Morality and Religion

We often hear the statement “The moral fiber of this country”, yet we have no way of knowing by whose standard this is determined.  Morality is based on virtues and vices, the awareness of right and wrong.

I was raised a Catholic and went to church seven days a week.  I was baptized, received communion and confirmed into the faith.  I went to Catholic school and tried to be the best Catholic child that I could be.

Catholicism taught me as a child that I was a sinner in God’s eyes, had always been a sinner, and would always be a sinner. Such beliefs taught me that I would never be good enough to gain God’s approval.

Alternately at home, I was brought up believing that my parents felt the same way about me as God did. This constantly reinforced the belief within me, that I was not good enough. This moral training made me feel unworthy and ashamed of myself. I became isolated inside and wanted to hide what I came to believe was my ugliness.

Many of the world’s societies believe that self-punishment and debasement lead to good moral living. Some religions, by instilling the belief that our very thoughts and desires make us sinners, teach us to suppress our emotions. This magnifies our sense of guilt and shame, which produces a tremendous emotional imbalance.

Since it is true that thought and desire create; these creations can only be changed by us understanding them, not by suppressing them. When we deny who we are emotionally, we stuff our feelings deep inside where they begin to fester. The result of this repression can and does manifest itself in many forms. Sometimes it manifests as mental illness, emotional instability, and various forms of physical pain and disease. Whole societies of people have and do become confused and hostile as the result of repressed emotions.

In true spiritual awareness, balanced emotions are the key to higher enlightenment. It is through our emotional experiences, that we gain the understanding necessary to control them. Our emotions are the only tool we have for learning how to love one another and our self.

Morality and spirituality are really the same thing.  When we have moral values, we are naturally spiritual.  Moral values should be taught and lived at home, not at church.  The home should be the spiritual temple, and we should be worshipping spiritual values in life consistently. If we were to live life in this manner, true wisdom and insight would reveal itself and we would become godlike.

Most Western religions have become big business. No longer seeking to know and understand God, they choose to wield the power of God to fit their own mandates. Many religions use their teachings to brainwash and control people rather than helping them open up to god. This form of brainwashing convinces us that we should all think alike. Organizations such as these use this group energy to indoctrinate others into their sect.

Many of these religious organizations, herald themselves as Christians, becoming religious zealots who judge other faiths and label them as cults, not realizing they themselves have become just that.

More wars are fought in the name of religion than for any other reason. More people have died and been killed in the name of an all loving God than for any other cause.  China executed the Tibetans, Serbia the Albanians; in Ireland, the Protestants and Catholics continue to fight; in Israel, it is the Muslims and Jews, all the way back to the Pagan Romans who persecuted the Christians. We have been through the Dark Ages, The Crusades, and The Spanish Inquisition.

Spiritual beliefs have always been a source of chaos on our planet and religious wars continue to ravage humanity. Some

radical religionists condone bombing of abortion clinics and harassment of abortion doctors; they infiltrate public schools and politics, all in the name of Christ. War is waged on homosexuals, for some, this too is an abomination of God.

Many advocate the death penalty as justice for a crime, not seeing this as bias when they call abortion murder.

Taking of all or any human life is against God’s law.

Somehow, somewhere in society, we have come to believe that if a person dies, he or she will not return.  We need look to history to discover that problems do not go away by people killing one another. In fact, if all the people who have been killed never actually returned, why are there so many angry and distorted people on the planet now?

It seems that many religions conveniently make up God’s rules as they go along.  In this way, these organizations profess to know what God thinks. Their own teachings tell them that God is beyond their comprehension, yet inevitably they let their ego self¾their lower chakras¾dictate truth.

The truth is vaster than any one being or book.  The search for spiritual truth is the journey that brings eternal joy. The truth is an ever-expanding perception that is unending. Each person is a piece of this truth. When the pieces fit together, they make a beautiful picture that expands and changes as we all grow and develop. Some religions try to make this a still life picture rather than the ever-changing energy of life that it is.

When approaching religion, we should look at the life experiences brought about by the living examples of its believers in order to determine its values. If you find people who have opened their hearts and minds to become godlike by following the dictate of their religion, then there may be substance to their faith. If on the other hand, you find people of bigotry and judgment, or whose spirituality is lived only while in church, then be aware.

Remember that spirituality is not a religion. God has no religion, as God is pure spirit. Spirituality is the essence and energy that makes us all gods. If a religion does not teach its followers to live by this concept, it is not teaching spirituality.