Friday, July 13, 2012

god

An announcement — of sorts — amongst my family this week when word got out that apparently I'm an Atheist. Not certain that I've actually ever declared this to be a truth, and was more than slightly taken aback at this revelation. The sibling who announced this to another sibling (there are many of us) was, according to the story, quite upset.

Oh....shite.

I've been labeled, categorized, pigeon-holed and carted off to hell, even if in whose existence I do not believe. And will there be conversation, a rebuttal, an explanation, an understanding, in the the end? The sad answer to that question is most likely a resounding "NO." The door to that conversation was slammed shut many years ago, and I'll take responsibility for digging my heels in on the liberal, non-theistic side.

Having endured a Catholic upbringing, and having made a gallant effort to toss aside all lingering vestiges of said guilt, I do admit a distrust in anything labeled religion. How many wars have been fought in the name of the righteous? How many civilizations slaughtered? How long has hate prospered while proclaiming the Word of God?


As usual, when a Big Subject like this one arrives on my doorstep, it becomes the Conversation of the Week at my job. As a poet, my beliefs tend to center more on Mysticism and Animism than anything veering close to the Christian arena. At work today we spoke at length today on the subject of deities, or, a deity. I'll use the word "god" only with a lower case "g". It's a common noun, not any version of some bearded guy wielding electricity from a cloudbank. If there's a supreme being, then it's this infinitely massive universe (and beyond) that we inhabit, and therefore, as organisms in its midst, makes us all integrally our own separate piece of it: god in everyone/thing.



My best guess on the origins of my atheist label comes from a conversation I had with a Christian Fundamentalist nephew last fall, when the subject of religion came up, and I think I said that I'm probably more Atheist than anything else. But it was only — at that time — a rumination, a fragment plucked from a much larger conversation. Context is so important!

And as themes have a habit of swirling up and becoming a greater part of any picture, this one took an incredibly moving turn today, when J., a co-worker, asked for feedback on an email. The back story: he'd made an offer to donate something (having to do with the arts) on Craigslist,  and one of his responses came from Seattle's Union Gospel Mission, an organization which provides food, beds and other support to the homeless and mentally ill.

J., also raised Catholic, is an avowed Pagan, and, not being one to mince words, wrote this to the UGM representative:

While your program seems very worthy, I am having trouble justifying giving to Union Gospel Mission — would you be so kind as to explain how Pagans, Atheists,, other non-christians [lower case "c" intentional], as well as gay, lesbian, and trans individuals fit into your goal to "Create an environment where homeless men and women can safely create, access, and explore their narrative understanding of God, self and other"?

The response from UGM :

"That's a great question. I can see that your experience with people who call themselves Christians has been really hurtful and why you would be hesitant to donate to a mission who uses similar language. I don't know if I can do your question justice without understanding exactly what you're speaking to because I am as saddened at these realities as you are, which is one of the reasons why I started this [Arts] program.I don't know if I can necessarily make sense of some of the longstanding injustice, but I can tell you what we are about at this mission.....

I believe the true heart of why many Christians hold stances of hatred and oppression is because they have never looked what they judge in the face and heard their stories and seen their beauty. It is easy to judge from afar and much harder to judge a face. My job and the heart of this program is to advocate for men and women who have been dismissed because of their differences to those who would rather stand far off and make judgements. So here is my challenge: don't be what you hate, J., If you must judge, judge a face not a generalization. I think you may be surprised by what you see."

Having heard J.'s part of the story prior to the email, I did not expect this balanced and loving reply. How could I have heard a better lesson than this? There I was, fuming and ranting all week at my slap-dash Atheist label, when my negative reaction was no better than the act which precipitated it.

So whether or not I'm an Atheist really isn't important, from a larger stance. Whether or not my nephew and sibling are Christian Fundamentalists really shouldn't be important either. The challenge is to create a world/universe where gay, lesbian, trans, Atheist, Christian, Jewish, Islamic, Buddhist, Mormon etc. individuals "can safely create, access and explore their narrative understanding of God, self and other."

Shouldn't that be enough?

Is it enough to remind me to step down from my soapbox long enough to hear what my sibling has to say? To really listen, and not judge?

