Personal Religious History Religion Today

Personal Religious History

Religion today is probably one of the most contentious areas of debate in society. The fact that there are so many possible belief systems is one of the challenges faced by today's religious person. Those who grew up in a Christian background, for example, have a tendency to believe in the absolute truth of their own position without giving much consideration to other directions. The same is true of other fundamentalist religions such as Judaism or Islam. My own personal history is very much informed by the Christian background in which I grew up. I just also take into account, however, more recent events that have influenced who I am today, including the events on September 11, 2001.

My childhood was infused with Christianity. As a family, we attended regular church services, had Bible study times at home, and generally professed ourselves to be children. In my young self, this created a philosophy that believed in heaven and hell, as well as the necessity of being a Christian in order to be able to go to heaven. At the time, I believed that people who believed otherwise than myself were "lost souls."

As a believer, I also held the philosophy that compassion and love for others were one of the manifestations of Christianity in myself. I always tried to help where I could, especially where a person was suffering to a greater extent than I was.

I was part of a community that generally held the same beliefs that I did. When one grows up in a home that is based on a certain philosophy, it is easy to accept this philosophy if it is not challenged by anyone in one's immediate environment. Growing up as a Christian, my parents always provided me with a large amount of support for developing my ideas around my religion. They also made sure that I came into contact with a community that held the same ideas as I did. Many of our friends were Christian as well, reinforcing the philosophy in myself.

I believe there are many beautiful things about Christianity. I like the idea of heaven, for example. I also like the idea of compassion and helping others in need based on the love Christ had for the suffering world. In retrospect, the time when I held these beliefs without question seems painfully peaceful, especially in the light of the things I have known and experienced since.

When one grows up in a certain philosophy, there is always a measure of protection. Depending on the extent of this protection provided by the parents, one might be somewhat shocked to come into contact with a world where the reality is far different from that promoted at home. In my home, for example, I was taught the value of caring for others, as well as the value of the Christian philosophy.

When I grew up and started serving as a Naval officer from 1999 to 2005, I was exposed to many horrors. What struck me most about these is the willingness of people to die and kill for their cause. Regardless of who was hurt, it seemed that the most important thing was to be right. The type of atrocity that a religious ideal could cause, I think, became cemented forever for me during the events of September 11, 2001.

Those men operated not only from a sense of devotion to their country, a hatred for the United States, but also from a religious fervor that encouraged them to take their own lives and the lives of thousands of others. This brought home to me that religion, in whatever form, could be not only a comfort, but also a greatly destructive force.

Even if I think of my own religion, Christianity, I am forced to admit the reality of the situation; it has not always been the gentle, caring lifestyle that's so often promoted today. In fact, even today, many Christians use their religious zeal to hurt and destroy. If I think of the past, the Crusades, the Inquisition, and the Salem Witch trials come immediately to mind when I think of how religion can inspire pain rather than joy.

Even among themselves Christians in the past have disagreed so strongly that they resorted to torture and murder. One thinks of the many "heretics" that were burned or otherwise maimed and murdered for daring to speak what they believe. Today, churches continue to fight amongst each other while forgetting the central message that Christ tried to bring us. Surely love and forgiveness should be at the heart of our world if we hope to survive in anything like the long-term. Instead, we pass laws that are based on ancient belief systems that we hardly even understand anymore.

Although my parents raised me to appreciate the beauty of Christianity, the way the 9/11 perpetrators used the good name of Islam to kill thousands brought home to me how religion can be used to very ungodly ends. In my own life, I feel that I need to be very careful how I interact with others. We can't all be the same or believe the same. But when it comes to religion, I feel what we can do is to remember that we are all here for a short time.