[16] For if the dead rise not again, neither is Christ risen again. [17] And if Christ be not risen again, your faith is vain, for you are yet in your sins. [18] Then they also that are fallen asleep in Christ, are perished. [19] If in this life only we have hope in Christ, we are of all men most miserable. [20] But now Christ is risen from the dead, the firstfruits of them that sleep:
~ 1 Corinthians 15, Douay-Rheims
I did absolutely nothing this Lent. I've run out of things to give up temporarily. Certainly not going offline. Duhh. And there're the other stuff that I'm not willing to give up permanently. Anyway, I'm no saint, and it's a personal matter.
This Lent and beyond, I simply carry forward last year's practice of steadily reading devotionals. I read widely. But I have a problem sitting down with daily devotionals. I question, and argue. Forcing myself to have a think is worse than not getting online just before bedtime. It's a daily struggle. Almost as bad as that period I (perhaps stupidly) gritted my teeth through modules in theological ministry.
My faith is not a matter discussed at length outside the circle of trust. I don't believe in evangelizing, and I'm not interested to know how you choose to live your faith or how loudly you carry God's words. I know how I want to live mine- quietly. Chances are, my opinions aren't yours. Faith unites, but it's divisive. Social media is a double-edged sword. It allows unfortunate glimpses into people's freely expressed religious opinions that are, to me, shocking. I've unfriended so many such 'friends' in the cesspool that is facebook till I don't bother much with that social media platform anymore.
Religion(s) and humans' persistence in extreme religiosity have led to numerous wars in biblical times and current. The world doesn't need sanctimonious pricks or governments to tell its citizens how to live. There're universal laws and sensible rules by which humans adhere to for a peaceful co-existence. Then there're the camps of heretics who push for 'my moral values are to be modeled after' or they ostracize the heck out of the others. I stand for diversity, civility and common sense. This world needs respect, not senseless persecution or passive-aggressive methods of imposing a non-secular system of beliefs and mores on one another.
