I have this theory about religion: It's always easier to come to it, than to grow up with it. Having the dogmas from a particular religion passed down to you by your parents is not cool, and it more often or not leads to a sort of acceptance of religion as nothing more than some sort of ritualistic tradition. It's why us PK's (preacher's kids) tend to be the most spiritually bankrupt at times. And it's why we often struggle with the concept of faith and spirituality.
Which leads me to the "O" man (what am I going to do when you are gone?). The most recent Newsweek Magazine on the news stands, has an entire feature on the "O" man's faith and his religion. The article starts off by talking about the fact that at 20 years old, the "O" man was searching for the meaning of life. Now that should have told folks right then and there that the guy was destined for greatness. (Hell at 20 years old most of us were chasing the opposite sex (or the same sex if you are so inclined and just trying to have a good time.) According to the article, the "O" man was reading folks like Nietzche, Graham Greene, and Saint Augustine, to try and find the meaning of life. Wow!
The "O" man, as a youngster, was confused about religion, and who could blame him. Unlike most Christians who grew up in "traditional" environments when it comes to religion, the "O" man was born of a Christian mother who became secular, and a Muslim father who became an atheist. To me, this made his search for religions enlightenment all that more intriguing.
It's why this whole Trinity Baptist thing looks so suspect to so many people sometimes. Did the "O" man join Trinity only for political reasons and to make the right political connections? Or did he really have a spiritual conversion and felt moved to become a member of that church after some serious soul searching? And If he could take back Rev. Wright baptizing him, would he? (Okay I just threw that question in there)
In the Newsweek interview the "O" man opened up about what he believes about g.. [God], prayer, and about the connection between salvation and personal responsibility. Now I would never question a man's faith, or lack thereof, but these days faith and love of g.. [God] seems to be a central theme in the "O" man's campaign. We can only hope that his faith will lead us in the right direction if he is elected President. And the way the country is going, if he does become POTUS, he is going to need plenty of it, faith.
The "O" man told Newsweek that "he prays everyday in his personal life" and that he prays for forgiveness for all of his "flaws". Now that I like. A man who prays to try and help himself and not for selfish reasons. He said he prayed after he met his wife, and when he decided to run for President of these divided states. Those were both probably the biggest decisions of his life, so if you believe him, you have got to believe that prayer is high on his list of priorities. He said he "travels with his bible" , and he reads it during the evenings. He also said in the interview that it takes him out of the "immediacy" of his day and gives him time to reflect.....Okay, cool with me, as long as he doesn't "reflect" too long. He has a country to run, the "immediacy" is pretty damn important when so much is on the table. That was the frat boy's problem; taking too much damn time to reflect, (Every time I saw the son of a bitch he was either in church or on vacation on that ranch of his) and you see where that got us. I guess g..[God] doesn't like him too much. Maybe it has something to do with all those dead Iraqi children.
Speaking of children; the "O" man says he doesn't impose his faith on his children, and that he tried to let faith tap into what's already there. He, in essence, said that he wants his children to come to religion through their own intellectual curiosity. I suppose kind of like he did. And that's a good thing.
Just think if all the preachers out there had approached parenting on religion like the "O" man. I know one thing, if they did, we wouldn't have all these messed up PK's running around out here. :)
