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jawnbcI am a person of faith.
I am not an adherent to any religion or other organization, though much of who I am has been informed by Roman Catholicism and several (previous) years of active membership in Alcoholics Anonymous. In many respects these affiliations have informed how I approach life; however they are as likely to have taught me what not to do. Add equal parts volunteerism/activism, education, and paid work, and that’s how I got to be me.
In its most boiled down form, my ethos reduces to this: it is equally imperative for me to utlize the gifts I have, as it is for me to continuously go outside myself. I have never been able to pray myself out of a jam. I have rarely been able to think my way out of one either. Very often, however, the combination of faith and reason--and action--have saved my bacon.
My faith is very much with people, with their humanity. And faith in the Creator, though I’ve no concept of it/she/he/they beyond Something in Which I Believe.
I do not possess blind faith nor do I engage in relentless critique of things. Having faith isn’t absolving myself of using my brain, my senses, my memory. Having faith doesn’t mean being a doormat or a patsy.
I do not pity anyone based on their lack of faith. I do, nonetheless, tend to keep folks who are more often agitated and cranky at arm’s length. Being ornery isn’t evidence of intelligence...it’s just ornery.
I do not gravitate towards anyone based on their being a person of faith. All too many such persons are willfully blind to the realities of the world, simply because it suits them. That strikes me as cold, callous, heartless. I do not associate such terms with faith.
My career necessitates having relatively advanced intellectual skills, which I have developed over time. But were it not for faith I’d have never had a chance of developing them.
My faith has never told me that I’m better than--or less than--anyone. Including the Creator. In fact, being a person of faith has taught me that we are of equal worth.
I am a person of faith. I am not an eejit.
I am not an adherent to any religion or other organization, though much of who I am has been informed by Roman Catholicism and several (previous) years of active membership in Alcoholics Anonymous. In many respects these affiliations have informed how I approach life; however they are as likely to have taught me what not to do. Add equal parts volunteerism/activism, education, and paid work, and that’s how I got to be me.
In its most boiled down form, my ethos reduces to this: it is equally imperative for me to utlize the gifts I have, as it is for me to continuously go outside myself. I have never been able to pray myself out of a jam. I have rarely been able to think my way out of one either. Very often, however, the combination of faith and reason--and action--have saved my bacon.
My faith is very much with people, with their humanity. And faith in the Creator, though I’ve no concept of it/she/he/they beyond Something in Which I Believe.
I do not possess blind faith nor do I engage in relentless critique of things. Having faith isn’t absolving myself of using my brain, my senses, my memory. Having faith doesn’t mean being a doormat or a patsy.
I do not pity anyone based on their lack of faith. I do, nonetheless, tend to keep folks who are more often agitated and cranky at arm’s length. Being ornery isn’t evidence of intelligence...it’s just ornery.
I do not gravitate towards anyone based on their being a person of faith. All too many such persons are willfully blind to the realities of the world, simply because it suits them. That strikes me as cold, callous, heartless. I do not associate such terms with faith.
My career necessitates having relatively advanced intellectual skills, which I have developed over time. But were it not for faith I’d have never had a chance of developing them.
My faith has never told me that I’m better than--or less than--anyone. Including the Creator. In fact, being a person of faith has taught me that we are of equal worth.
I am a person of faith. I am not an eejit.
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Date: 2005-07-28 04:11 pm (UTC)Meanwhile I'll still be agnostic.
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Date: 2005-07-28 11:27 am (UTC)I very much agree with what you've written here -- we're all creations, and none of us has any superiority over anyone else. Again, somehow along the line being more pious (at least visually) over others has somehow been mentally equated by some as superiority, and it saddens me that those people have so little faith in their own faith, that they need to put on such shows.
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Date: 2005-07-28 12:54 pm (UTC)More Eurovision. The world needs buckets more silly pop songs. But then again I'm the kween of the world of make believe ...
Well said...
Date: 2005-07-28 03:25 pm (UTC)Religious faith does not equal blind faith
Religion does not equal blind faith
I am a person of Faith and religious Faith, but I follow nothing blindly...
Aadroma wrote:
"Again, somehow along the line being more pious (at least visually) over others has somehow been mentally equated by some as superiority, and it saddens me that those people have so little faith in their own faith, that they need to put on such shows"
If you're Xian, as I am, Jesus had a whole lot of condemnation of those who were visibly over pious.
The sad fact is... there is little "Christ" in todays Xianity.
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Date: 2005-07-30 07:41 pm (UTC)I really couldn't care less if "faith" gets a bad rap. If you see no need for it in your life, no good rap is going to make it more attractive, and if you need it, no bad rap is going to scare you away.
I may be an eejit - but who cares? I can't get anywhere from where I'm not, so I'll start from where I am. If that's as an idiot, so be it.