My boyfriend is a Christian and one of our most recent arguments was based on him trying to change the way I believe. I respect his decision wholeheartedly, but I dislike that he doesn’t understand the way I see God and religion and believes that I’ll regret my decision. We just agreed to disagree in the end but the tension was still floating through the air.
I’m a firm believer in God, don’t get it twisted, I just believe that all religions are different paths one can use to get to God,or the Universe, or Divine Human Intervention, based on your outlook on life. I believe that yes, every religion has its own way of interpreting God, or the Universe, but ultimate goal remains the same: to allow God to guide you and that can be reached through highest level of consciousness and enlightenment. The methods and set of rules religions have differ. Whether you’re Christian, Muslim, Jewish, or even believe in Egyptian mythology (which I believe in as well), you follow a set of rules and methods to guide you to God.
Religion is based on experiences, prophecies, a set of rules, and faith. Spirituality, on the other hand, is based on one’s own belief and how the natural world can be interpreted as the works of a higher power. Spirituality is based mainly on the self: self-discovery, self-actualization, self-love, self-acceptance, self-improvement, and the list goes on, based on one’s experiences in the natural,or spiritual, world.
I, on the other hand, believe that there are truths within these other truths. I believe that every religion has truth to it. I believe spirituality is my way of reaching Higher Consciousness. I believe that they all have some sort of truth to them, because they all come from God, the Universe, Allah, or even Buddha, interpretation may have been lost on the way. I identify with some aspects of every belief system, because they all share a common denominator: God, Allah, the Universe, a higher power, Higher Consciousness, purity, good. There’s a Roman term, Deorum de natura, this can be translated into “God is within nature”, hence I see the truth in everything. This higher power reveals itself physically and spiritually through the natural world, which all religions identify with one way or another. It is impossible to agree with something completely, much like an opinion. You can agree with a few points a person states in their opinion, but disagree with a few others. Chances are, we agree with the person whose opinion is along the same lines as ours, although we do not fully agree with them and completely disagree with someone whose opinion is “far-fetched”, although they raised 1 or 2 good points. But why can’t we see the truth in both opinions and let your new perspective guide you. Same applies to religion. Some religions are very contradictory in their words and teachings, although I will not get into that now. Why can’t we see the truth in all belief systems rather than just choosing the easier one. One person’s path is no less true or more true than another’s. That’s where my belief lies: seeing the truth from all belief systems, otherwise known as omniesm.
So, seeing as my boyfriend was raised in a Christian household, goes to church every Sunday, and firmly believes in this path, I can’t stray him from it, however, we will forever agree to disagree.