I’ve recently embarked on a spiritual quest. Not like a pilgrimage or staying at an ashram. More like asking a lot of questions and visits to the library. I have never given much thought to religion, and the little thought I have given to it has been primarily rejection. My grandmother used to tell me God would strike me with lightning if I didn’t finish my food, so that certainly deterred me from liking or wanting to know God.
What triggered my sudden curiosity is somewhat of a long story, so I’ll tell the short version: I met this religious Muslim man with whom I really connected, and we openly and honestly talked about our families, the state of the world, immigration, and religion, among other things. At some point I told him, simply, that I didn’t like organized religion. He asked me why? The only response I could offer was, “Because it makes me uncomfortable.” But I could not back up my statement.
Everything I ever knew about religion came from others — my grandmother, my religious friends, my non-religious friends, and the media (in a mostly negative light). But I wanted to form my own opinions and try to understand what it is about religion that captivates so much of our world and the people in it.
I am only 3.5 suras (or chapters) into the Qur’an translated by Yusuf Ali (which I had to buy for a college course but never read), and 1.5 gospels into Eugene Peterson’s, The Message: The Bible in Contemporary Language, and already I’m feeling more connected with the world in a deep, unexplainable sense. But I’ll give it a shot anyway.
It’s amazing how entrenched God, the Bible, and/or Jesus is in this particular society — the American one I grew up in — and even more amazing is how I’ve turned a blind eye to that until now. I mean, I know that Christianity is the dominant religion in the United States; I know of the Bible Belt, I know that the president always says God Bless America at the end of a speech, even I say bless you after someone sneezes, etc. But I’m astonished at how I’ve been able to separate myself from all that religionism! Or I guess, not so separate after all…Now that I’ve begun reading the Bible, the Christian God appears in the books I read, in my everyday language (such as “TGIF” or “Jeeeez”), and even in moments of desperation, when I look to the sky wondering if there really is a God up there, why isn’t he/she/it doing something to relieve the world from suffering? Why am I still single?
I only began reading the Bible (or you know, the same stories but in language I don’t have to interpret) last Wednesday. It happened to be Ash Wednesday. It also happened to be the first time in a long while that I stepped foot into a church, because the talk with Krista Tippett and David Whyte took place at a Unitarian Universalist church (something else to google). During their talk, Whyte recited one of his poems. While he is not a religious man, his poem cited the rise of Lazarus from the dead. Just a few hours earlier, I had read the Book of John in which Jesus performed the miracle of raising Lazarus from his grave. After tying together all the coincidentally Godly events from that day, this moment was very powerful for me. And I cried!
Now, that doesn’t mean I’ve let God or Jesus or the Bible (still figuring out the differences) into my life. But it was a powerful moment of discovery.
You know when you learn a new word, and that word starts popping up everywhere? And you feel so proud because you know what it means? It was like that feeling times 60.
I’m still waiting for my moment with Allah, but this is just the beginning of my “spiritual quest” and already it has been enlightening. As I simultaneously read the Qur’an, the Bible, and perhaps venture next into the Torah, or Buddhist or Hindu scriptures, or even Taoist, I am keeping my mind and heart open. I may not agree with or believe the stories in these texts, but I do believe that with greater understanding of these sacred texts come greater understanding of my fellow humans. Or at least a good chunk of them.
Here are some inspiring and informative podcasts I’ve listened to on religion and spirituality:
(If you have any podcasts, books, websites, etc. you want to share with me on this subject, I’d LOVE to hear from you!!)
https://soundcloud.com/samharrisorg/61-the-power-of-belief
