What is Your Outlook on Faith?

“Live a good life. If there are gods and they are just, then they will not care how devout you have been, but will welcome you based on the virtues you have lived by. If there are gods, but unjust, then you should not want to worship them. If there are no gods, then you will be gone, but will have lived a noble life that will live on in the memories of your loved ones.” – General Marcus Aurelius

Before I get into this please understand: I am not questioning the veracity of anyone’s religious or spiritual beliefs. I believe that everyone is entitled to believe however they see fit and in whatever they see fit with only one proviso: that your beliefs do not require you to convert others or harm them if they don’t. Freedom of religion… or more precisely, freedom from a specified/mandated religion is one of the foundational values our nation (United States) was built upon. Believe whatever you wish. I write this as an observation oratory regarding religion, spirituality and how sometimes the two may seem to conflict. Take it or leave it as you see fit. It’s just my two cents and you may not feel it’s worth even that. My religious background is quite mixed. I was raised Episcopalian but also attended a Baptist school for three years and then a Catholic school for three years. I grew up with a very close friend who was Jewish and dated, for quite a bit of time, a girl whose family belonged to “the new church of Jerusalem.” They apparently believed that the second coming of Jesus Christ had already happened and we were all living in paradise. (Don’t laugh; far more different beliefs are held by many.) I married a Methodist, got divorced and then married a Presbyterian. I’ve attended church in all those different faiths (except synagogue) and they weren’t all that much different. One thing they all had in common, if I went long enough, was that eventually I was told I wasn’t doing enough to help the church. I needed to do more. I needed to prioritize the church more. – – – – – – – – – The remainder of this essay can be found in the book “Farther Down The Road” Farther Down the Road – Where does your life’s road lead? https://www.amazon.com/dp/B0CTJ1B2QR