What I Believe

Nothing like an educated, open-minded, practicing Catholic to out those who hide behind the Bible without actually reading or understanding it. I'm not what you could call a Biblical scholar, but I have read the King James version, both old and new testaments, and the New Testament again in the Revised Standard Version. I'm baptized and confirmed in the Lutheran faith, but it never really took on me, I always had too many questions that couldn't be satisfactorily answered by, you must have faith, you must believe. For me, the more I read the Bible and developed a greater understanding of its context in history, the less I was able to consider it as the be all and end all as a basis for religious belief. Knowing that it has been selectively edited, often for political reasons, over the 2700 years of its existence*, and that it was originally written in three different languages** and has been translated into English with varying degrees of accuracy, has brought me to where I am now. I am an Agnostic, meaning that I don't believe any side has the full and complete knowledge of what happens to us when we die. I have never believed in the concept of eternal punishment, Hell, or eternal reward, Heaven, as being a valid explanation. I respect all people who have other beliefs because there are truly many paths to enlightenment. The thing I dislike the most about most organized religions is that they set up an Us vs Them scenario, we are the chosen and you are not. I believe that it is more important to treat each other well, to never resort to violence, to always practice kindness without condescension, to allow others to fail and forgive them and hope the same will be extended to me in return, to respect and care for this Earth we live on, than to adhere mindlessly to any religious doctrine. I believe we should love fearlessly and fiercely. And I am always open to have a conversation on why and what you believe. Because the more I know, the more I realize how little I know.  

* The Dead Sea Scrolls, which contain most of the books of the Hebrew Bible, date to 408 BC to 300 A.D. 

**Greek, Hebrew, and Aramaic