We are living in perilous times. Many people who have not been practising their spiritual or religious traditions are slowly embarking on a search for values to which they could anchor their behavior in the midst of uncertainty. Most people, however, had been raised under the influence of one religion or another, but have either not taken them seriously since or have found them already irrelevant to their daily lives, until something tragic happens and they start rethinking about it.
Many of our popular religions, unfortunately, are patently evil. Look out! You may be in one of them. Here are some manifestations:
1. Those that emphasize blind belief and meaningless rituals more than actions.
2. Those that insist that only they can save souls; and only they are right. They also insist that their interpretation of this or that book is the only correct one and should be the only guide to life.
3. Those that are obviously after money and collections of more money.
4. Those whose priests, ministers, pastors, leaders or bishops receive money or gifts from corrupt businessmen and politicians.
5. Those that dictate upon their followers what to do and even who to vote for; encouraging them to follow blindly and not to think critically.
6. Those who discriminate against social deviants such as lesbians, gays, bisexuals and even lowly women, as if they are animals or criminals.
7. Those that do not help the needy and instead emphasize that only the other world is important; and on the other hand, those who also emphasize the opposite, that only this world is important.
There are many other forms of evil that have controlled today’s faiths and practices. Many are also led astray by various questionable and fake practices which can be found in some books and even in the Internet, which is a double-edged sword, where you find both good and bad.
An important guide in discernment is this: Look for those that are truly compassionate and would not stifle your freedom to think and behave. All genuine guides of the human race have consistently taught compassion and freedom; Jesus of Nazareth, Gautama Buddha, Mahatma Gandhi, Mother Teresa, Martin Luther King, George Fox, Rudolf Steiner and others.
Here are sites that might be helpful for your search and reflection:
1.
www.christianuniversalist.org, if you are a Christian who believes in freedom and love; and if you are still comfortable with meaningful ritual,
www.thechristiancommunity.org;2.
www.uua.org, if you also believe in love and freedom but you’re not sure if you want to be exclusively Christian; this is especially open for those who want to uphold women, lesbian and gay rights;
3.
www.quakerinfo.org, if you are the type who does not believe in strict formalities and would want to seek God more deeply in spontaneity and silent worship without priests or ministers.
Come and see.
(If you believe this message is important, kindly pass on to your friends).
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