> -----Original Message-----
> From: [EMAIL PROTECTED] [mailto:[EMAIL PROTECTED]]On
> Behalf Of K.Feete
[snip]
> Divorce and the decrease of religion I would also attribute to
> capitalism. America has for the last century or so had a new sort of
> religion: the American Dream. Religion (as personified by Christianity,
> at least for me) generally says that if you are good you will be rewarded
> and become happy in another life.
That's one of the most common misconceptions about Christianity, Kat.
However, you are quite correct in implying that it is what an awful lot of
people, including Christians, believe. It is utterly contrary to what
Christ taught, which was that the law (right and wrong) is good, but if you
focus on the letter of the law, you lose the spirit of the law. His
harshest words were about teachers of the law who were experts on it, but
had forgotten to love. Pride in "being good" is un-Christian... and very
human.
> The Dream says that if you get a good
> job, work hard, are faithful and loyal and good and behave yourself, then
> you will be rewarded and become happy in *this* life, and as such is
> naturally a somewhat more pleasant religion for those who are not that
> enamoured with dying.
And that "Dream" is no more true than the one above, as you suggest. As
much as you may doubt religion, it appears to me that you have a better
appreciation of it than most people!
> All of this is the logical result of a system which insists that
> happiness, an undefinable and unmeasurable state if ever there was one,
> can be achieved by a series of defined and carefully measured actions.
> The world doesn't work this way.
Nor does God, clearly. I can testify to the fact that the only deep peace
I've found has come from surrendering, letting go of the need to do
something, to understand. It's been a gift that comes at very unexpected
times. In the most extreme example, I struggled with a lot of sadness and
anger about my best friend's son's brain tumor. No amount of understanding
or analysis of medical knowledge, etc., brought any comfort. But telling
God how angry I was, and acknowledging that it was because I didn't
understand, led to a gift of peace, a restoration of happiness, that was
totally unexpected and not the result of "being good" or "doing the right
thing."
Nick
