Comments on: Holy Smoke! http://meanderwithme.com/2007/09/02/holy-smoke/ Welcome to reality. If you lived here, you'd be home now. Wed, 09 Feb 2011 03:40:56 +0000 hourly 1 http://wordpress.org/?v=3.2.1 By: Kate http://meanderwithme.com/2007/09/02/holy-smoke/#comment-690 Kate Sun, 09 Sep 2007 18:44:56 +0000 http://musings.meanderwithme.com/2007/09/holy-smoke/#comment-690 It's a great parallel (religion and smoking) and sometimes I miss the *idea* of both - but not all the crap that comes with it when you really partake;) It’s a great parallel (religion and smoking) and sometimes I miss the *idea* of both – but not all the crap that comes with it when you really partake;)

]]> By: Mermade http://meanderwithme.com/2007/09/02/holy-smoke/#comment-689 Mermade Wed, 05 Sep 2007 06:31:58 +0000 http://musings.meanderwithme.com/2007/09/holy-smoke/#comment-689 I can't resist the urge to tell you about something I observed last semester, when I took English 1B with a nontheist, Marxist professor (those two things don't always go to together, but that's what he was). Anyway, he was the kind of professor that did not sugarcoat his beliefs about the world. He said that there was no such thing as Heaven, that God does not "will" things and that things do not happen for a reason. I mean, that's cool and all. I don't take offense because he was a great, fair and interesting professor, and taught me a lot. BUT... I noticed that he did have a worldview that gave him immense purpose in his life. Although he is not a spiritual person, he frequently talked about helping the poor, liberating the oppressed and about the evils of capitalism. He is the leader of the teacher's union at my collge, and is involved in anti-military and anti-war causes. He marches in the street to fight for rights of undocumented immigrants. You need not have religion to believe in these causes (and, sadly, many Christians are against Christian principles like nonviolence and tolerance). My point is this: he has a worldview that gives him a reason to wake up in the morning, much like deeply religious people. He acts on that, gets involved in organizations that support social change, to better the world. In that way, I find him remarkably "religious." As you know, I am currently just observing a lot re: Christianity. I think it is used partially to manipulate me in my family, and scaring me out of having sex before marriage (or even *thinking* about it -- because that's childish according to Brio, remember?) I have some issues with it... but sometimes, I think that were it not for Jesus, and even Hugo's influence in my life, I would be struggling in a much different way. I can’t resist the urge to tell you about something I observed last semester, when I took English 1B with a nontheist, Marxist professor (those two things don’t always go to together, but that’s what he was). Anyway, he was the kind of professor that did not sugarcoat his beliefs about the world. He said that there was no such thing as Heaven, that God does not “will” things and that things do not happen for a reason. I mean, that’s cool and all. I don’t take offense because he was a great, fair and interesting professor, and taught me a lot. BUT…

I noticed that he did have a worldview that gave him immense purpose in his life. Although he is not a spiritual person, he frequently talked about helping the poor, liberating the oppressed and about the evils of capitalism. He is the leader of the teacher’s union at my collge, and is involved in anti-military and anti-war causes. He marches in the street to fight for rights of undocumented immigrants. You need not have religion to believe in these causes (and, sadly, many Christians are against Christian principles like nonviolence and tolerance).

My point is this: he has a worldview that gives him a reason to wake up in the morning, much like deeply religious people. He acts on that, gets involved in organizations that support social change, to better the world. In that way, I find him remarkably “religious.”

As you know, I am currently just observing a lot re: Christianity. I think it is used partially to manipulate me in my family, and scaring me out of having sex before marriage (or even *thinking* about it — because that’s childish according to Brio, remember?) I have some issues with it… but sometimes, I think that were it not for Jesus, and even Hugo’s influence in my life, I would be struggling in a much different way.

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