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[February 20] |
There are these people called Anabaptists.
Anabaptists believe that a person cannot be baptized into a faith at birth because they have no idea the responsibility that they are undertaking. They believe that a person needs to be of a certain age to accept their faith because if the declaration comes from them than it is somehow more valid. I don't think they are completely wrong to assume that. It's pretty crazy that something as strong as someones religious belief is decided for life within their first month on earth.
Maybe there is a reason that Baptism occurs so closely to birth. I'm not a theologian, but Jesus was baptized as an adult, so that seems to me to be every reason to stick with the adult theme. Truth is though, it's easier to catch them when the are young, as crude as it sounds.
You are little and you are told sin is bad. There is this great guy that gives you candy if you are nice to others. When you die you go to this perfect place. Be good and you will be rewarded for it. It sounds idyllic and easy. You get older and people tease you because you are different and it's a little harder to turn the other cheek than it was when you were four. When you were that little it was because your mom told you to, now kids are calling you a wimp. Still, you will be rewarded one day and they will be punished. Right?
You get a little older. People die. It seems to hurt more now no matter how much you think about the idea of Heaven. It's not as comforting once you realize that not all bruises can be kissed away or distracted from. There is real life and there is real pain involved in it. You sit back and thing, if there was a just and fair God, why would he take someone so painfully. Who benefits from that? The Church says it's not for us to know but if we aren't supposed to know then who is, the one who is said to be all knowing? It's not fair.
They do give you this chance to reevaluate when you are right around twelve. Confirmation is where they repeat back to you everything that your parents agreed to at your Baptism so that you can say you agree to it for yourself. And, you do. At that point in your life, most people have only seen death in the sense of relatives that sent you semipersonalized christmas cards. You agree because it feels true in your heart to believe in something this much and because the people that guide you do too. It's a comfort to know that you are not only connected to millions of people in the world who have said these same sentences before you but that you are sitting under the good gaze of the ultimate higher power. It's like living in Metropolis and knowing that Superman will always always save you before the end.
You've been validated. You've said that you believe and reject sin and want to live a life with God. You know that death sucks seven ways to Sunday. Then comes something you didn't think about. I think the Catholic Church is afraid of sex.
The Catholic Church probably has outdated views on sex, but that has to do with the 1960s and Vatican Councils and it's complicated but you can reach me at dance hall bleu if you really want to know. To me though, it boils down to this. Love is good. God has designated one person in this world for you. Find them and you will know true happiness. I'm not going to go into the one man and one woman debate because I don't agree with it. I think there is a person meant for you. But for the sake of this religious topic, its a person of the opposite gender. You are supposed to love this person and make your love for them known through words or grand romantic gestures. The Church believes Masturbation is wrong and nothing more than a waste of sperm because sex is not supposed to be fun, it's supposed to be a practical way of increasing a Catholic population. It's the same reason the Church is against divorce. You find your one person and you make lots of Catholic babies. This is the one thing I am struggling with to be as frank as I can be. People masturbate, people have premarrital sex, people move in together, people wear condoms and people love each other. It doesn't make them any less able to love God. I don't think being in love is wrong, I think it's what God wants so how can expressing the means of that love be wrong?
For all that talk about generations of Catholic Babies, I am one of them. My parents love me very much and they love my sisters and they love each other. They've never been shy about that fact at all. I love my momma now and I always will and my dad still hugs me and tells me he's proud of me. They are the the poster child and the success story for this way of thinking. They are a heck of a great influence.
But, all tangents and confusing religious rants aside it all comes down to this. There are people called Anabaptists who don't believe religious commitment can happen when you are a kid. That there is too much pressure and too much life to be lived and experienced before you can say what it is you truly want.
Maybe I'm just living and experiencing and wanting too much.
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[January 20] |
Jag is at that age now that she is starting to pay attention to the world around her in a really big way. She still messes up the little things, like calling Sharpay Ashley because the girl on the screen looks exactly like the girl standing next to her big brother, but for the most part she's grown into a very independent little girl. I'm not going to go on about her really, because anyone that is or has had a big brother knows the feeling, and I've probably already said it here before, but during breakfast, in her own little way, she taught me something.
We are teaching Jag the difference between 'good' and 'bad' words. Words that will hurt other people's feelings, curse words, things like that. There has been a ban put on the house of words like "shut up", "hate", and "stupid" and since she gets in trouble for saying all of these words, she wastes no time telling mom or dad when I do. Some people might be saying 'Oh my god, get out of that house right now!' but maybe there is a point there.
[according to wikipedia]
Hatred is an emotion of intense revulsion, distaste, , or antipathy for a person, thing, or phenomenon, generally attributed to a desire to avoid, restrict, remove, or destroy the hated object. Hatred is also among the most common emotions that humans experience
Why do we toss around a word like that in the first place? I'm not saying that if one less kid said the word hate that one less person would experience it but I do think it is used to often. I probably say it too often myself.
I'm not a saint. I curse. Zac is under the impression that Ass is his first name now. We are teaching a four year old not to say these words because they are mean, disrespectful, hurtful, and maybe just even to try and preserve the kids innocence for just a few more years before some kid at school teaches it to them anyway.
At what age is it no longer looked down upon to say these words or to have them be less hurtful? When do we gain that right? Is it when we are no longer innocent?
Hurtful words will never disappear as long as there is someone there willing to say them
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