Actually, the Prosperity Gospel–the extremely popular version of Christianity pushed by most televangelists and increasingly in the largest American megachurches does exactly that. In its crudest form, it tells people that if they give money to the church, they should pray for things they want and God will give those things to them (seriously–watch the Trinity Broadcast Network and you’ll hear one story after another of people sending in ten dollars only to win the lottery the next day), and, in its slightly less crude form, tells parishioners that God wants them to be wealthy (and this, actually, plays a big part in the now-increasingly-strained alliance between evangelicals and the Republican party).

YogaforCynics’s last blog post..Getting Personal…

Having said that I think that whatever people want to believe is up to them on an individual basis. Just wish we could leave the institutions and the state right out of it.

Have a great weekend.
Angela Lovell

I went to all sorts of different services–everything from Jewish Temples to Islamic Mosques to evangelical Christian churches to Catholic Mass. I attended a couple of Buddhist temples, as well as took part in many Native American ceremonies. In the end, I decided that organized religion was not for me–yet all the churches–every single one of them had things in them that I took away. Good lessons could be found in all if one is willing to listen to those messages.

I think today that people forget the basic message of most religions–they are too caught up in the dogma that they lost the value of the beliefs. People so often don’t live the spiritual life they claim to have; it’s all talk and nothing more (for many people–not all).

For me, spirituality is as central to my existence as breathing, eating, and sleeping–I simply cannot imagine my life without that spiritual connection to my higher power. I really think that people need to just get back to the basic tenets of whatever religion they choose.

I met a Native American medicine man who has been a spiritual advisor to me for many years. He told me once, “Melinda, religion is for people who want to get into heaven; spirituality is for those who have been to hell.”

I think there’s some truth to that.

Well, I think I’ve rambled on long enough here! Great blog–I will definitely be back.

Melinda

Melinda’s last blog post..Personal Responsibility

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