An Epiphany

I have a friend who claims that she will return here reborn one day The essence of morality bereft of our mortal decay

Payton and I

I have a friend who says that she

will return here reborn one day

The essence of morality

bereft of our mortal decay

 

She claims only those who believe

will be allowed to live here then

This tapestry her god will weave

from all faithful women and men

 

I have a little misgiving

that I pose to a faithful few

What is it makes life worth living

if not the character we hew

 

Tolerance be the holy way

humility tempers us true

So why curtail what others say

as if this world were just for you

Our religions seem a bit grim

even somewhat selfish at best

Save ourselves by worshiping him

and to hell with all of the rest

 

No good man worships another

nor our father wish that from you

He'd rather you helped your brother

as any good father would do

If the Word be Truth let it shine

and echo out over the seas

May the Dreams be both yours and mine

as the winds that blow through the trees

 

Author's Note

Born and raised a Catholic I still find I often think on this conundrum. Why would a god want worship anymore than a father of his children? It would seem counter productive for a god to demand worship of you at the same time telling you as a father to be humble. God did not give me a brain to follow others like sheep. It would be wrong not to use it to question the concepts we hold dear. If this upsets someone I am sorry. Not for the idea but for the injury. I am forced by nature to question all we hold dear.

Reviews

[Linda Marie Van Tassell]

This is a beautifully written and thought-provoking poem. For all of those who worship "God" for the sake of their own skins, forsaking all the rest, I wonder what that same "God" thinks of him being forsaken for all the rest. So many profess to believe; and yet, they try to mold God in the shape of man rather than the other way around.

Take any issue: abortion, same-sex marriage, couples living together before marriage, etc.; and one can clearly see how society as a whole has forsaken "God" in favor of themselves. Even those who act most fervently in the name of their "God," do so for their own selfish reasons that have nothing to do with God.

Beware the man - the beast - as lamb.

[Tate Morgan]

It is funny how god takes on our characteristics isnt it

[Linda Marie Van Tassell]

Predictable and true. :-)

[Epipsychologist]

Again, this is brilliant. I wish more people would distrust their opinions. I think many people justify believing with good intentions and end up absorbing the happiness one feels from being morally outraged. In fact, I don't think anyone has ever wanted to be understanding after being morally outraged. In an evolutionary sense, it makes destroying your neighbor a guiltless and easy thing to do.

[Mark]

I'm with you on this one brother. If God wanted us to follow a certain set of rules and will throw you into hell for all eternity for not following them, then they should have been made crystal clear exactly what those rules are. Good write Tate.

[Wendy Seames Garner]

A thought provoking write, I agree with you wholeheartedly, Tate. I have seen much in this life, and believe we would all be much better off, if we were spiritual people rather than religious people. Religion just divides us. Why would "God" treat one group of people better than another, just because of the popular religion in that area of the world?

[*** Hey Jude***]

This piece takes on a life of it's own, as through time, our prespective changes. You write with such depth of self, and because of that your work is inspiring, as well as thought provoking! As I have said, I believe "religion" is man made. Bringing division amongst those searching for truth. I "believe" Spirituality" is a daily relationship with our Creator. Thank you for sharing your wisdom my friend! ~ Jude :-)

[Brandon]

First of all, Hell was not created for people. It was created for the Devil and the rest of the fallen angels. God does everything He can to keep us out of that place (i.e. suffering torture and spit and jeer and whippings at the hands of those He knit intimately in their mother's womb). So I believe that the line you've penned, "Save ourselves by worshiping Him and to hell with all the rest" is misleading in it's interpretation of the story of salvation. Familiarly misleading, actually. It smacks of religiosity. And in that vein, assuming you were writing from a religious viewpoint, in order to exploit religion, you've hit the nail on the head.
Which leads to my second point (based from what your author's note says); no, God did not give you a brain to follow others like sheep. Why would a sheep follow another sheep? Sheep are notoriously unintelligent creatures. But the fact does remain, whether or not it fits in with our 'sexy progressive intellectual individualism' that we love to project, that we are all sheep. Everybody is. What matters is who you allow to be your Shepherd. Some follow the shepherd known as Self, because he's good looking and has product in his hair. Others follow the shepherd known as Television because he's entertaining and lets you eat potato chips and sit in your underwear. There's a whole bunch of shepherds and they all get together sometimes and shoot the breeze. But there is that one Shepherd out there in the mountains, ragged and scarred and quiet. Nobody likes Him too much. He certainly isn't as pretty as Self is. And He wants us to get up and help the orphans and the widows, unlike Television and that other Shepherd, Money. And He never comes to any of the other Shepherd parties; instead He's always off calling out for some lost lamb or other.
Religion, whatever the form, would like you to believe you must preform works to achieve some lofty cosmic shelf in the afterlife. Only people who floss get into Heaven, says Religion. So you mustn't get Jesus confused with those who CLAIM to follow Him.
Very thought provoking poem; showing the counter productivity of those who try to modify God's message for their offering plates.

[Dave "Doc" Rogers]

It is the theology of Man to devise interpretations of deity. There are as many ways to an understanding of 'deity' as there are versions of Man; more, in fact, when Man gets creative in thought. But, there is still only one way remaining for those who desire life. Jesus (Y'shua) is, in fact, who he says he is. God (YHWH Elohim, of Abraham, Isaac, Jacob, of Israel) is who he says he is. I am not in defense of Him. He is.
I recommend reading/re-reading my essay "Whatever Occupies the Mind"
http://www.writerscafe.org/writing/DocRogers/319578/

[Nassira Merahi]

I love the lack of selfishness and the deep message that you are trying to convey in this write! It is very thoughtful and echos in my mind like a wake up call, reminding us fellow humans about the importance of loving and caring for one another as we are all indeed interconnected from the source.
Thank you for sharing :)
Salaam (peace)

[The They]

I like this poem because it unearths some very deep-rooted hypocrisy in religion today. Exemplified by the lines "Save ourselves by worshiping him/and to hell with all of the rest", it shows how religion takes something so universal (such as God) and perverts it by using it to create exactly its opposite: a closed identity (community) which serves to allow people to dissociate from one another when, in actuality, it is precisely the opposite path that we should be taking: "No good man worships another/nor our father wish that from you/He'd rather you helped your brother/as any good father would do". Helping your brother IS the truest act of worshiping God. Good write.

[Irfan Bashir Shah]

It is an epic piece of literature.... this is one of the best poems i have ever read.....
You are far better than what i assumed before..... My words are too feeble to review this one......
Its besieged by charm.....

[Duke Teager]

A light for the misguided in the darkness of night.
I think the reason why our learning progress gets slower as we are older, is that, we have confined and rooted ourselves down to our believes, and all other knowledge and ideology is discarded in an awe of self-righteousness without proper consideration. One must unlearn (unbiased) to learn anew and refine one's knowledge.