I like to think that though my short years, I have learned a lot. But I one thing I know for sure is that I have a lot to learn.

One subject that has always been of interest to me is religions. God as a subject is interesting, but I find that the interpretation of man’s ideas about God are more fascinating. Why do people believe what they do? Why do they insist that their version of truth is THE version of truth? Isn’t truth universal, or is it a point of view? Where do people’s convictions come from, and why is your conviction better/stronger/more accurate than anyone else’s?

Beyond that, I find the study of religious traditions very interesting. Where did they come from? Why are they so strange to outside views?

In my opinion, a loving God (or whatever title you want to put there like, “energy”) has helped usher some of the major traditions in hopes of bringing as many of us near Him (again, don’t get hung up on titles here) as possible. Meaning: Imagine this, God sits back and says, “Boy, I know that I will get this group of people if I help them see the loving energy of the universe through the Buddha’s teachings.” Or, “I will give a perfect example in the poor carpenter who teaches love and peace.” Or even, “Man, the land here is tough and war stricken. I will guide this man to a cave and show him some truths that he can help bring millions closer to me in a religion that literally means ‘submission to God’.”

There are common threads through all religions, but the ones that strike a cord with me the most are the teachings of compassion, acceptance, love and tolerance. I love the concept of alignment with the force of the universe and submission to God. I adore the idea of a perfect example that is totally unobtainable for me, but somehow, I can be brought into.

One of the weirdest religions I have ever encountered is Mormonism (aka: The Church of Jesus Christ of Ladder-Day Saints). Full disclosure: I’m a member of this church, albeit not a very good  one – at least not by the main-stream definition. Not to say I don’t believe in the gospel the church preaches, or even to say I don’t try and live by the tenets of the church.

Mormonism caught a lot of publicity when the winter Olympics went to Salt Lake City, then again with all the media and news around Mitt Romney and Jon Huntsman. But wait, aren’t Mormons weird fanatics? Can we trust these cooks in high office?!

But when you actually look at religion, you really do have to ask. “Are Mormons any weirder than the rest of them?”

Really though. The question of allowing a high office to be held by a what-ever-religion-seems-weird seems to be a crazy question to me. Wasn’t this the same question that was posed to JFK, “Once a Catholic gets into the White House, the Pope will be running the country.” THAT is crazy to me.

Most of the folks I hear throw these questions out are my Evangelical brothers and sisters. Bear in mind, these are the folks who believe that a man, born of a virgin (um… how exactly? I practice in the medical field and I have yet to figure that out), was the son of God (THE God, like Thor or Hercules), only to die on a cross (a humiliating Roman torture method), and then be resurrected (like a zombie? a belief that is, with all due respect, not exactly the most rational belief either). But let’s take another group I have heard this debate from, the Orthodox Jews, who believe that the Red Sea split, a donkey talked to Balaam, and the sun stood still for Joshua. Did I mention there are unicorns, dragons and cockatrice in the bible? Ya, chew on that for a second.

Regarding Mormonism, the wise Rabbi Shmuley Boteach said, “Now, do I believe that Joseph Smith found ancient tablets written in reformed Egyptian in upstate New York, that Jesus Christ appeared to the people of South America as recorded in the Book of Mormon, or that when a Mormon dies he becomes a god and gets his own planet? No. Respectfully, I do not. Nor should it matter. It is what a person does, rather than what he believes, that counts. It took four years for the Dalai Lama to be identified as the reincarnation of his predecessor in a process that to Western eyes can appear highly arbitrary. Yet, the Dalai Lama remains one of the most respected men alive because of his commitment to world peace and good works.”

Here’s my beef: attacks on religion, any religion, stems from a willful desire to drive a separating wedge between people. These attacks usually begin with some fanatic that attempts to fraudulently identify different faiths as fanatics (ironic). I enjoyed several months of lectures on religion in Jena, Germany where the instructor would constantly say, “Look for the similarities that unite us, not the differences that separate us.” I took that to mean, “It’s cool if you think different, you look different or even smell different. But hey, look at all the ways we are the same. Be proud of being different, but embrace me in our similarities.”

 

Have you ever wondered why God commanded Abraham to sacrifice his son, Isaac? I mean, this is a fascinating legend that has so many lessons, but I think that the real message seems to elude the masses. Again from the insight of Rabbi Boteach: One of the most astute observations on this confusing story, comes from the Lubavitcher Rebbe, Rabbi Menachem Schneerson. Here he says that the key to the story is to see Isaac not as an individual but as a religion. AH! Think about who Isaac was… He represents Judaism. Isaac was going to continue the traditions of Abraham and in his death, everything that Abraham had learned and taught (think of the rejection of paganism and the belief in a singular God – thanks for monotheism!) would be lost.

So, like the ever-testing God of the Old Testament did, he tests Abraham. But the test isn’t “Would you kill your boy?” Rather, “Would you follow God’s commandment to kill off His religion? To cut off his people? OR, will you put religion before God?” So, like the bard would tell us, here’s the rub: What really mattered to Abraham, God or Judaism?

Continuing, from Rabbi Shmuley Boteach, “The religious fanatic is the man or woman who has ceased to serve God and has begun worshipping his or her religion, making that faith into yet another false idol. Religion is solely the means by which we come to have a relationship with our Creator. But when it becomes a substitute for God, it becomes soulless and fanatical, seeing as there is no loving deity to temper it.”

With that in mind, isn’t it a little clearer why religious fundamentalists are so dangerous, even deadly? So, I don’t think our concern should be with a person of a particular faith sitting in a particular seat of the government. It doesn’t matter one bit if he or she is Jewish, Evangelical, Mormon or Muslim. What mattes is if the person’s faith is concerned with harmonizing with the energy of God (or the universe or whatever you wanna call it) and, by extension, caring for the masses as God’s children. We are all children of the Great Father (no, God can be a woman and we are still children… grow up), who looks upon us with the kind loving care only a parent can. We are all born of the same stock and will return to the dust very, very soon. In the meantime, we are here to aid, support and protect one another. There is no time to bicker and argue about whose religion is the best, coolest, most accurate. There are precious few moments we need to fill with love.

One’s proximity to a perfect being (God), reminds one of their own fallibility. The experiences we have that show us God’s compassion, lead us to be more kind, merciful and loving. On the flip side, those who worship a religion over God (the ones who refuse to kill Isaac) are arrogant. These are the ones who believe they have the only truth and dismiss other people’s beliefs and convictions. These are the ones who display the classic characteristics of cult members.

So… remember that God is a lot of things. One of my very favorite things that John says He is, is Love (1 John 4:8). So, let’s all try a little harder to be like Love. Let’s embrace our differences and hold tight to one another, for we are more alike than we can begin to comprehend.