Posted by Dinah on January 7, 2002, at 8:44:35
In reply to Reading the bible has helped with my depression !!, posted by janejj on January 7, 2002, at 0:42:01
Hi Janejj,
People have been finding peace and comfort in religion since time began. (Yes, yes I know you cynics out there - Some people have used religion for evil as well. But I'm guessing that at any point in history, there were far more people quietly going to worship and finding peace there than there were people killing other people in the name of God. They just didn't get the attention.)
I have sometimes found a deep sense of joy at the evidence of God's grace and ongoing concern in my life, say in the form of a particularly moving sermon that seemed to apply to exactly what I was going through in my life at that moment. Or there are some spiritual books that have been very moving to me. Many of them were not Christian either. There are many paths to find God, and many people find joy on each of those paths. So I do understand what you are experiencing.
Of course, as you pointed out, there are many people who are uncomfortable at the mention of religion and more than a few that are downright hostile. And if those people find God, it will probably be at their own pace and through their own personal experiences of epiphany. (Isn't that interesting that you chose to pick up your bible on Jan 6, Epiphany?)
As to why God created us, I like the Jewish perspective best. It's been a while, so if there are any Jewish readers out there, please correct me where I get it wrong. God created us in order that we can help perfect the world through our free choice of actions. We are the only beings with free will, down to the original act of choosing to have the knowledge of good and evil so that we can make decisions based on that knowledge and not on instinct. In that original act of eating of the fruit of the tree of good and evil we made the choice to be fully, painfully, and gloriously human.
That's probably more than you wanted to hear. Obscure religious theory and history is one of my either schizotypal or Asperger's "enthusiasms" and I tend to talk too much sometimes.
Sorry.
Dinah
poster:Dinah
thread:16364
URL: http://www.dr-bob.org/babble/social/20020102/msgs/16372.html