I'm surprised to find I'm not capable of thinking for myself. People that don't know I'm a Christian think I'm quite a creative thinker. These people, I guess, change their minds about me after they learn I'm a religious person. Guess I become an unthinking idiot at that point. I guess Dr. Martin Luther King was not capable of thinking freely; or perhaps Maimonides, Augustine, Reinhold Neibuhr, Francis of Assisi, Rumi, CS Lewis, JRR Tolkien. Boy, what a bunch of unthinking, stick in the mud idiots that lot is.
Jesus. That unthinking rube from the sticks! Did he get in trouble and crucified by following religious convention? Or did he get in trouble for questioning, thinking and acting outside the accepted conventions?
Of course, if you're an SBNR person, you at least recognize the spiritual aspect of our lives, so that's a bit better than people that believe we are just interacting organisms and nothing more. Being an SBNR is convenient. Just you and God, or 'my god'. I just have a problem with the phrase too, "That's between you and your god", or "that's between me and my god". SBNR's have their own individual little gods going on. You get a high end spiritual smörgåsbord. I'll take a little Buddhism, a little Islam, a little astrology, a little Theosophy, and season the mix with whatever.
That's just about that singular person. It's about self. It's about doing and saying whatever makes you comfortable. It's whatever you can use to rationalize your thoughts and behaviors. I guess one could say that's a religion too, the 'it's all about me' the "I AM" religion. Thinking like that, who's there to challenge, correct, get you out of your comfort zone? That's why God sends prophets, to correct us. (Those of you that aren't religiously educated, prophets don't predict the future, they warn us of the consequences of our bad behavior, what will happen if we continue to turn our backs to God.) If you're an SBNR, then you are alone with God. God wants us to experience Him with each other. Experiencing God is a communal experience, not a singular experience.
In the church, you can be corrected, or be a corrector. You need humility when in a community. I know I've grown as a man, spiritually and religiously since I've joined the church. I've learned to interact with people much better. I've learned to serve much better. I used to be an SBNR, so I know the thinking, the experience.
Has the church made huge mistakes and bad decisions? Absolutely. Has religion always provided the right process, and gotten right results? Of course not. The church is a reflection of ourselves, our humanness, and we recognize that, and constantly correct for it. Over all, the church, religious people, have done more good than ill in the world.
Ultimately, the two, religious and spiritual, matter only when combined.
James Martin, SJ, From his book, "The Jesuit Guide to (Almost) Everything":
"Overall, being spiritual and being religious are both part of being in relationship with God. Neither can be fully realized without the other. Religion without spirituality can become a dry list of dogmatic statements divorced from the life of the spirit. This is what Jesus warned against. Spirituality without religion can become a self-centered complacency divorced from the wisdom of community."
2 comments:
As someone who identifies themselves as SBNR, I disagree with your first paragraph. Many of us "SBNR" think that organized religion has its place and is perfect and beautiful for some people, just not for us. I do not believe that because you are a Christian you are an unthinking idiot. If those traditions and rituals is how you best connect to God, that that is wonderful. It is just that for me, I've never been able to find a traditional, organized religion (and trust me, I've looked) where I felt like I belonged, one where I could happily adhere to all their rituals, guidelines, traditions, etc. For me, in every religion I explored there was always at least a piece that didn't make sense to me, something I could not blindly accept without question. Then, I came to the realization, that I connect with my higher power everyday and do not need a religion to help me do so. To me, that is what SBNR means. It does not mean condemning Religion, or religious people in anyway. Just because you judge us (see your 4th & 5th paragraph), does not mean we judge you.
P.S. I experience God not just with me, but with others (in fact, I experience him with every single individual I interact with everyday).
Hello.
The previous comment is well stated.
While there is no single SBNR perspective, many SBNR people experience God manifested in all things and all people. From that perspective, everything is about God. Proposing that the SBNR view is a selfish one may be descriptive of your personal past SBNR life, but it isn’t reflective of the broader SBNR community.
Personally, I find that all religions contain some truth, but that no single religion contains all truth. Thus, as a SBNR person I act as a “truth maximizer” seeking to find truth both inside and outside of organized religion.
I’ll also add that many SBNR people have rigorous spiritual practices. I myself sit in silent mediation. I assure you, it is a practice that requires dedication and focus. Your assertion that being SBNR is “about doing and saying whatever makes you comfortable,” widely misses the mark.
If you or any of your readers would like to better understand the SBNR worldview, please visit our website at http://sbnr.org or our Facebook page at www.facebook.com/sbnr.org. If you do visit, I ask that you come with an open heart and good manners. Both places are way stations for people on the journey of life to stop and refuel their hearts, minds and spirits.
Warm regards,
Steve Frazee
Executive Director
SBNR.org
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