Thursday, August 26, 2004
My religious background
My parents are missionaries. They are Southern Baptist missionaries. We mostly try to create churches where people want to go to church but don't have access to any. They work with the deaf also, actually only with the deaf. No I don't know much sign language, but my lip reading is surprisingly good.
They have been foreign missionaries since 1989. We spent a year in Costa Rica learning spanish, and taking awesome trips, remind me to blog about these later. Then we went to the Dominican Republic and that's where I went to a small english-speaking private christian school, except for 9th grade when we were on "home assignment" for a year in Alabama.
So I gradamated and went to undergrad at Samford University, a small liberal arts school, again christian, I think loosely southern baptist, which had about 3,500 undergrads. Then I went to Clemson, and I'm here now.
But I was raised Southern Baptist, dad is a preacher, seminary, the whole nine yards. It was about 8th-10th grade where I started to realize that I could think for myself, and there were other options out there. I think my 8th grade Bible class on world religions gave me a good basis on that topic. We discussed Islam, Hinduism, Buddhism, Judaism, and compared them all to Christianity, meaning Protestants and Roman Catholics.
I still find myself having Christian beliefs, notice I said Christian and NOT Southern Baptist. I try and keep it basic. I'm fairly certain that you know the basics but if not, email and I'll give you a quick rundown. I think the world was created by an all-powerful and all-knowing entity. I just feel that the universe is too ordered and perfect to not be. I'm not saying that evolution isn't possible cuz I don't know how God works. I REALLY don't believe that God created the entire freakin universe in 7, sorry, 6 24 hour periods. Not that He/She couldn't, but all of science points toward that it didn't happen like that.
I also think God is above gender, and find He/She discussions very amusing. But I believe that the earth was created somehow, probably by evolution, but I don't know. No one does really, it's been debated for ages, and will continue to be debated. And chimps are cute, and who doesn't want to be like a chimp. (Jane Goodall spoke at Clemson last year? But she's one of the coolest people on the earth. I was so touched by her being there. And afterwards she sat there and signed stuff and talked to everyone until we were all gone. Damn, she's awesome. Can you imagine her as your grandma?)
As far as world religions go, I don't know. It doesn't seem fair that ONLY Christians get into heaven. If there is a heaven. But it comes down to Christianity works for me, and it keeps me happy and content, and makes me feel better on this big blue ball of ours. I know FOR DAMN SURE that I have no place to judge or deride others for their beliefs and/or customs. I hate judgemental people more than anything in this entire world. You know as much as I do about the world, and God, and religions, and we both know JACK SQUAT.
Ah, I feel better.
MORNING UPDATE:(After thinking in the shower. I get some really good thinking done in there) Basically if I died today, I wouldn't feel bad about my choices with religion. I've lived my life how I feel I should, and have no regrets, so if or when it turns out I chose poorly and get reincarnated as a squirrel, I won't feel bad at all. Or if it turns out that this one life is all you get, and that's it, you just cease to be, no afterlife, no nothing, then I'm okay with that too. But I don't want to die yet. I've got shit to do and see and experience.
They have been foreign missionaries since 1989. We spent a year in Costa Rica learning spanish, and taking awesome trips, remind me to blog about these later. Then we went to the Dominican Republic and that's where I went to a small english-speaking private christian school, except for 9th grade when we were on "home assignment" for a year in Alabama.
So I gradamated and went to undergrad at Samford University, a small liberal arts school, again christian, I think loosely southern baptist, which had about 3,500 undergrads. Then I went to Clemson, and I'm here now.
But I was raised Southern Baptist, dad is a preacher, seminary, the whole nine yards. It was about 8th-10th grade where I started to realize that I could think for myself, and there were other options out there. I think my 8th grade Bible class on world religions gave me a good basis on that topic. We discussed Islam, Hinduism, Buddhism, Judaism, and compared them all to Christianity, meaning Protestants and Roman Catholics.
I still find myself having Christian beliefs, notice I said Christian and NOT Southern Baptist. I try and keep it basic. I'm fairly certain that you know the basics but if not, email and I'll give you a quick rundown. I think the world was created by an all-powerful and all-knowing entity. I just feel that the universe is too ordered and perfect to not be. I'm not saying that evolution isn't possible cuz I don't know how God works. I REALLY don't believe that God created the entire freakin universe in 7, sorry, 6 24 hour periods. Not that He/She couldn't, but all of science points toward that it didn't happen like that.
I also think God is above gender, and find He/She discussions very amusing. But I believe that the earth was created somehow, probably by evolution, but I don't know. No one does really, it's been debated for ages, and will continue to be debated. And chimps are cute, and who doesn't want to be like a chimp. (Jane Goodall spoke at Clemson last year? But she's one of the coolest people on the earth. I was so touched by her being there. And afterwards she sat there and signed stuff and talked to everyone until we were all gone. Damn, she's awesome. Can you imagine her as your grandma?)
As far as world religions go, I don't know. It doesn't seem fair that ONLY Christians get into heaven. If there is a heaven. But it comes down to Christianity works for me, and it keeps me happy and content, and makes me feel better on this big blue ball of ours. I know FOR DAMN SURE that I have no place to judge or deride others for their beliefs and/or customs. I hate judgemental people more than anything in this entire world. You know as much as I do about the world, and God, and religions, and we both know JACK SQUAT.
Ah, I feel better.
MORNING UPDATE:(After thinking in the shower. I get some really good thinking done in there) Basically if I died today, I wouldn't feel bad about my choices with religion. I've lived my life how I feel I should, and have no regrets, so if or when it turns out I chose poorly and get reincarnated as a squirrel, I won't feel bad at all. Or if it turns out that this one life is all you get, and that's it, you just cease to be, no afterlife, no nothing, then I'm okay with that too. But I don't want to die yet. I've got shit to do and see and experience.
# posted by Seth @ 6:25 PM 
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