God and religion vs. faith

Much as the comfort would have been a real boost, I have not been a religious man throughout my life. My scientific mind has put paid to belief of bible stories and the like, although it is clear the meaning is in the metaphor. I believe the great power in the sacred texts such as the bible and the Koran is their openness to interpretation of the meaning of stories. If you need support because you are having difficulty with a colleague at work simply read a passage about the teachings of Jesus on forgiveness and you will be comforted.

Likewise, facing death and having the feeling there is a man in the sky looking out for you at all times is akin to starting secondary school when your big brother is the hardest kid in year ten. It must lead to increased feelings of confidence and reduced feelings of vulnerability, loneliness and uncertainty. If people choose to have a belief for these benefits it can be well understood.

I believe the biggest mistake one can make is to practice any religion in an orthodox manner ie. To hold a scripture to be a 100% truth to be followed to the letter. Whilst this must lend great comfort to the believer regarding what path to follow in their lives, it leads to a narrowness of thinking and feeling of superiority. I cannot condone orthodox Christians who say that the bible states homosexuality is wrong and therefore leads them to advocate the persecution of homosexuals throughout society when a key message of the bible is also to "Love thy neighbour.". Both cannot be true under any form of logic. Love (L) = All Neighbours (X). All Homosexuals (y) are a subset of X. Therefore L = All X cannot be true. But if it were, as it must be, then L = All y cannot be true either. A crude analysis but you see my problem with orthodox interpretations.

Anyway, rant over. There is a distinction between faith and religion that is none too clear cut. Many people declare themselves to have a faith but to follow no religion. Faith never caused any conflicts but the misuse of belonging to a certain religion as an excuse for persecution e.g. Israel vs Palestine.

Having spoken to vicars and practising church-goers it seems the core concept of their belief is love. That is to say the core of everything they practise, has the aim of making people become more present to love. This can be no bad thing.

People often state that they have felt the presence of God, which has lead to their leap of faith. I believe we all experience a certain feeling at great high points in our life which many people choose to label as the presence of God whilst some others would call it a spiritual experience. My personal name for this momentary state of euphoria is the Sublime. When we experience the sublime nothing else in the world exists except for what we are focusing on and the mind is in an eternally peaceful state. I believe this is much the same kind of state Buddhists aim to achieve through high-level meditation.

A prime example of when I have experienced this is when I was in Polzeath, Cornwall. I had been bodyboarding late into the evening and it was virtually dark. The sun had been setting behind the rocks at the north end of the bay and it had been mesmerising, turning the sea more and more orange as it sank below the horizon. I eventually got out and sat in the shallows taking off my fins and getting ready for the long walk back up the cliffs. The angle of the light was such that the shallows turned an irridescent purple-pink and the sand became the same colour. The sight was so breathtaking I sat there for a full fifteen minutes until it was dark, unable to think about moving, unable to blink or take my eyes off my surroundings. It was the most moving experience of my life up to that point and I could well have explained it as the presence of God.

I think all religions are ultimately looking at moments like these that can come at any point and be interpreted as God's work. Anyway I am no theologian so will stop there before my argument holds any more glaring untruths. I am not saying religion is good or bad, it is just not something that ever happened for me. As I began to contemplate death, cynically some might say, I began trying to speak to God through prayer but to no avail. My beliefs remained unchanged and I expect this to remain the same until I depart (I'll let you know on the other side if I was right about the whole life after death thing!!!).

This text is an excerpt from a letter Dave wrote, while staying at the Joseph Weld Hospice, days before he passed away. The letter was to be read at his funeral celebration. You can read the full letter here.

Inheritance

Aristotle stated in 'The Poltics' that a man should die leaving as much money and posessions to those left behind as they had acquired throughout their life. ie. To leave the balance sheet neither in the red or the black.

Life after Death?

There are many reasons why one would wish to hold a belief that there is such a think as 'the afterlife', so much so that many non-reigious types feel this way despite having no precticing faith. I have spent considerable time thinking this through and cannot support the idea.

I like my father's idea that we are all made of stardust and that death merely returns us to the stars to eventually form parts of other lifeforms.

Rules to live by (my commandments)

• Treat others as you would like to be treated.
• Give people the benefit of the doubt.
• Reserve judgement until you have to make it.
• Always be willing to change first opinions.
• Support people by listening to them first and foremost.
• Just accept that life is not fair.
• Have no regrets, you can only make the best decision at the time.
• Be honest.

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