Bare Bones (Please Heed Warning)

Warning: I try my best in this blog to remain as unbiased as possible, especially with sensitive topics. This might be a touchy subject, but my intention is not to offend anyone. If I do, please tell me, and if enough people complain, I will take this down. Thank you.

The topic of this post is religion and spirituality. No, I will not be pressing my views onto anyone. I am just stripping this to its bare bones.

There are different religious and anti-religious views in the world, as we all know. There are religions that believe Jesus Christ is the Messiah, the Savior who will forgive sinners and enter them into Heaven. Then, there are religions that believe Jesus was a man from Nazareth, but not the Son of God, only someone who claimed he was. Who can blame them for not believing Jesus isn't the Son of God? Not many were witness to his resurrection, and put this into present context... What if someone on the street, a former carpenter to boot, told you he was the Son of God and will save this world from evil? Moving on, there are groups who believe that Satan was an angel who is just seeking revenge on God because he betrayed him. There are religions that do not acknowledge Jesus whatsoever, and there are people who do not believe in a higher power at all.

Putting aside the belief that Jesus is the Son of God, let's look at him simply as a man who wanted to sacrifice himself for the good of mankind. How many of you could say that you would shoulder all of the world's sins and errors, and die for everyone? That's quite a humanitarian effort, to say the least. People try to heal the suffering all of the time, and this man thought sacrificing himself was the best way to help others. Bare bones -- think about that in general, no matter what your beliefs are. A man sacrificed for his people. He was taking pain away from people by feeling and experiencing that pain for them through his death. Whatever you believe happened after the day of the crucifixion is totally up to you. Would you be able to do what that man did? Would you want to? Do you think all of the people in the world are worthy of your self-sacrifice? Personally, I give him props for doing something I would not dare to.

I don't have the answer to world peace; I am just trying to express myself.

Now onto the power of prayer. A lot of people pray daily, often several times a day. People believe that the power of prayer helps them through life's obstacles. Then, there are people who do not believe in prayer and are like, "Who's listening?" because they think these people are just talking to themselves. For anyone who knows what The Secret or Law of Attraction is...you know that by thinking about something all the time or saying the same thing out loud is what will happen in your life. For instance, if you are having money issues, and you pray that you will find money or a means to help you financially, and you think about this constantly, eventually a solution will surface. Or, if you don't pray, but everyday you think that you will find a way to make ends meet, to pay those bills, to be financially stable, eventually a solution will surface. At the very least, bare bones -- if you don't believe a higher being hears prayers, you at least have to agree that thinking positively on a constant basis will help you find inner strength and will help you through life struggles. Wherever you believe that inner strength comes from... Allah, yourself, nature... at least you've found it, and you are better off than you were before.

I really hope this didn't offend anyone. My message is basically this: wherever you find your source of strength, your inner happiness, and your motivation to keep on living... by all means, continue to use that source. Stand by your convictions and believe in what you think helps you the most.