Faith, Not Religion

• Posted by R Fox April 17, 2012 #Religion  #Faith  1,805 views
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  I had the amazing opportunity to interview the Artist D, and her co-host Vanilla Child on their first episode of their current season 5. I’ve been after asking Artist D some interview questions for a while, and this was just a brilliant opportunity to do that and also promote Transtastic.

   

  Although we chat infrequently over the web, and live on the other side of the Atlantic, we have a rapport that comes from some shared life experiences and aspirations. I have no doubt she is far more creative and artistic than me (I can barely draw the curtains, let alone a master piece) – but there is a connection on wanting things to be better for everyone.

   

  One of the BIG issues I have with this world is religion and what it does to people (and what those people do to other people). This was one of the questions I put to Artist D and Vanilla Child, and you can hear what they said about it in the interview (http://theartistd.com/radio.html).

   

  I don’t have a problem with people believing in a God, or Gods – I don’t share that view. For me we are just a bunch of chemicals that are in a chain reaction. The elements that make me up have been around for millions of years, then luckily they came to form me, I live, I die, the split-up, and then they stay around and form other animals, plants, planets, cars, sky, water etc for several more million years. There is no divine intervention. Luck or Unlucky – you have a big influence over how lucky you are, and over how lucky those people are around you too (especially your children!).

   

  However, I do share many of the values of religion – sharing, caring, nurturing, helping, and developing – in short doing the right thing. I have core values that make me (most of the time) a good person. OK, I can be a total bitch – I can take the piss out of people, and I say and do nasty things for my own entertainment (life has to be a little fun) – BUT – on the whole I do the right things. I feel I’m a person of positive energy and force for good. I don’t need religion to do that – I just need the faith in myself and my ability to do good.

   

  Religion is a set of rules based on texts that are thousands of years old – in a world that has moved on – our understanding and science has moved on. Religion for me is about faith, belief in God can be a good thing if it gives you stability and a reason for living. The other part of religion is about FEAR – the consequence of not conforming to those texts, and what to do with those people who are being a little different from the mould and not being able to hide it.

   

  All the child abuse in the Catholic Church – was just wrong but as it was hidden and people couldn’t see the deviances it was OK. But people that have to look different, or behave differently – outside the norm – they have been the ones persecuted both in the past and to this very day.

   

  If you have faith in your own ability and a good heart then in my eyes you can do no wrong.
  To me religion is old fashioned way to organise our newly connected world – it has the ability of forcing people to do the wrong things, for the wrong reasons – and rewarding them for that behaviour.

   

  Of course, most of the time, many faiths are doing the right things – religious organisations with shared values of doing good in the world. I just hope they are doing it for the right reasons, not the wrong ones.

   

  Do the right things, for the right reasons. Faith in yourself and your abilities is all that matters – you have one shot ‘life’ in this Universe – make it count. (and if there is a God I’m sure he/she/it won’t mind!).