Day 43 -- Organized Religion from Chaos

The message in church this morning was about each person being an important part in the body of the church.  My younger daughter has been attending a Baptist church for the last couple of years so, and I've been joining her the last few months.  She's also tried out the Catholic, Methodist, and Presbyterian churches.  These have been her choices, and I've encouraged her to experiment.  I haven't actually been a member of a church in almost 30 years b/c I think it's more important to have a personal relationship w/ your God than a group membership at an elitist club. I believe organized religion has done some wonderful things over the centuries, but I believe it has probably done more harm than good by trying to force others to believe in a certain god in a certain way.  If we all just tried to like each other and help each other and do good things w/ our lives then we have lived up to the honor of being created in the image of God.

I wish there could be just one religion in the world.  I don't understand why there have to be Baptists and Methodists and Lutherans and Catholics and Buddhists and Jews and Muslims.   We're all humans with the same basic goal.....eternal life w/ our Creator.  I think it's quite "theiscentric" (just made that word up) to think that one religion or denomination has a corner on the afterlife or even the best rules for this life.  I'd like to try out all faiths before I die.  So far I've....
....been confirmed in the Presbyterian Church, graduated from a Lutheran college, played piano for a Disciples of Christ Christian Church, taught at a Quaker school, attended services at Catholic, Methodist, Unitarian/Universalist, and Baptist churches, and volunteer at the Calvary Gospel Assembly's youth center.  Just how many religions are there in the world??? 

People tend to go to religion in times of crisis......crisis like cancer.  Maybe that's why I've spent my life experimenting w/ different faiths b/c cancer has been a part of my life since I was four.  Haven't tried a faith healer yet.  I did play piano at a Baptist Revival in Texas once.  No snakes were involved.