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About 'Religion From the Heart'
Today's discussions about religion tend to leave everyone exhausted and discouraged. People debate about the existence of God, about the value of religious tradition, about God's role in the world -- and come away bitterly divided. Common ground seems a distant dream.
My interest in faith isn't about any of those debates. I come at religion from the perspective of the inner life.
Like everyone else, I struggled as I grew up to make sense of myself and the world around me. Like everyone else, I searched to find work that would offer me security and joy, to find love, to find purpose. Along the way, most people I knew dismissed religion as a source of help in these struggles. I didn't. At some level, I felt that the messages of my tradition -- catholic Christian -- were about the mystery I felt; about the search for purpose I was experiencing; about the pain I was feeling. In short, they were about me.
I'm 48 now. My career has included teaching high-risk youngsters, making movies and contributing to the growth of the Special Olympics movement around the world. My wife Linda and I have 5 children. We have a full family life and both Linda and I feel overwhelmingly blessed by the love and energy that surrounds us. It's busy beyond description. It's full.
But the search for peace and purpose has never stopped. In fact it's grown more intense and I've come to see that the deepest riches of religion are not in the values or the dogmas or the ethical signposts. No, the really great power of religion lies in the way it points us toward our inner lives-to spiritual experience, to spiritual awareness, to our desire not just for meaning and value but for ultimate meaning and value.
Most religions advertise their solutions to life's complexities. I look for the elements of religion that get the questions right. The answers are about what we say and think; the questions are about what we long for. The answers often divide us from one anther; the questions often unite us. Perhaps most remarkably, while most would suggest that God is the answer, I have also come to believe that God is the questions.
This column will be about sharing my view on getting the questions right -- on exploring the ways in which the question of God spontaneously and constantly accompanies us in life and drives us in our respective searches. I hope to use this space to become better at reflecting on my own spiritual questions and to constantly reawaken in myself an awareness of the divine whisper -- of that "still small voice" within. Perhaps most practically, I hope that searching for the divine whisper together will help build a community of searchers who see in public action and social justice the fruits of a vibrant spiritual life.
I hope this space helps readers think about the ways in which the inner life of faith matters in everything we do-in our sense of self, in our relationships, in the public square. I'm looking forward to readers offering their experiences of the divine, their moments where they sensed the divine presence acutely. What was it like? What prompted it? What outcomes emerged? What changes resulted? Whatever a person's starting point about religion; whatever tradition one follows; whatever one chooses to name the unnameable; I hope each will find a place here for exploration and reflection.
On the cross, Jesus of Nazareth is quoted as saying, "I thirst."
Me too.
By
Timothy Shriver
|
February 10, 2008; 2:16 PM ET
| Category:
Religion From the Heart
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Next: NEW BLOG: Political and Spiritual Change
Posted by: Karen Love | February 11, 2008 11:52 AM
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Welcome! I am so glad you are here and I look forward to reading more from you. I agree---this country has hit a spiritual bottom. And the surge of energy we're witnessing can only spring from a national despair.
Posted by: Karen Love | February 11, 2008 11:52 AM
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Can religion really save people from despair?
Posted by: Wingman | February 11, 2008 12:13 PM
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Dear Folk,
The greatest lie of modern times was that Ronald Reagan ended the Soviet Union, which is kids play compared to the lies of religion. In the five books of Moses, which the Catholic church stole from the Jews, God, the supposed father of Christ, never once mentions an afterlife. Think about this viz the holy trinity and then junk everything the WP was dumb enough to allow printed on their pages this day.
Posted by: RDA | February 11, 2008 12:54 PM
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Our country was based on freedom of religion.
Each of us should cling to our own beliefs. Likewise, we should all treat our fellow citizens with respect, kindness, and hopefully Peace
on Earth would ensue. We do not need religion stuffed down our throats like a bad dinner.
We do not need a leader with a quavering voice
pontificating from a podium and telling us if is for the good of our country. If we have to listen to that for four or eight years, we
are in deep, dark, mud.
