Religion

Touchy subject. One I've pondered off and on lately. I've a cousin who is LDS, and she's off on a mission. I'm having a baby - I think I want the little one baptized...but why?

I used to be VERY religious. Well, for awhile my family wasn't, then I got way motivated for my church, the Catholic Church, and was really religious. Then it started to fade...I became a non-practicing member...then I got married by a Lutheran pastor because we wanted to be married outside...and somewhere along the way I'd say I've transitioned to a non-practicing Lutheran. I just...fell out of love with the Catholic church. I guess that's how I'd describe it.

But I maintain that I've been spiritual the whole time. It's not been a question of not believing or having faith...it's been a question of not believing in Church.

There are a lot of things that go into this. An old boyfriend for whom it was overwhelmingly important that I "accept Christ into my heart, as my Saviour" or else I'd be damned for all eternity and clearly we couldn't date. I always had issue with the wording. What's with this, "accept" like it's a one time thing? You can have a moment of whatever, jump up, declare yourself SAVED, and you're in? I totally, 100% don't personally jive with that. I don't see it as a one-time thing, past tense, you're saved. I see it as a life-long relationship.

But I get more complicated...because in some ways I'm not even sure I swing Christian anymore. See, I'm all about striving to be more Christ-like in my behavior...but you can follow other religions and achieve that same outcome. Heaven help us, some of the absolutely rudest drivers I've seen have Christian stickers on their back windows.

And there's the mission thing. I really DON'T believe that people have to follow one religion to "got to heaven", reach nirvana, not burn in hell. Whatever you want to call it. I feel like there a ton of different religions, because there are a ton of different people. Just like we all have different taste in music and food, we'll have different tastes in pondering the Great Beyond. There's no one-size fits all here. And, honestly, I think that's as God intended it. Else he'd have made us all a lot more alike.

And truthfully, it seems MOST religions tend to agree on major points. If you get past all the distracting details about names and number of Gods and such. But then, I'm not Christian if I think that am I? I don't know.

Yet I still want Random Jr. to be baptized. As a baby. Probably in the Lutheran Church. Why? Catholic upbringing? Seems like the right thing? I have no idea, it just is something I think we should do.

Lots to ponder still...