17.2.08
This has been on my mind a lot lately.
I am, to be completely honest, deeply ambivalent about religion -- not just my own, but religion in general. I have no need nor desire to badmouth any faith, and it makes me uncomfortable and unhappy to see others do so in the name of being "open minded" -- yes, it does sound oxymoronic, doesn't it? Accent on the "moronic". But I've seen it happen so many times that it's like the tired old joke your numb nuts cousin drags out at every family reunion.
Anyway. Ambivalence. That's me. I have, for many years, been a fringe participant in the online community of my own faith. I've been around long enough to know that this year's hot button topic will be next year's dead horse. It's very cyclical. Still, I am bothered by this year's trend: stating that if you have an online presence at all, it should be useful. Do not "waste" your time writing about your life; there is no benefit in being a mommy blogger or whatever it is you write about. To write about yourself or your opinions is arrogant and egotistical, and we are nothing if not engaged in a war with the ego, and a personal blog means your ego is winning.
So my ambivalence deepens.
What can I say? Maybe they're right. Probably they're right. But, err, does it matter? If you think my blog is a waste of my own time, then, by all means, quit reading my blog.
(The subjects in this post are related only in my own mind; I know it's off-kilter and rambling.)
To announce that I am ambivalent on my own blog would be tantamount to announcing my new heretic status in some circles. I've encountered this in a number of faiths and I know it's not unique to any one faith. But you're all in -- or you're all out. God gave you a brain and you exercised it to find this, The Right Path, but now that you're on the right path, please kindly turn off your brain now.
Well. I'm sorry. My ego says I can't.
3 comments:
I ignore all that stuff about blogging being narcissistic or a waste of time. I think it's absolutely untrue. And if it's true for the people saying it, then they shouldn't apply it to others for whom it isn't true.
errr... your online religious community rantings sound a LOT like the ones in my rel. community at the moment. so much so, i'm wondering if we belong to the same religion. and yet i dare not ask...in case we're not, and you think, "as IF i would be one of them!!". Or in case we ARE, and this is something you don't want outted.
Could just be that self-righteous religious types online are the same in every faith. Guess it says more about the human condition than about the religions...
anyways, i wish you Peace ;)
Hi, Constance the 1st! I think that it is true for the people who are saying it. I don't think it's true for me (or you); I've never thought that it was true. But it frustrates and annoys me -- I read it, start skimming, and think, "blah blah diddy dum diddy do".
Howdy, Anonymous! My chosen religion is, shall we say, distinctive (so I don't want it outed on the blog but you are welcome to email me), and there are a lot of people out there who would say, if asked if they were what I am, "as IF!!" in an outraged tone. I wouldn't say "as if" to any religion; in my opinion, we are the lot of us stumbling towards God on deeply personal paths.
In my experience, self-righteous religious types are the same in every faith -- more of a function of our common humanity than anything else.
And upon you Peace, Anonymous. ;)
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