I have always been told there are two areas you should never bring up as topics unless you want a friendly debate to get ugly. Those are politics and religion. Being from the Boston area, I get why politics can be a sore spot. I can see why religion would be a tough topic based on the many religion that are present in the New England area. I myself was raised catholic and went to a catholic school most of my childhood. I even served an altar boy for the church. No, there are no gory stories to share. Everything was fine and rather enjoyed those years.
Now I am grown up with kids of my own, religion tends to pop up every now an then. You would think with all my teaching and time spent in church, I would impress upon my kids the ways of Catholic Church. It is quite the opposite in my home. Do we believe in God? Of course we do. Do I take my children to church every Sunday? In today’s world of working to survive, church is not an option at times, if at all on Sundays. Does this make me a bad catholic? In the eyes of some, yes. Since I believe in God, and know if I beg for forgiveness, he will absolve me for whatever wrong doings I have done and I can go to heaven. Not my rules, I just follow them.
The last part of the sentence is what brought me to this topic. My wife and child were watching a movie and the topic of death came up. I guess one the main characters parents died because they were old. Of course the wife explained everything and the next question was about going to heaven. The wife explained that to her best ability and how if we do well on earth we can go to heaven. My wife explains this all to me and I pointed out the one flaw in the conversation. God forgives everyone if they ask for it. We then got into the debate of people in prison who murder and do evil things against others. I told her that even though these people are nasty and mean, if the just ask for forgiveness before dying, God will absolve them of their sin and allow them into heaven. The question for here was this; the why should we follow the Ten Commandments? Great question!
The commandments were handed down before Jesus was born, these were the rules placed of followers of God to show their loyalty and faith. After the Jesus was born and then crucified for our sins, it became more of a belief that all would be forgiven if we profess our faith and denounce our sin. Go ahead and look it up in whatever readings you need to. The times that others were not allowed to pass were due to ignorance and denial. This being said, why would I care what religious rules I break? If I can break everyone of the Ten Commandments and on my dying bed, confoess and ask for forgiveness, why wouldn’t I live now? There is that group that will say you should show your children how to be respectful and be a good follower. Why? Most religious figures of prominence have been shown to be corrupt and breaking their own rules.
When it comes to religion, I think it’s all in what you believe. Catholic, Jewish, Buddhist, or whatever you choose, the choice is yours. Religion should be a series of personal beliefs that make you feel good about how you live. Religion shouldn’t be something you have to handcuff yourself to in order to exist.
Now I am grown up with kids of my own, religion tends to pop up every now an then. You would think with all my teaching and time spent in church, I would impress upon my kids the ways of Catholic Church. It is quite the opposite in my home. Do we believe in God? Of course we do. Do I take my children to church every Sunday? In today’s world of working to survive, church is not an option at times, if at all on Sundays. Does this make me a bad catholic? In the eyes of some, yes. Since I believe in God, and know if I beg for forgiveness, he will absolve me for whatever wrong doings I have done and I can go to heaven. Not my rules, I just follow them.
The last part of the sentence is what brought me to this topic. My wife and child were watching a movie and the topic of death came up. I guess one the main characters parents died because they were old. Of course the wife explained everything and the next question was about going to heaven. The wife explained that to her best ability and how if we do well on earth we can go to heaven. My wife explains this all to me and I pointed out the one flaw in the conversation. God forgives everyone if they ask for it. We then got into the debate of people in prison who murder and do evil things against others. I told her that even though these people are nasty and mean, if the just ask for forgiveness before dying, God will absolve them of their sin and allow them into heaven. The question for here was this; the why should we follow the Ten Commandments? Great question!
The commandments were handed down before Jesus was born, these were the rules placed of followers of God to show their loyalty and faith. After the Jesus was born and then crucified for our sins, it became more of a belief that all would be forgiven if we profess our faith and denounce our sin. Go ahead and look it up in whatever readings you need to. The times that others were not allowed to pass were due to ignorance and denial. This being said, why would I care what religious rules I break? If I can break everyone of the Ten Commandments and on my dying bed, confoess and ask for forgiveness, why wouldn’t I live now? There is that group that will say you should show your children how to be respectful and be a good follower. Why? Most religious figures of prominence have been shown to be corrupt and breaking their own rules.
When it comes to religion, I think it’s all in what you believe. Catholic, Jewish, Buddhist, or whatever you choose, the choice is yours. Religion should be a series of personal beliefs that make you feel good about how you live. Religion shouldn’t be something you have to handcuff yourself to in order to exist.
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