|
aa6917c
|
"Have you heard the songs they sing here in Kilanga?" he asked. "They're very worshipful. It's a grand way to begin a church service, singing a Congolese hymn to the rainfall on the seed yams. It's quite easy to move from there to the parable of the mustard seed. Many parts of the Bible make good sense here, if only you change a few words." He laughed. "And a lot of whole chapters, sure, you just have to throw away." "Well, it's every bit God's word, isn't it?" Leah said. "God's word, brought to you by a crew of romantic idealists in a harsh desert culture eons ago, followed by a chain of translators two thousand years long." Leah stared at him. "Darling, did you think God wrote it all down in the English of King James himself?" "No, I guess not." "Think of all the duties that were perfectly obvious to Paul or Matthew in that old Arabian desert that are pure nonsense to us now. All that foot washing, for example. Was it really for God's glory, or just to keep the sand out of the house?" Leah sat narrow-eyed in her chair, for once stumped for the correct answer. "Oh, and the camel. Was it a camel that could pass through the eye of a needle more easily than a rich man? Or a coarse piece of yarn? The Hebrew words are the same, but which one did they mean? If it's a camel, the rich man might as well not even try. But if it's the yarn, he might well succeed with a lot of effort, you see?" He leaned forward toward Leah with his hands on his knees. "Och, I shouldn't be messing about with your thinking this way, with your father out in the garden. But I'll tell you a secret. "When I want to take God at his word exactly, I take a peep out the window at His Creation. Because that, darling, He makes fresh for us every day, without a lot of dubious middle managers."
|
|
spirituality
religion
religion-and-philosophy
|
Barbara Kingsolver |
|
dec88f0
|
So what actually goes on with all this religion business? Does it really matter whether you're a Gnostic, a Christian, a Muslim, a Shi'ite, a Hindu, a Taoist, a Rosicrucian, a Jew, a Witch or a Jehovah's Witness? Not in the slightest. (Well, it might matter if you're a Jehovah's Witness). Does it matter if you follow the teachings of Confucius, Buddha, Ramakrishna or Mary Baker Eddy? Of course not. Does it matter if your ritual object or talisman is a cup, an amulet, a tabernacle, a horseshoe, holy water, a wishbone, a Sanctus bell, a St. Christopher, a baptismal font, a rabbit's foot, rosary beads, a broomstick or a seven-branched candlestick? No, it's just something to focus your mind on. The real power is within you. Just as long as it doesn't become a cop-out. Which it so often does. Why? I'll tell you. Because Rag, Tag & Bobtail are not willing to take responsibility for their own lives. They need someone to tell them what to do and what to believe. But in reality you don't need anyone. It's all there inside you. You grant your own absolution. Hey, it's your life! You certainly have more control over your ultimate destiny than a priest.
|
|
religion
religion-and-philosophy
religion-quotations
religion-quotes
|
Karl Wiggins |