*cue video of woman reacting dramatically* http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=19Rqre1deuM
The resignation has also sparked a multitude of meme's to be created in its legacy, my favourite of which is linked below!
In all honesty, my reaction to the Pope resigning was somewhat muted as I understand that he is old, frail and is verging on collapsing at any moment. To think that Popes are any different from the rest of us in regards to their human nature and ageing process is near on absurd. Coming to the assumption that on the basis that as Pope, and the leader of the Catholic Church means he should marry himself to leading the Church until his dying breath is being unrealistic. So, in my opinion, it is unfair to disregard a person's health and strengths to 'fit the role', so as to fulfil their status and commitment to the Church as a whole.
Whilst we're on the notion of the Church and people's relation to it, I thought that I would take this opportunity to comment on my own notion of Religion and the importance of your own spiritual journey, regardless of the pressure placed on you by society or family.
I got taken to one of these Religious talks last week on how we can incorporate God's love for us within our own lives and within family. The speaker, of respectable background, spoke of how no matter what we do or have done in the past, our family would be there to love us wholeheartedly. He spoke of an unconditional love which God has for us so that he sent his only son down from Heaven to teach the world of his love and compassion for one and all. We then got split into smaller groups to further our discussions regarding the talk and our own personal views on Religion and our relationship to God, both spiritually and within our everyday life. I took up the point of questioning what made us Religious, what made us part of God's family. I have always questioned the effectiveness of Religion upon society, and the capacity for one Religion to have such a firm belief there is not only just a God and an afterlife, but also seeing their God as being the most righteous and believable. I questioned whether we can call ourselves Religious by the mere notion of going to Church every Sunday, or whether it is through our day to day lives, how we treat and regard other people, how we believe in our heart of hearts that something greater is out there leading us on to a better life. Or is it all of the above? Is it good to have your doubts? Does it make you a bad Catholic if you go to Church and not join in on the ceremonies because you are questioning your faith? Is it a waste of time to go to Church if you are in such a mindset? These are the questions that I have been asking myself a lot recently.
I have been brought up in a Religious household since birth, I have been baptised, confirmed, travelled to Lourdes on two back to back years at the end of my School years, and been on a Faith Conference for a week to help build a better relationship with God and Christianity. At School, I found a sense of rest-bite knowing that I could turn to Religion to resolve any issues I had within myself surrounding my faith. At Lourdes, I saw an eclectic range of Catholics and visitors coming to help those in need, strengthen their faith or just take in the scenery as was the case with some of them. There was a situation I found myself in during my time at Lourdes which led to me starting to question the respectability of wholeheartedly calling yourself a Catholic. There was a man in the middle of the street, stranded in a broken electric wheelchair calling out for help and hoards of people just walking past him as if everything was alright with the world. Upon asking the man what had happened, he told me he had been calling out for help there for near on 20 minutes without heed. Furthermore, the next 20 minutes spent helping the man, no one came to offer their assistance in any regard. For this to happen in one of the most profound Christian places shocked and appalled me. In addition, at the Faith Conference I went to in the summer of 2011, it seemed that any discussion in regards to questioning the authority, authenticity or debatable nature of some of the talks and readings given or talked about was almost not encouraged. What is a democratic belief in Religion or God if there is no room for debate and discussion?
In recent years, my faith has faded due to changes in my personal circumstances. With three of my grandparents and my godfather passing away after undergoing a significant time of suffering, all in the years since 2007, all that came as a consequence of these was a questioning of my faith in a God. With two of my grandparents being two of the most religious people I have ever met, and my godfather being a priest all his life, to see them endure the suffering they went through before dying gave me great heartache and no real hope for a better understanding of Religion or of God even, it just made me angry and frustrated. This anger and frustration led to a further questioning of my faith and ultimately led to a great deal of hotly disputed debates between my father and myself. This was not aided in my ability to hold a string of unsuccessful relationships over the course of my four years at University, furthermore questioning my already questionable belief.
So I guess this blog entry was more of a rant than a informative discussion of Religion and the Pope's resignation, but it was something that I needed to get off my chest in one format or another. These are my own views on Religion and I understand other people have different views.
Jonathan Whitehead
Religion and faith can do great things to help people, however they can also be a source of massive conflict. In uni we discussed the evolution of man over a few weeks and hit upon religion and theories of its creation or appearance through the ages of mankinds development. One theory which I found very interesting was that it was developed as a means of protection from foreign/unknown peoples and therefore a natural barrier/defence against disease. An example is that in ages past a country with relatively few diseases, eg Norway had around 6 religions, whereas a country with many diseases, eg Botswana had nearer 42 religions reflecting the desire to avoid "those other guys who carry rot" in a kind of xenophobia which is still evident in various religions today.
ReplyDeleteI get what you're saying in reference to the old man in the road. My uncle is a missionary based in Zambia and we have always felt that we are being looked down on for not being "good Christians" when he visits with his family. They come back and expect to be waited on by my grandad (nearing 90) whilst doing nothing to help him. This was especially evident when my gran died, he came back and did a speech at the service. Not once did he make any reference to his father, or his own brothers effort in looking after the family, he only spoke about his mission and wife.
But to tell the truth, who really knows the answer to religion? I can't quite fully believe the devout atheist opinion that we are no more than vehicles designed simply to ensure that our little bits of DNA are passed on another generation. To me, there is something primal that keeps us switched on, to keep us going, maybe experienced best by those like Shackleton, who have such tiny, little possibility of survival but drive onwards regardless. But what do I know eh?
Bruce