Religion!

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Luke and Jamie, getting ready for church, on Sunday!

The only reason I am even talking about religion, is because the Jehovah's Witnesses, have been delivering their literature around the mailboxes of Gran Alacant again.  In fact I have received something from them, every day for the past week.  Do you think they are trying to tell me something?
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Agnostic

It got me thinking about religion.  I have always had a very strange relationship with faith and conviction.  One minute I feel religious, the next minute not.  I personally just do not know what to believe.  I am an agnostic, I believe in something, I just don't know what to believe.  I would like to think there is a God, but like everything else in this World, I want proof.  I guess that could be the scientist in me. More about what I really believe later!

​My views on God have evolved over time.  My parents were never particularly religious, although my father was a Catholic and my Mother a Baptist.  My Gran, who is no longer with us, was a regular church goer, coming from a Liverpool Irish family.  As she got older, from what I observed, her faith became much stronger.  I think that happens to most of us, and as I get older, I am also finding that I may, just may have faith, of some sort, although I am not sure in what!

Jesus

My earliest memory of 'religion' was when I was a child, about six years old.  I remember laying in my parents lounge at home, the sun was streaming through the window.  I saw a shadowy figure stood at the window, who looked exactly like Jesus.  I am certainly not saying it was Jesus, I am just describing what I saw. I remember very little afterwards, just the fact that I hid from what or whoever it was.  A religious experience or not?  I don't know.  This is the first time I have written about this particular episode, but like most things with me, it feels good to get it off my chest and write it down!

Wednesday Night Club

This is the Gospel Hall in Fareham, the town I grew up in.  I used to go here every Wednesday night.  I actually enjoyed spending time here, singing and playing games, religious and otherwise!
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Wednesday Night Club was taken by a lady called Mrs Hat.  If I remember rightly, she wore some stunning hats herself.  She was a stern woman, who you never messed with. I never thought she was particularly child friendly, but she was as organised as can be, in every respect.  Certainly not approachable, but we never questioned her!

Wednesday Night Club, taught me much about religion, and by the time I left, as I grew into my teenage years, I decided I no longer wanted to be a member of a church or indeed, have any religious leanings.  That was the end of my phase, I had grown up and was happy to lead a normal life, without God in it!
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Quakers

My next brush with the religious side of life was in 1998, when myself and Darrell were given a 'Rite of Blessing', by a Church of England Priest, at The Friends Meeting House, in Southampton, or more commonly known as 'The Quaker Hall'.

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I had no religious inclination, although my previous partner before Darrell, was very active in The Church of England, so I believe that may well have rubbed off on me somewhat.  I chose to have a Blessing, because at that time, there was no official recognition for our same sex relationship.  We wanted to show our love, and decided to have a ceremony, as close as we could, to that of a straight couple getting married in a church.  We were no different to them and we should be entitled to the same type of service.

Guardian

In 2008, I started a new job at Oxfam. The location of the building wasn't far from the meeting house, we had got married in ten years before.  There was a Guardian of the house, called Ann, she used to pop into Oxfam nearly every morning and I have to say we did become good friends.  

Ann was of course a Quaker. She taught me much about The Quakers and at one stage I did seriously think about becoming one.  She gave me a copy of their book or bible, called 'Quaker faith and practice', which I still have and brought with me here to Spain.  I have read it all, from cover to cover!

In 1998, when we wished to have a Blessing, The Quakers were the only group who would allow such a service to take place on their premises.  They were extremely pro gay and always welcoming to everyone, no matter who they were.  I was fascinated with the Unitarian group, within the Quakers, who were actually not religious, they just practised the Quaker life style.  The church, if that is what you want to call it, was inclusive in every respect and I would have felt comfortable being a part of it!
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The Vatican

In 2001 myself and Darrell travelled to Rome.  We also spent time at The Vatican.  At first I was reluctant to go to the Basilica but was persuaded to see just how beautiful the Eternal City is.

I loved it, it was a wonderful place to sit and think.  I like to think I may well have had a bit of a religious experience, after being led out by a priest, when I became a little faint.  I remember the Priest leading me outside into the fresh air, saying to me, 'this kind of thing happens all the time'.

To be honest I have my own views on what happened, but it was one of those memorable times that I shall never forget! 

Luke at The Vatican Museum

My Belief

In short, getting straight to the point, I believe God was an alien.  As primitive people, I believe this planet was visited by entities from other planets.  Atavistic, primitive man, perceived these visitations as a 'God' like experience and interpreted these ordeals as an all powerful being to be worshiped by those inhabitants, who knew no better!

So there you have it, my relationship with religion over the years.  It is by no means conventional, but it is a personal journey of realisation and forming my own opinions, based on what others have taught me and my own scrutinies and annotations.  My utterances are no worse than what devout Christians, Muslims or any other belief system would like us to adhere too.  These are my, unique and very individual views, others of course, may think differently!

Whatever you want to believe, religious or not, there should only be one requirement. You should live by your own set of morals and NEVER cause pain to others, through your own action.  Religion should be about caring for one's fellow man.  I strongly believe in helping others, even when I may need help myself.  I will give anyone my last €uro and always seem to have a belief in people, when others don't.  Religion is of course, at its most basic level, a means of controlling a group.  It can be used for good, equally it can and has been over many generations, used to destroy and damage vast areas of the World.  If there is a God, a benevolent being, who designed our very existence, would he really agree with the destructive behaviour that most religions follow.  Looking from the outside, inwards, I can see the devastation caused by othersñ in God's name.  How shocking and dreadful this is, unless of course 'God' was malevolent.  These are things we will never know, unless a so called 'God' appears on our doorstep one day, which I doubt.  So as human beings, live your life well, as you would wish and always help others when you can!

Peace and love always! x

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