One thing is certain: life's lessons continue to enrich and expand my daily living. May I always be so fortunate to be reminded of the power of love when I'm least likely to be on the hunt for it.

19 comments:

  1. Personally I would be insulted to be called anything else. And where does all this 'Word of God' come from? As far as I'm aware the bible was concocted by a bunch of perfectly human individuals, at The Council of Nicea, in 325 AD.

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  2. Ah, the war of labels. We're silly little creatures, so full of ourselves, being so certain there is or isn't a god.

    I quit believing in any sort of doctrine decades ago and I have no problem donating to the Gospel Mission even tho I don't share their beliefs ... I figure they help people and that's good enough for me.

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  3. I am a recovering Christian. I was a fundamentalist and now I do now know what I am. Because I really do believe there is a God I still do not like the term Agnostic because to me that simply means I do not fit into a belief system set up by a group of people. I prefer to take away all the labels and just believe there is something out there. I also believe in being good to one another.

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  4. Dali Lama said, "My religion is kindness." Yes!

    I think so many people equate the Atheist with the devil -- you don't believe in god you must be influenced by the devil, or immoral. Some of the most moral people I know don't believe in a god, they believe in being good people.

    As a country, I think we will have come a long way when an avowed Atheist can elected to the White House. Can you imagine?

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  5. A powerful, deeply reflective post, T. I, too, needed to be reminded of how the things we dislike in other people are so often the things we don't like in ourselves. Thank you, once again, for sharing.

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  6. Labels was the word in my mind, ways in which we separate from each other, from ourselves. The belief that each and every thing is a segment of the divine is one I have come to hold as true. And good works are good works. It was a beautiful, loving and balanced reply. Lessons, so many, many lessons. xo

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  7. Cro, your comment made me giggle!

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  8. Bill, yours is a simple and straight-forward philosophy which makes complete sense.

    Thanks for commenting!

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  9. Birdie, I've never heard the phrase "recovering Christian" before — and in all honesty, I wish I heard it more often.

    Alas.

    Thanks for stopping by.

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  10. Tara, that atheism and the devil go hand in hand, according to large groups of the population, never fails to astound me.

    And what I find so confounding are the easy and at-the-ready answers and platitudes one often hears on this subject. Enough already!

    As always, I am glad to know you've been here.

    xo

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  11. Linda, yes, it's good to be reminded. In fact, I could use reminding more often. If you ever feel inclined, you could open your upstairs window that faces my house and shout it out.

    Just sayin'

    ;)

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  13. Marylinn, indeed "good works are good works". It is so not complicated and yet as humans we've complicated the hell out of things.

    Thank you for adding your piece of wisdom to this conversation.

    xo

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  14. For my family's weird evolution into evangelical rapture - guardian angels etc. in religious matters, I have managed to step into an evil even more unacceptable to their constant proselytizing, by finding my spiritual path in an African derived religion.

    Which of course is one of the many elements of this system that so appeals to me: no evangelizing, no proselytizing, no attempts to convert anyone. You are called or you are not. Nobody else's business or concern.

    Love, C.

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  15. you think you've got it hard - try being an atheist in a country where the word of god is wielded oppressively by those in power to fight anything they are frightened of or don't understand: people belonging to the poor masses (about to rise up in their communist bid for power and world domination no doubt), people deemed sexual deviants, people called non-believers, people who prefer books and learning to superstition and blindness... the list goes on.

    You might like this blog by the way: http://churchoftherebarjesus.blogspot.co.nz/

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  16. Foxessa, I've always believed religion and spirituality to be deeply private pursuits, as I'm guessing you do too.

    And then, on the other hand, maybe I can convert more of you to my Poetic beliefs!

    ;)

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  17. Michelle — good god (lower case "g"), you describe a terrifying place. My little corner of self-concern pales in comparison.

    So nice to see you here!

    T.

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  18. I can observe many paths because that's another element of the one I follow: it's ecumenical. You are not commanded by a jealous god to have no others. :)

    Love, C.

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  19. Hallelujah for an open heart!
    Great lesson..thanks for sharing.

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