Re: GOD versus religion - my 2c worth

My mother used to read me bible (at the time, I couldn't really understand that they were anything more than fairytales, I simply enjoyed them) stories when I was 3 years old. I was fascinated by the idea that that the place where we all came from was a place of pure goodness (peace, happiness, love, etc.). Of course, I didn't think that it was just a location that existed by itself, but someone was in charge, and that the "SOMEONE" was greater than human. My mother decided to put me in a Catholic school where I found out that this was not just some strange idea that I wanted to believe, but others believed it too. I was an altar boy and a devout Catholic, but in sixth grade, I wanted to leave because of hypocritical teaching and an overall insencerity toward the one I love (God). My mother wouldn't let me leave until I graduated 8th grade. So, two years later, I left knowing full well that I can and should (according to the rules of justice) be excommunicated, labelled a heritic, burned at a stake and damned to eternity in hell, but I told God that I was not leaving because I DON'T love Him, I'm leaving because I DO love Him and can't stay where they mock Him. I thought that if justice is God's way, then it should be done, so, for all I knew, I might be in hell by the end of the week, but I just couldn't stay where they mock Him, so I left. That was probably the most important lesson God taught me at that age, He taught HOW to love Him and say "Though He slay me, yet shall I love Him". For the next 20 years, I didn't believe anything I was taught. I believed that the bible was no more than a storybook and didn't believe that God had a son, but I loved Him immensely and searched for His name. I even gave up the search (temporarily, about 3 days) once, because there were so many different ideas in the world about Him, I didn't think I would ever know His name. But I discovered that I just couldn't live without knowing His name, for one reason and one reason only,...not because He was the "Origin", not because He was the 'be all and end all' of all existence (not the existence of evil, that comes from human beings in cooperation with satan), but because I HAD to know where the people came from so I could pay homage and give thanks. That's the second lesson that He made sure I would learn,...WHY to love Him and what the MOST important reason is. This is spirituality at it's purest,...To love God because He is where the people came from (we shouldn't love Him only because of His Son). The trouble is that, vey often, what His Son did for us is presented in a very dogmatic and partisan way so that God is shown to us in a bureaucratic way and that everything done in our lives should only be done as a PROCEDURE. In "religions", such as Catholicism, there are a lot of items (rosary, scapula, statues, robes, catechism, etc.) and protocols, such as the command structure (priest, monsignor, bishop, archbishop, cardinal, etc.) of PHYSICAL significance, but those are tools of satan meant to distract us from the spiritual significance of knowing God's truth. The truth is that the Lord has provided a sanctuary for us after we leave this earth (so that satan cannot snatch us and bring us into his kingdom), but it is up to each one of us to choose it. Unfortunately, traditional Christianity doesn't always provide such a clear picture because the spirit of man interferes and the world is addicted to RELIGION. It seems that the idea of fearing (of course,"FEAR" also sometimes means INTENSE respect) God is the limit of human understanding and what many people rather do (as opposed to LOVING Him). All throughout the bible, we are told to fear Him, but just like the command to LOVE Him, the final decision, as in any situation, should come from your heart and conscience ( 1 John 4:18 "PERFECT love casts out fear...").( I can't help but boast of my Lord). I enjoy reading how much you love Him and reject the spirit of man (you know where that wisdom came from). Tweet