A Bit of Religious History According to Charmaine

In the last post, I was going to talk a little bit about religious history and similarities between major religions today, but it just didn't seem to flow well with the other things that I was saying.  But, then Shelly B. asked me a question about it, so I thought I would just do another post with my opinions and beliefs regarding that subject.  And while this may turn out to be just a conversation with myself - and Shelly too hopefully - I would really love to hear what everyone else thinks also.

I know a little about pagan traditions, but I never took a class on it or anything - what I know is just from studying other things - like knowledge through osmosis I guess.  But, I truly believe that all major religions today are derived from one ancient religion. The religion that was taught to Adam and Eve. Then through oral and written tradition, the stories and values were passed down from generation to generation. Men like Muhammad and Buddha could have been inspired and I bet they were. But mostly, they took those oral and written traditions and used what they needed to to lead and guide their people - even adding to it.  And after Christ came to earth and taught (what I believe to be) the truth in it's entirety, the whole process started over again and so we have the many different denominations of Christianity. Even paganism had to take it beliefs and practices from somewhere. It just seems logical that they, again like so many others, took some of those oral and written traditions and used the ones to suit their purposes and began a new practice.

Now the rest of this is my personal belief and the religion I adhere to and follow. In 1820, God, the Father, and His Son, Jesus Christ, appeared to a young man who sought to know which religion to join. When he sought out a quite place, in a grove of trees to pray, he was told by those two Heavenly Beings that none of the religions on Earth at that time held the fullness of truth and that he should join none of them. At that time, the restoration of the fullness of the Gospel of Jesus Christ, that same religion taught to and by Adam Eve, began.

Now, as Christ and His religion are INFINITE and ETERNAL, no one person here on earth, being FINITE AND TEMPORAL, can know all truth or understand the fullness of Christ's gospel, but God gives us what we can handle and what we need to be the very best we can. He has given us ancient scripture and prophets to help us and even prophets today to help us on our way. But these are all human people, being imperfect. So, that's why personal revelation and study is so important. We need to know for ourselves what is right and wrong and what we need to do to live the best life for us. It's personal and unique for each individual. Sure there are some things that will be the same across the board - like not killing people and being nice - but there are also individual commandments and guidelines, as there are also universal and individual blessings.

Faith, Religion, and Ayn Rand

"Now choose to perish or to learn that the anti-mind is the anti-life. ...  Man's mind is his basic tool of survival. ...  His mind is given to him, it's content is not.  To remain alive, he must act, and before he can act he must know the nature and purpose of his action."

- Atlas Shrugged, by Ayn Rand, p.926, 50th Anniversary Edition, Signet Books

A comment from the last post asked me about my new political views and what of their influence on my religious views.  It's an interesting thing.  While my shift in political views and my new found interest in Ayn Rand and her philosophy has changed the way I think about about everything, including my faith and religious beliefs, it hasn't actually changed them.

I've always enjoyed questioning things - especially authority!  It's not that I won't "do what's right" or make good decisions, I just hate being told to.  Just ask my parents.  I was a fun child to raise.  As I've grown up and become more of an adult I found this translated into a love for the more philosophical and more abstract parts of faith and religion.  I say more philosophical and abstract because most faith is just that.  When I finally settled on a course of study in college, it was religious studies with most of my focus in Jewish studies.  I loved finding the similarities between different religions.  I enjoy - no, love - no, thrive - to question faith, not to prove it wrong, but to prove it right.  There is so much of this world, universe and existence that we don't understand and probably can't comprehend.  That's where faith and hope step in.  It excites and even more than that, it thrills me to think that there is more out there.  That life continues after my body dies.  That whatever the part of who I am that continues to exist after my body has grown old and died, the soul, spirit, or intelligence, will continue to learn and grow.  Forever.  I truly believe that I will be able to still explore faith, fact, and beliefs into eternity.  That is how I "act" - I question and in turn learn and grow.  I think the same is true of the "next life."  That if we don't think, we won't survive.

That's what the quote of the top of the page means to me.  That "blind" faith is equivalent to the act of choosing not to think and therefor, not to live.  Mind you this is my own personal belief and standard that I choose to hold only myself to.  For others, "blind" faith during this life is a good and satisfactory existence.  I don't judge - we are each individuals.

And as for how Ayn Rand's philosophies have affected me.  Well, I have found more common ground than not.  And I've been proven right.  Again.