Posted by: Ohio | February 11, 2008 2:09 PM
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Tim,
What divine whisper are you talking about? And why are you pushing a lie on people?
Drivel aside, you're still seeking answers cuz you've lied to yourself. God? Please. Grow up, lest you get in a fight with Ganesh or Yahweh or Allah, or Shiva, or do you say that your god is the one true god? Can he beat up the other gods? And where is you sorry God? If he does exist, he's sure useless, given the suffering and all.
What I find striking, in my own spiritual journey, is that religion is as about as selfish as it gets. A great self delusion, because of fear of death for the most part, fear of personal suffering.
Read your own text above. It's all about you you you. You nailed that part. Your journey, your mind, you faith, your idea that God is in the questions. You use the word 'I' and 'me' 31 times. What's up with that? Get over yourself man! I've known you for 28 years! Ad your still stuck on the whole who am I thing? Who is god, what is my purpose? Selfish. I've got a purpose, inthe shape of an oar, on the good ship humanity.
Trying to get some persoanl salvation from helping out is just selfish. F@*K me! I want to be more than me, more than focused on being immortal. Christians want to be immortal. Power hungry selfish blood culters.
Ministers foisting pablum on the weak and scared. I know you, I like you, but your religious proselytizing? That's just fraud.
Child abuse.
here's my religion- do good. and don't look for recognition. the beauty of this is that I am strong enought to face the truth. I don't need any murderous space god to make me feel complete.
I don;t need to thing that I have to live forever.
Nope, and I still got you, and you, on some level, love me.
If god, in some silly definition if you need one, is love, then you are God, so get to work, and show me some real love. Skip the persoanl crap, and give it for free.
Mortality is cool Tim. It's real. The Universe is pretty cool too. And a bit more than 6000 years old I might add.
The truth is beauty, beauty truth. -Keats.
Spirituality is more than seeking answers about oneself. Look farther than your own heart Tim, look out over time and space, it's a beautiful Universe, everything, in a Taosist sense, just the way it should be. Live with that, give up the false robes, and join the reality based community.
Helping people lie to themselves is no service to humanity.
Do ol' Rob a favor, consider this along side your others. What if God does not exist? And what kind of damage are you sowing in pushing a falsehood? And while thinking of as much, do consider Hammurabai, whose code of moral behavior is a lot older than your silly 10 commandments.
To me, freedom of mind, peace of mind, was about getting over myself, sublimating myself to a higher cause, like children and charity. I am no longer the paramount thing in my life. Which is wonderful. You seem stuck in a lie, one that is focused on your own soul. You say you want to help others find the divine whisper. Why don't you help them with the truth.
Posted by: Rob Littell | February 11, 2008 2:24 PM
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I'm not sure where censorship falls into the equation of the search for truth....you stopped my comments. What are you scared of? The truth is beautiful Tim. Simple, clear, sublime. Try it some night, toss off your false cloth, and get real.
Honesty is cool. God is for the weak, and for those who enjoy thinking of people as sheep.
Posted by: Rob Littell | February 11, 2008 3:00 PM
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Wow, it seems all you have to do is suggest that there might be something for a human to experience after this life and boom you're hit with the argument that it's just not so. And what an argument too....so full of passion! If you're headed for zero anyway why not chill? You're trying too hard. Save your energy for things that give you pleasure. As for me, I will love my Lord and enjoy my life of prayer. Peace be with you.
Posted by: Mojave Guy | February 11, 2008 3:17 PM
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Mojave Guy, all the power to you, just remember that Jesus said to pray in a closet, and that the Apocalypse would happen during his apostles lifetime, and that your living a lie. Afterlife? Please. Get over yourself already. Take some responsibility for you self. Be a real human, not some cosmic sheep. Which brings up the biggest issue for religion today, it ain't your fault! It ain't our fault. It's god's plan, so let it happen! (recipe for disaster) Watch Jesus Camp, if you can.
Posted by: Rob Littell | February 11, 2008 3:26 PM
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Rob Littell is really struggling. He will be a true believer some day Pray for him.
