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catscradle Jul. 23rd, 2002 09:09 am)
catscradle Jul. 23rd, 2002 09:09 am)A lot of folks that meet me think that I'm either anti-Christian or a rabid Catholic. I'm neither. It would certainly be difficult to be both of those things at the same moment, but given Christianity's proclivity toward paradox, I guess it's not beyond the realm of possibility. However, that isn't the case with me.
Today, as I was heading out of Starbucks, a very nice man held the door open for me as I was trying to balance my backpack, my purse, and my ice mocha (flavored with orange if you're interested). He smiled, nodded his head and went on his way. Then as he headed to his truck, he broke out in song. I mean, he didn't just start singing, he was belting out a ditty at the top of his lungs. He had a lovely singing voice. The tune he broke into was definately Christian in nature. It was about Jesus being a good guy and nature being bountiful and pretty - neither of those thoughts were anything that I could find fault with.
As I headed to the bus stop, I thought about that for a moment. Was it offensive? Should he keep his religious music to himself? I came up with a resounding No. It was actually good to see someone do something nice and smile and sing a song. It was certainly less offensive than standing next to a smoker or someone with "United We Stand" stickers all over their car or someone singing a Billy Ray Cyrus song.
Religion or the Divine is suppose to move us. If it's to sing, well, as long as no one is pushing us to read their pamphets and convert us before it's too late, then why not? It's actually rather beautiful. If all the Christians out there that try to convince us all that they're right would just sing instead, it would be a better world, I'm telling you.
And before anyone says that singing can still be a method of pushing their religion - well, maybe - if they're singing about the final judgment and eternal damnation. I don't know too many songs about fire and brimstone though. And it's really no different than a Wiccan telling everyone "blessed be" or a Buddhist quoting the Buddha or an atheist proclaiming there is no God (and yes, atheism is only a belief).
Now, I'm all for the separation of church and state, I think "god" should be taken out of the pledge of allegaince, I think that the fundamentalists preachers that come to my university should get kicked off campus. I just don't think that someone singing a song should be told to shut up. It's not offensive. It really isn't. Not if we're going to let others sing or say whatever they want. Free speech. Everyone has that right, even if it's not vogue in the circles we happen to run in.
All and all, Christianity isn't offensive when people actually practice what it's suppose to stand for. So, many thanks to the man that held the door open for me and smiled as he did it.
Today, as I was heading out of Starbucks, a very nice man held the door open for me as I was trying to balance my backpack, my purse, and my ice mocha (flavored with orange if you're interested). He smiled, nodded his head and went on his way. Then as he headed to his truck, he broke out in song. I mean, he didn't just start singing, he was belting out a ditty at the top of his lungs. He had a lovely singing voice. The tune he broke into was definately Christian in nature. It was about Jesus being a good guy and nature being bountiful and pretty - neither of those thoughts were anything that I could find fault with.
As I headed to the bus stop, I thought about that for a moment. Was it offensive? Should he keep his religious music to himself? I came up with a resounding No. It was actually good to see someone do something nice and smile and sing a song. It was certainly less offensive than standing next to a smoker or someone with "United We Stand" stickers all over their car or someone singing a Billy Ray Cyrus song.
Religion or the Divine is suppose to move us. If it's to sing, well, as long as no one is pushing us to read their pamphets and convert us before it's too late, then why not? It's actually rather beautiful. If all the Christians out there that try to convince us all that they're right would just sing instead, it would be a better world, I'm telling you.
And before anyone says that singing can still be a method of pushing their religion - well, maybe - if they're singing about the final judgment and eternal damnation. I don't know too many songs about fire and brimstone though. And it's really no different than a Wiccan telling everyone "blessed be" or a Buddhist quoting the Buddha or an atheist proclaiming there is no God (and yes, atheism is only a belief).
Now, I'm all for the separation of church and state, I think "god" should be taken out of the pledge of allegaince, I think that the fundamentalists preachers that come to my university should get kicked off campus. I just don't think that someone singing a song should be told to shut up. It's not offensive. It really isn't. Not if we're going to let others sing or say whatever they want. Free speech. Everyone has that right, even if it's not vogue in the circles we happen to run in.
All and all, Christianity isn't offensive when people actually practice what it's suppose to stand for. So, many thanks to the man that held the door open for me and smiled as he did it.
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But then, so are most other religions...
Just a random person running around bored...