Come On Down

[poliphilo]

A sci-fi fantasy I'm fond of- The Saga of the Exiles- predicates an alien intervention at the beginning of the 21st century (in fact, any time now.) The aliens- who are nice chaps- allow us the join their Federation, but on certain conditions. One of the conditions is that we abandon all but one of our religions.

And we do. Just like that.

How I wish. How I wish....

For some reason the religion we choose to retain is Roman Catholicism.

A certain leeway is allowed. People are permitted to flavour their Catholicism with Zen Buddhism or Hinduism or whatever they used to adhere to. But I don't remember there being any Muslim-flavoured Catholics or Southern Baptist-flavoured Catholics.

It's a silly book.

I wonder how long it's actually going to take us to get beyond our religious differences.
How many thousands of years.

Comments

[jackiejj.livejournal.com]

Some of our biggest family arguments are about religious issues.

My brother thinks we need a Christ figure to forgive us our sins.

One of my sisters thinks we shouldn't need to be forgiven for being human--she says, "Do we get mad at a dog because he barks?"

She also thinks we're more like bees in a hive, and that our religion was constructed to keep us in the hive. If we get outside the hive, she says, we get unhappy until we're back in.

I have tried and failed to understand the concept of having an intermediary for our sins. If God is a personality, as we seem to think "He" is, then why would another personality be involved?

I realize I am being simplistic...

I don't think God has a personality. I mean, God's not human. With a beard.

Or a being, either...How can we possibly understand what created us? Or what created whatever created us?

The first creator. How can we?

I wonder often, Karen, about Jesus. IF he did the things that were said about him, how could he be a human being? Was he an alien?

IF he did those things.

[karenkay.livejournal.com]

I wonder often, Karen, about Jesus. IF he did the things that were said about him, how could he be a human being? Was he an alien?

IF he did those things.

I think he did some version of those things.

I don't think he was more alien to us than we are to each other.

I'm sorry your family fights about religion.

[jackiejj.livejournal.com]

We generally get along quite well.

Our WORST fights are about politics!

By fighting, I mean only that we get very incensed, pull out our best arguments, yell, get hacked.

But it's fun! And I always learn something.

I tend to agree with everyone--as soon an argument is put forward, I see the sense of it.

My mother refuses to listen to any of it.

I can't stay away. But I can only speak for myself. I don't do very well in arguments. I lose debates routinely, because I am easily convinced, a dangerous thing.

I would probably be easily brainwashed, because I want to believe.