God, Gods, No God....by Julianna Rowe

God, Gods, No God and Somehow We Keep Coming Back to Kindness by Julianna Rowe

I thought about writing something political today and then I thought, Are you nuts?

People are already upset, everybody is yelling, and voting is coming. Families and friends are arguing. Complete strangers are arguing with other complete strangers on Facebook as though somebody is going to suddenly type, “You know what? After reading your comment in ALL CAPITAL LETTERS, I have completely changed my mind.”

So I decided to stay away from controversy.

Let's talk about religion.

Good thinking, right? Okay bad joke. But, really, I started wondering about all the different religions in the world and what each one actually teaches at its core. Not every rule, ceremony, holiday or theological argument. We'd be here until Easter. Or Hanukkah. Or Ramadan. Or possibly my next reincarnation. Just the basics.

Christianity centers on Jesus Christ and teaches love of God and neighbor, forgiveness, mercy and caring for others. Judaism centers on one God, the Torah, covenant, community and living responsibly through God's commandments, with a strong emphasis on justice and charity. Islam teaches belief in one God, prayer, charity, fasting, moral responsibility and living according to the guidance of the Qur'an.

Hinduism includes many different traditions, but important ideas include dharma, living rightly, karma, rebirth and ultimately liberation from the cycle of rebirth. Buddhism focuses heavily on understanding suffering and overcoming it. Compassion, wisdom, self-discipline and avoiding harm are important parts of the path. Sikhism teaches belief in one God, equality among people, honest living, sharing with others and service to humanity.

Jainism puts extraordinary emphasis on nonviolence, avoiding harm to living things, along with truth, compassion and self-discipline. Taoism teaches living in harmony with the Tao, or “the Way,” emphasizing balance, simplicity and not forcing our way through life. Shinto emphasizes reverence for nature, ancestors and kami, along with ritual, purity and community. The Baháʼí Faith teaches one God, the unity of humanity, equality and the idea that the world's great religions are connected parts of humanity's spiritual development.

And then there are atheists, who don't believe in a god or gods. Atheism itself isn't a religion and doesn't come with one set of moral rules. Many atheists, including secular humanists, base their ethics on reason, empathy, human welfare and our responsibility to one another.

I sat there looking at all of that and thought...We certainly don't agree about everything. We don't agree about God, about how many lives we get, about heaven, salvation, scripture, prophets, worship or what happens when this whole earthly adventure is over. But look at how often certain ideas keep showing up. Don't hurt people, help somebody who needs it, tell the truth,c ontrol the worst parts of yourself, have compassion, and think about somebody besides yourself.

Maybe kindness doesn't belong to any one religion. Maybe it doesn't belong to religion at all. Maybe it's simply one of those things human beings, over thousands of years and across thousands of miles, keep discovering over and over again. We may never agree about what happens after we die. But surely we can do a little better at agreeing on how we treat each other while we're here.

And look at that. I avoided politics.

Barely.

The Happy News Lady 💗  p.s. of course I asked AI for these definitions. 😉