Posted by: Bob Nader | February 11, 2008 4:13 PM
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Hey Tim ,i would have to say how dare you,most people will never see in their lifetime what you have,never experience what you have,never have your opportunities.A solid family ,healthy children,you say your life is full,most people wrestle with lonliness ,divorce,strife financial problems.Children are alone or asking when they will see the absent parent again.What do you thirst for you have it all.You should get on your knees and thank god everyday.But the truth is i am jealous of you and so are many ,the fact that you have strong faith is enviable.
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Posted by: Providence Candlelight | February 12, 2008 9:59 PM
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Posted by: Providence Candlelight | February 12, 2008 10:03 PM
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This is not a statement in favor of or against the reality of religion. One puzzling aspect to the debate is the fact that those denying the existence of a god also deny the idea of an afterlife. Why does one equate to the other? It is quite possible that no god exists, but that we are not the same as our physical bodies. Consciousness may be a property that is a basic part of the universe, and it may continue after a body breaks down and dies.
There need be no god as part of the afterlife argument. It may be that what we do in this life has nothing to do with a potential next life. A person dies and his or her consciousness continues on in a different form. Why must physical death equal death of thinking and knowing?
When asked for any indication that this is true, there are countless cases of people who have been able to see, feel, and understand while clinically dead. They are not merely reporting on dreamlike events while unconscious. These people talk about events at a great distance while no brain, heart, or breathing activity is evident. It seems that a person, at a minimum, is made up of a body and a mind.
Posted by: Paul H | February 17, 2008 4:21 PM
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It is not uncommon for people to come upon times in their lives when they wonder about these questions on their own.
Who am I?
Where did I come from?
What am I supposed to be doing here?
Is there a possibility I could go somewhere else when I leave here?
Is there a God?
No one tells us to wonder about these things, they sort of automatically cross out minds in one form or another.
The ones who take these questions with any degree of seriousness are like sheep looking for a shepherd to help them out. Then there are those who do not consider taking these questions to any depth. Like goats who are more interested in satisfying their own definition of of what their needs are.
The scriptures go back to the beginning and are a good tool to find out the answers. Organized religions are man's attempt to answer these things but all of them are tainted by the built in failure of asking a man (who is just as weak as you are) for all the answers.
We really need someone who doesn't fit the description of mankind to provide those answers.
That's where the Son of God comes in.
It's not so much that we see our sins as forgiven because of what He accomplished on the cross
(Yes that is a wonderful thing) but rather what having our sins forgiven sets us up to receive.(All the answers to those questions above)
We can now by faith receive a personal relationship with God in the Holy Spirit who will reveal the pictures that the scriptures really paint, and reveal the real intent of our being.
That's why blasphemy of the Holy Spirit is the only unforgivable sin. It's the only way.
That's my religion from the Heart. and No it's not for everbody.....Just the lost sheep.
Jesus the same yesterday today and forever.
Google it.
Posted by: Randy Munro | March 11, 2008 12:18 AM
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Everything that goes on in the human body—your thoughts/dreams/faith particularly—is the product of biochemical reactions (in a very simple sense).
From Paul H: "Consciousness may be a property that is a basic part of the universe, and it may continue after a body breaks down and dies"
Well, there is unlikely to be an afterlife in the sense that your consciousness remains, as it is a product of these reactions and the life form that supports them. Once this complex system breaks down (death is a complex, multi-minute process), there is no more thinking, no more memory, no more sense of self.
And basic properties of the universe are fundamentals such as fusion, entropy, gravity, electromagnetism etc, not consciousness (a specialized adaptation in humans/life-forms).
And again from Paul: "A person dies and his or her consciousness continues on in a different form".
Perhaps so. But not in the way you might think. It is more likely that we 'live on' in the memories of our family, friends, and as many of the human race are aware of us (e.g. Einstein, Mozart, etc). There is no self-consciousness or afterlife per se, just a group memory.
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Welcome! I am so glad you are here and I look forward to reading more from you. I agree---this country has hit a spiritual bottom. And the surge of energy we're witnessing can only spring from a national despair.