Religious Aside

At a few points later in the day, several folks from the Latino/Gospel show came by and invited us to join them. We all politely declined, but there were several jokes muttered under peoples’ breaths. This bugged me, and it took me a while to figure out why.

I don’t feel I subscribe to any organized religion. And I think I’m still unsure whether I believe in some sort of higher power. I think a big part of me wants that, and would like to. But there’s an equal part of me that has an endless barrage of arguments/questions based in logic and science that wants to think otherwise.

The God and Jesus jokes people were making… those were all easy jabs. Easy punchlines. And it seemed so dismissive to me. Sure, I might not agree with their beliefs… but who am I to make fun of someone for what they believe? Shit, at least they believe in something.

I dunno. This was the one bothersome thing from today. These folks came over and didn’t push their ideology on us. They didn’t ask us whether we were saved, or if we had accepted Jesus Christ as our Lord and Savior. They simply walked over and invited us (strangers) to join their celebration. And for that, people made fun of them.

That just felt wrong to me. And I should have said something. But I didn’t.

Faith in some ways I oftentimes see as a dismissal of logic, of reason. But just as often, I see instances of faith that suggest to me a surrendering, an acknowledgement that something greater than the self exists. That’s a scary concept to grapple with. At least, it is for me.

For these people attending this concert… when asked what they believed, the stepped up and declared openly that they believed in God. And because I’ve gone for some time now, asking myself what it is that I believe in… not having come up with an answer after all these years… I don’t see how I can make fun of anyone who’s come to a decision, when I myself have not.