Extreme Religion

I have heard it everywhere the past couple weeks; extreme religion, extreme beliefs or lack of beliefs. From God's Warriors to Christopher Hitchens stepping on the back of Mother Teresa.

From the makers of Extreme Makeover (Not Really) we are brought Extreme Belief. In which we kill, beat, jab, poke, belittle, and basically strip a person naked in the name of belief/religion. These activities more resemble an animal attacking prey than it does a true concerned believer. Do you walk into a job interview with the intent to belittle, do you go to dinner with your mom and poke fun of her, do you go out with friends and kill them if they don't believe? So why do some act like animals when it comes to faith, belief/lack of belief, religion and God? Let me break it down a bit:

1. Belief/Faith is a huge step to take not only in the mind, but more importantly in the heart.
2. God aside (although my beliefs believe God is the point of this) we all have an inherent need to feel comfort, to feel safe, to feel needed/worth while.
3. Animals hunt out of a need and impulse in their mind. There is no heart or soul requirement for an Animal. It is just an impulse driven creature.

So we are left with Heart/Soul vs. Mind/Impulses. If I rely solely on my mind I believe that I will not only be a shallow person but also miss the mark on what it means to be a full person/human being. I can't rationalize love, compassion, friendship, caring, forgiveness. These are things of the heart and soul not the things of the mind. I know what my dog looks like yet I find more enjoyment out of petting him and caring for him. My mind can rationalize love but if my soul never feels it was it really worth it or there? I know what compassion is but if I never extend with a true heart is it worth it or true?

When we let our minds control our soul I believe we do irrational things. Going back to my dog example (although this might be a bit extreme), if I look at my dog from a pure rational/mind point of view he is worthless to me. He doesn't bring me food or protection, he is lazy and stupid (compared to my mind) and he certainly doesn't further my life or quest for knowledge so I should probably just do away with him. Does this sound familiar? Extreme belief anyone?? But if I look in my soul I find a creature that I am amazed with everyday. My dog makes me laugh, smile and generally feel good and I know I love him and his value is immeasurable. If I can feel this way about my dog, why can't Extreme Belief stop using solely their heads but also their soul? Would we have the belittling, the killing, the beatings?


P.S. Take from this rambling what you can. I read this refreshing article this morning and read this excerpt from the Cherry Log Sermons last night:


But God took this creature made out of clay, held it up as a mother holds a baby, and breathed, and it became a living soul like God. And God said, "This one is like me. I am proud of the squirrel, I love the elephant, the horse is good, the mule is nice, and I do like these llamas, but the one that is exactly like me is this one. I have breathed into this one my own life." This is why human beings are not content, if they are real human beings, with just eating and drinking and working and showing off and bragging and dying. Real human beings long for God, search the heavens, write poetry, play music, spread art all over the world, and think the things of God. We human beings perhaps even spend time pondering if, after we die, we will live again, since we have the breath of God. This is extraordinary, so extraordinary, in fact that the most horrible thing that you can imagine is for the breath of God, the Spirit of God, to be taken away from you.