Emotions

I cannot help who I am and I feel various emotions as situations evolve. I feel annoyed when a person who (I feel) ought to be in touch more frequently simply ignores me. I am likely to be jealous when the same person spends more time with a 'rival' than they do with me.

If I dare to say anything about our relationship being a case of this person merely ticking a box every now and then (birthday, Christmas etc.), I am accused of being passive aggressive: I suppose I get that from my parents. I should, I think, be able to express my feelings for if one cannot express them to family, what is the point of anything?

People can hurt you when they may not mean to do so but the hurt is real. It can develop into resentment.

Religion tells us that we are wicked to feel certain things and jealousy. We're told that jealousy is a fruit of the flesh (Galatians 5:21), an antonym of love (1 Corinthians 13:4), a symptom of pride (1 Timothy 6:4), a catalyst for conflict (James 3:16), and a mark of unbelievers (Romans 1:29).

Well, I'm sorry, but do I not have a right to feel wronged?

Apparently religion helps us to control our feelings. It is an article worth a read.

The Buddha said: ‘All life is suffering’ and most of us past a certain age can only agree. See also what the article says about sorrow.

I don't feel any better really.

A bit of a jump

The C of E website has this page.

I quote: "... believe and trust. This is called faith. It is a different sort of knowledge. It is the knowledge of being known and loved, and of loving in return."

How does faith suddenly become knowledge?

I was taught, at school, that faith is when we believe something we are told because we trust those who have told us (as I recall the origin of bananas was used as an example. The teacher believed that they came from South and Central America, India, China and Africa even though he had never been to those places).

One possible reason fewer people go to church now is because there is much less trust, these days, in what people tell us. Just look at what politicians say by putting a spin on something. Think Boris!

The case is often used that the parents who tell their children about Jesus are the same parents who have told them about Santa Claus. How can you trust someone who lies to you?

The Bishop of Oxford

The Bishop of Oxford has said that the church should marry gay couples. The issue does not worry me. I have known and worked with a variety of people with - let's say - differing sexual orientations. Most of these have been decent human beings who just want to get on with their lives. (I do not care for extremely rampant 'campness' such as we see on TV but I'm not getting into that here)

The problem the church has is Saint Paul and his teachings.

I've never liked St. Paul ever since I had his letter to the Romans as a set book for Divinity 'A' level (that's R.E. to you). What is more, I think the church has - over the years - based much of its teaching on St. Paul rather than that of Jesus. I am not particularly aware of what St Peter stood for. Surely he was the rock upon which the church was built.

There were similar problems 40 years ago (and still are in some places) over the church marrying divorced people.

The poor of C of E: it cannot make up its mind.

Dementia

I went ringing today with a group which meets on a monthly basis. We visited a tower where I used to ring some 30 years ago. The then tower captain - I was told - is still alive but in a care home: he has dementia. His name appears on peal and quarter peal board in that and other towers.

I wonder about religion when I think about dementia. If a person is 'lost' where have they gone? If we are sinful beings and are ultimately to be brought to account for our wrong-doings by God, who will a person with dementia be when they die? Are they responsible for anything they do whilst afflicted?

Likewise, if everyone has a soul, how are children who die in infancy judged? What about people of other religions: do they get a 'free pass'?

Religion does not have answers to these and similar questions: I have asked. It is, apprently, all down to the grace of God.

It is often said that God has a plan for each of our lives. It can be very hard to work out what the plan was for someone murdered in an attrocity such as have been in the news recently.

Yet we carry on going to church, singing our hymns and behaving as if everything will turn out OK. Perhaps we are all like Julian of Norwich.

All shall be well, and all shall be well, and all manner of thing shall be well.

When the church does harm

I am sure it is all different now but, growing up, one was exposed to church teachings. One of these was - as I understood it as a child - to 'like' everybody and not hate others.

It is unwise to tell children this because they will dislike quite a lot of their peers: they will also not be able to distinguish between simple dislike and genuine hatred. This will set up a situation of cognitive dissonance which they will struglle to solve.

Thus, I really could not stand a boy called Nigel who was at my school and in the choir. I was really worried about this and hoped God would not take in out on me in some way.

Growing up, children have to gain experience of the different personalities they will encounter and they have to learn to deal with them. Simply to suggest that if child A hates child B then child A is in the wrong can do great harm.

Controlling People

Years ago, somebody said to me that religion is just a way of controlling people, through the fear of going to hell.

These days there are other ways in which people are controlled. Covid has shown this partcularly well and, as this is a short post (because I am going out)

EDIT

I had put an interesting video below but it was removed by the channel: I wonder why! He always has interesting things to say.