter how crappy they may be. This is a massive change from myself who is the synical pessimist of the century.
I was always brought up with religion rammed down my throat, this combined with modern society and the people I socialise with has really put me off religion, I don't especially fancy living my life according to what I see as an (extremely) ellaborate story, which is what I essentially see religion as. This is in NO way meant to offend anyone, but is purely my view. But I can't help but realise, and be jealousof, the happy, social and altogether close community that my brother seems to be a member of, no pressure, no need to impress your peers......this is purely down to his beliefs and others that share that same factor.
I have thought for a long time about religion, I have tried my hardest to make myself believe, but it was upon being told 'If you have to force yourself, it is not a true belief.' This rang true and I have (for now) given up, who knows what the future holds.
I think ultimately, I like the idea of believing, it answers unanswered questions and generally makes things a lot easier, the community religion provides is also outstanding and that is something that no-one can ever take away, the support given and the friendships made is truly amazing.
posted by Coxy at 6:09 pm
2 Comments:
I can really relate to how you feel about 'religion'. I am now a Christian and a friend of Nick's at ICC, but for all my teenage years and my 20's my perception of church was that it was irrelevant to my life and any attempts by people to 'tell' me how things should be either fell on deaf ears or were met with a healthy amount of suspicion and cynicism. I really appreciated reading your entry on this, its great to see someone being so honest - keep on blogging!
Bro, I like it a lot. Thanks for the nice things you said about me...I'll give you the cash next weekend! Just one thing, we Christians do have to (at least some of the time) try and impress our peers, dates can be hard to come by in church circles (except for me obviously - joke!) Oh yeh, and one other thing - I'm the good looking one!!!
Like fletch said your honesty is inspiring, but so was and is your ability to accept the change there was in my life and not let it freak you out as you know it did some people.
For everyone reading, my little bro is a legend and I love him lots.
I'll enjoy keeping up with your (publishable) antics via your blog.
Blog on bro. xxxxxxx
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