2008 and Resolutions - and ala carte religion

Yesterday, Anderson Cooper of CNN announced his New Year's Resolution was to blog more - at least once a day. I figured that was easy enough for me to do too, particularly because I'm not nearly as busy as Anderson Cooper appears to be (not to mention my earlier intention to make money from this particular blog, so more content should increase my income potential).

I usually post many times a day on LiveJournal, though most of those are deemed "friends only". This is public, and is for a different audience. So I already blog a lot, and though not necessarily daily, it's pretty darn close. I also journal offline, usually at the laundrymat, so there's at least once or twice a week I'm writing as well. The point is to post an entry HERE at least once a day.

And why not go with something controversal: The Bible.

I still have the Bible I used in High School. I was raised Catholic and went to a Catholic High School, though now I do not consider myself part of the church. Maybe if I had a family I would feel differently because the whole church community thing seems to center around raising children. The two main reasons I am not a member of the Catholic Church are for their stance on homosexuals (being homosexual is OK, but if you decide to actually express yourself as a homosexual and have homosexual sex that's a sin); and their stance on women being priests (a priest has to represent the person of Christ in body, and that's actually Dogma thanks to JPII).

Although I do not feel that I have been called to a priestly vocation, I am a woman, and I can't in good conscious be a member of a community who marginalizes me by insisting my only legitimate roles are either that of a virgin or a mother. (I'm also not so zealous to protest or work from within to try to overturn church doctrine, either).

Although I myself am heterosexual, again, I don't feel it moral to say that those who's sexual attractions are different than mine are prevented from expressing physical love for another - ever. The Catholic Church's stance on sex is that unless it's within the context of marriage and open to conception, it's a sin. Needless to say, I'm for gay marriage. And I believe in birth control, but that's another story.

So on to the Bible. Most Catholic Churches, I believe, would not be classified as "Bible Based". Yes, they include the reading of scriptures in their Masses, though in the Catholic education I've been blessed enough to receive (which taught me so well it allowed me to question the faith itself and reject it) always took the Bible in context. Yes, it's the inspired word of God, but it's not to be taken literally. If anything, it's a piece of literature, subject to criticism and study and must be viewed in the context of the life and times in which it was written.

So anyway, that's really just background info. Lately, I've found several cable channels who broadcast Joel Osteen's sermons on Sundays. If it weren't for CNN, I wouldn't even be aware of him. But he was in an interview about his new book and he may as well have been preaching the Law of Attraction or selling The Secret for all of his talk of Abundance. I kind of liked hearing that God wanted me to live an abundant life, so I tuned in. Who wouldn't want to go to a church where they tell you that God wants you to be rich, right?

For the most part, his sermons are positive. Yes, I'm sitting in my living room in a comfy recliner watching and listening to him, but even when I used to go to Church and sit in those uncomfortable pews, I don't remember many positive sermons. Usually, I remember hearing all about what NOT to do... and after all that Catholic schooling, there was a bunch of stuff they told me was wrong that I wanted to try myself and come to my own conclusion. Sometimes negative campaigning works, but sometimes I just want to hear some good news. It's why I watch a lot of cartoons and very little news. I like to stay informed, but I also like to be happy.

The thing that really struck me, though, was at the beginning of his sermons, Joel leads his congregation in a chant / prayer where they all hold up their Bibles. At the end, he says to "Get yourself into a Bible-based Church." Hmmm... that was somewhat disappointing for me, as I'm no Bible nut (per above). And it seemed that it was just those book-ends of his preaching that emphasized the Bible that much. Sure, he had some references to Bible stories in his sermon, but he also had several modern-day stories and examples to try to make it relevant today. So you can imagine my disappointment when I read on his website on the What We Believe page where it says that the Bible is without error.

So... I might tune in again on other Sundays to see what he has to say, but it seems I'll only ever really get the most out of his sermons if I pick-and-choose, which is sort of what I had been doing with my Catholic faith before I decided to stop considering myself a part of that community.

The good news is that I'm strong and reasonable and can make my own decisions. Religion is a powerful thing, and the desperate and hopeless can easily be attracted to a cult. I prefer to think for myself.