{"id":1525,"date":"2018-04-04T14:16:41","date_gmt":"2018-04-04T14:16:41","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/aurelis.org\/blog\/?p=1525"},"modified":"2023-10-28T09:44:43","modified_gmt":"2023-10-28T09:44:43","slug":"religion-is-a-conversation-between-god-and-me","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/aurelis.org\/blog\/open-religion\/religion-is-a-conversation-between-god-and-me","title":{"rendered":"Religion is a Conversation between God and Me"},"content":{"rendered":"

In the course of time, many have been killed for daring to say so. Many of these have found it worthwhile nevertheless.<\/h3>\n

God and me<\/strong> \u2015 an introduction<\/strong><\/p><\/blockquote>\n

For the sake of this text at least, we can take a very broad view on the notion of \u2018God\u2019. It can be the one (or many) of any specific religion. It can be an abstract thought, a force of nature or a personal concoction. Anything goes. Otherwise this text has no meaning whatsoever to you, dear reader.<\/p>\n

And the notion of \u2018me\u2019? Well, we need to take a broad view on that also. Not in the sense that it can be anything, but that it\u2019s about \u2018me\u2019-totally: in all my conscious mental processing and<\/em> my non-conscious mental processing.<\/p>\n

Are you ready?<\/p>\n

Religion is a conversation.<\/strong><\/p><\/blockquote>\n

I talk to Him. He talks to me. I can be alone or with many people. If words are involved, they tend to be poetic. In many cases, they\u2019re not needed. Animals don\u2019t talk, yet converse. People, even while talking, converse also in many other ways. That\u2019s okay. Why would He need words anyway? So, when I don\u2019t need them, everything\u2019s perfect.<\/p>\n

But conversation there is!<\/p>\n

Which means more \u2013 as things frequently do \u2013 than may be obvious at first sight. The main deeper meaning to me:<\/p>\n

There is no religion without conversation.<\/strong><\/p><\/blockquote>\n

This is probably even more to the core of the killing I already mentioned. \u2018No religion without conversation\u2019 puts responsibility right into the heart of the ones who converse.<\/p>\n

God? No problem.<\/p>\n

Me? Wow!<\/p>\n

If I do not converse with God, there is no religion.<\/p>\n

I can converse with God all the time, so there can always be religion.<\/p>\n

It\u2019s directly between God and me. Consequence:<\/p>\n

no need for any priest in-between.<\/strong><\/p><\/blockquote>\n

No pope in-between. No imam. No guru. No shaman. No-one.<\/p>\n

No book\u00a0in-between. No building. No sermon. No fairytales, nor any other tales. No-thing.<\/p>\n

No situations\u00a0in-between. No mores. No traditions. No cutting. No shoe. No veil. Not any kind of clothing.<\/p>\n

Nothing.<\/strong><\/p><\/blockquote>\n

Thus, also no means of keeping people under any authority\u2019s iron fist. The \u2018conversation\u2019 from the title takes away all iron power from any religious authority.<\/p>\n

Authority needs to find something else. I suggest: Open Leadership.\u00a0Of course, this isn\u2019t as easy as just ramming along. It demands a lot of work, insight, humility\u2026<\/p>\n

Can the title\u2019s conversation be called \u2018mysticism\u2019?<\/strong><\/p><\/blockquote>\n

Sure: a very normal mysticism of every normal day.<\/p>\n

Of course, people may need support,<\/strong><\/p><\/blockquote>\n

especially when in Divine conversation. For instance, doesn\u2019t the Catholic bible say that \u201cthou shall not look God in the face and live\u201d?<\/p>\n

A fist, however, is no support. Unfortunately, when people needed it most, many \u2018religious authorities\u2019 have in the course of time delivered an unfortunate abuse.<\/p>\n

What can I say? I guess they don\u2019t know what they\u2019re doing.<\/p>\n

This should stop, not simply for the sake of \u2018getting rid of religion\u2019 but precisely for the sake of the conversation that lies at the core of true religion. As said: no religion without it. Moreover, people cannot be enforced in this. It can only \u2018grow from deep inside\u2019. If a priest, imam, brother, parent\u2026 or even oneself tries to enforce someone in anything towards this conversation, he is doing the opposite.<\/p>\n

That\u2019s what I would call \u2018sacrilegious\u2019. It\u2019s completely anti-religious.<\/strong><\/p><\/blockquote>\n

One example: enforcing<\/em> any girl (or boy) to wear a veil \u2018for God\u2019s sake\u2019.<\/p>\n

This does not mean they should not weir a veil. Also, it doesn\u2019t mean they should. It does mean that it\u2019s beside the godly issue. If it doesn\u2019t emerge from deeply within that boy himself (or girl), there is no true conversation and no religion.<\/p>\n

I may have felt this once. Gone was God.<\/strong><\/p><\/blockquote>\n

So tell me: how can an emergence ever happen under a fist of coercion? I don\u2019t see that at all.<\/p>\n

In one conversation, I asked \u2018God\u2019 about it. No answer, of course \u2015\u00a0as usual with senseless questions.<\/p>\n

I totally agree.<\/p>\n

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In the course of time, many have been killed for daring to say so. Many of these have found it worthwhile nevertheless. God and me \u2015 an introduction For the sake of this text at least, we can take a very broad view on the notion of \u2018God\u2019. It can be the one (or many) Read the full article…<\/a><\/p>\n

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