Religion: My Perspective

I was born and raised Catholic. Ever since I can remember, I always enjoyed and looked forward to going to church and Sunday school every week. I have always been a very deep spiritual person and I have always felt a profound intricate connection to the divine and the world around me. I have always felt clear and certain about my life's purpose. I've always known full well what I believe and what I don't believe. As a child I took great interest in Sunday school and I often interpreted the Bible's teachings and messages in different ways, sparking new perspective, long classroom debates, questions, and sometimes arguments. I have never fully believed or agreed with the teachings of the Catholic faith, or the Bible for that matter...

My beliefs run deeper than that, they're more complex, yet more simple...

I see things as a whole, I see the big picture...I do believe in God/a higher power and I believe in Jesus Christ, I don't doubt for a minute that he existed and I believe that he did miraculous things and ultimately died for us and our salvation...but I still have very different views on God, the Bible, and religion in general....

Lately I've been researching many different religions, trying to figure out where my beliefs and I fit in...IF they fit in...I have found a couple that seem to fit my point of view pretty darn close...yet, at the same time, I have determined that it doesn't really matter which way I go...

As I believe that no matter the religion, whether people believe in one God or many Gods, whether they believe the higher power is a specific superior being or a force that is all and dwells within everything, whether they regard holy Scriptures as the sacred truth or believe that the truth can be found in nature and treasure the earth and mother nature as sacred...

I believe that no matter what religious path or way we choose, we are all ultimately worshiping and honoring the same higher power. We all strive for the same goal- to be good people. We all want to learn and grow spiritually, individually, and collectively (perhaps this doesn't necessarily apply to satanists or athiests)...but another thing that we all share in common (even the satanists and atheists) is that none of us honestly truly 100% know for certain The Truth...that's where the faith in our beliefs comes into play...we all just have different methods, ways, and ideals on how to reach the same ultimate goal, and we all have different interpretations of what The Truth really is...

But none of that changes the fact that, whatever it may be, The Truth is still going to be The Truth. It will ultimately be the same for us all, and eventually each and everyone of us will learn The Truth for certain when our time comes...

So, perhaps we're better off as a whole, to accept and respect each other and each other's beliefs. Perhaps we should focus less on which religion is true or false, who's right and who's wrong, whether there's a heaven, a hell, or something in between...lets instead strive to live in love and harmony, to coexist in a beautiful world, working together to be kind, do good, and experience peace