BWit01

This is a small section from a chapter of my book. The chapter is called: "Abortion vs. Religion: A Spiritual Person's View". This section digresses from the issue of abortion and takes up the issue of religion. So, if you could, read it and review it, grade it, help it, whatever...haha...I would really appreciate it.





I am not saying that we must abandon our religious or spiritual beliefs. I really believe that having spirituality in our lives is a good thing. Critics of liberalism, such as Ann Coulter and Sean Hannity, will contend that liberals are “soulless” and “Godless”, and that we want to diminish religion as a whole in our nation. I think that is possibly the worst slander that I've ever heard. Liberalism teaches tolerance of everything, including religion.

I want to make sure that we all understand, first off, why liberals are against abortion-bans while some of us personally don't believe in it. The advocation of choice does not mean we all believe abortion is good. It does not mean we are failing to acknowledge that, if given the chance, that fetus would be a living person. We are not ignorant. Pro-choicers are against bans on abortion because it restricts other people's rights. It takes away from one of the main ideas of the US- freedom. The freedom to choose. By disallowing abortion bans, we allow all women and families to choose what is best for them, rather than what is best in someone else's mind.

I would also like to make sure that all of the religious people reading this understand that I am spiritual, as I have stated above. I understand the sanctity of life, as do many other liberals. A percentage of my family are liberals, and most of them are either religious (mostly from a sect of Christianity) or spiritual. We do not denounce a greater power, God, nor do we hate organized religion. Many of the liberals we have seen in history are Christian. There are just some liberals that choose to be spiritual and not religious. A true, non-Christian liberal will not tell a Christian that their beliefs are ridiculous because he or she will understand that their beliefs are their own and can tolerate it.

Religions are not bad. They create a bond between people, one that is not easily broken. It is a bond of brotherhood, and many who are in these bonds will contend that it is much like a family. A tight knit family. I like the idea that if I am down in the dumps, I can go to this steadfast family. Most religions will open up their arms to a new member, no matter how high or low they are on the social ladder. That is one thing that I think is great about religions. You can go into a place of worship, such as a Christian Church, a Jewish Temple or a Buddhist Centre, and your social status goes away. You are no longer a rich business person, you are a believer. You are no longer a homeless person, you are a believer. You are no longer a struggling author or artist, you are a believer. You are a believer no matter who you are, no different from the believer next to you. Where else can you find that? Where else can you find that sense of family, that brotherhood, that comradeship? There aren't many other places, if any, where your money, power, materials, or any other possession hold no prominence whatsoever. It is what's in your heart that matters, making a high-powered executive no different from a garbageman.

The idea of equality is not the only good thing that comes from religion. It is also the idea of self enrichment. Many people go to religion to find something better in their life, something to break the monotony of a life without reason. They want to find something to live for, a belief that after this life there is something better waiting for us. Religion brings this to the believer. It brings something to shoot for, some type of afterlife. I think that is possibly the biggest reason people are religious. They don't want to be left to believe that everything we do in this life matters not afterwards.

There is one last really good thing about religion. It is a fundamental belief of every religion- the idea to do good. The simple command to which every religion has its own set of standards- Christianity's and Judaism's Ten Commandments, Buddhism's Five Precepts and Eightfold Path, and so on. Every religion calls for similar things- to not kill, to not steal, and so forth, ultimately leading to the same message- be good. And it doesn't just tell you to do these things without a reward. If you do good, you'll be rewarded. It gives you an incentive to be a good person. For instance, if you are a good person in Buddhist views who takes the Five Precepts and who tries to follow the Noble Eightfold Path, the plane you are reincarnated on will be better than your prior life. If you are a good person in Catholic views who lives by the Ten Commandments then you will arrive in eternal life, or Heaven. And the best part about it is many religions have similar views on what doing “good” is.

So really, we aren't that different after all.

Rob

Doesn't seem to have much depth to it, just a bunch of statements expressing an opinion, and a rather vague opinion at that for the most part.

Cheers,
Rob