|
Not that labels are so important for this sort of thing, but I'd like some suggestions on what would be a good 'shorthand' name for my spiritual beliefs, which go as follows:
There is obviously Good Stuff in the universe - we have the capability to care about others, appreciate beauty, use advanced logic, and conceive of things beyond this world. That Good Stuff could be proven to come from evolving as social animals, or a big dude on a throne in the sky, or anything in between, but I don't care, really - I don't feel the need to know in any more than a sense of academic curiosity. For me, the part that matters is that the Good Stuff is here, however it got here, and I should try to help it and make more of it. In regular practice, I express my spirituality (beyond trying to help and embrace the Good Stuff) by studying the 'mythologies' and storytelling structures of religions around the world, past and present.
For example, I was at a panel of Christians talking about their religion, and I asked them about why they chose Jesus when there are lots of other figures just like him around the world. At first they thought I was implying (atheistically, to their minds) that if there were other 'myths', then Jesus couldn't be the Son of God. I finally had to explain to them that I was saying more along the lines of, what if Jesus wasn't the only Son of God to come to humans. I don't know if he literally was or not, and it really doesn't matter to me.
I support the religious and spiritual paths of anyone who tries to help the Good Stuff, regardless of who or what they say they're doing it for, but because of my studies, I can't settle myself into one theistic structure. I'm not anti-Christian, just not exclusively Christian.
All right, so what should we call this? Have fun with it! I usually just say 'heathen' or 'Church of the Fluffy Bunnies', but those aren't suitable for every occasion.
|