Religion

Why So Complicated?

Religion is really very simple. Most of it was invented thousands of years ago. I don't know why people have made it so complicated since.

All holy books say about the same thing. Be good to your neighbor, help the poor, don't be greedy and don't judge others. It is the people who make religion difficult. It is the people who use the holy books to justify doing the exact opposite of what was intended.

I consider myself religious. That is: I do believe in God. I am a Christian (a Catholic, like most Italians). But I don't spend a significant portion of my time talking to God. Actually I barely go to church. Instead, I just try to be good to the other people around me, and I derive a lot of satisfaction out of doing so.

A Good Christian:

• Cares about others
• Leads by example
• Find happiness in seeing others happy
• Helps the less fortunate
• Tries to move others up, not down
• Doesn't judge
• Respects the right of others to pursue happiness, or even pleasure, the way they see fit
• Does good, even when nobody knows about it
• Never wishes any harm upon anybody
• Finds his best reward in seeing someone else smile

Christian religions get their inspiration out of the Bible. I applaud that. The Bible is a great inspirational work. But there is a belief by some that the Bible is also a complete code of behavior, kind of like a timeless law manual that should address every moral issue the world will ever know. I believe that that is going a step too far.

One area where that is often overlooked, is sex. I see too many people, especially right-wing Christians, embarking on crusades against anything sexual, from pornography to prostitution to nudity on TV or gay lifestyle choices. They consistently quote the Bible in their efforts.

That makes no sense to me.

The Bible really doesn't talk a whole lot about sex. If anything, the Bible promotes a rather liberal attitude, especially in the New testament. (Jesus was born from a single mother, had pity for prostitutes...) The references that are negative about sex, are mostly in the Old Testament. One of the 10 commandments says something about adultery, which is not unreasonable.

But then, the Old Testament was kind of superseded by the New Testament, which is much more human. The New Testament is modern in the sense that it does not promote rigid rules, but stresses good intentions instead. The New Testament very clearly is not sympathetic to the Pharisees, who took old rules literally.

Sex is a question of personal morals. Sex is not inherently immoral. It can be immoral, if personal pleasure is pursued at the expense of others. Otherwise, enjoying sex does not conflict a whole lot with the Bible. The Bible is about being good to others.