A note to our children

I don't have an issue with your choices. I just don't want you to give away your humanism and your ability to doubt and question. My belief is that doubting is the best path to real spirituality and faith. And remember faith is not about believing the myths and stories and dogma - it is about having a true belief and faith that things unfold and happen for a reason and that at the root of all existences there is god. He is not a white haired man sitting up on a thrown - God is that incomprehensible force that seems to be what the universe is built upon. The life of Jesus, when fully understood, provides access to great truths, peace, and love.

And never forget there are many paths to god and no one path has exclusive rights to the access of god, although they (all religions and their various subsects and denominations) surely claim to be the only true path.

The older I get the more I can appreciate the Christian experience on multiple levels. Christianity is based upon love and acceptance - few other religions on the planet take this focus. There is but one rule that needs to be followed, "do unto others as you would have them do unto you." - this means having symmetrical and equal relations with everyone including yourself. Jesus also said "Judge not, and be not judged" and this is a challenge for all of us - we habitually spend our time comparing ourselves with others - is that person better than me? that person is wild, so and so is a bad person, he is more successful than me, she is better looking, that person is a hypocrite, and so on. This continual judging leads to our own misery and suffering. By practicing non-judgment and acceptance - we can free ourselves from our own ego that tries to protect us from this suffering and misery. And what fills that void after we free ourselves from misery and suffering by stopping judging and comparing? God fills that void left in place of our ego.

Jesus made himself more available to tax collector and the criminal and the fallen than he did to those followers that were with him. He replied to his disciples when he was criticized for this by saying something akin to "the doctor is here for the ill among you not just for the healthy."

You will find as you get older and learn more that all religions share the same fundamental core truths, it is the dogma, the rituals, the belief in exclusivity, and the judgmental nature of all of us humans, that get in the way of these truths and the real value in religious practice.

By the way, mom and I probably read more about spirituality and faith than any other topic or interest we have. We are both seekers and we respect and value that you have both been willing to seek out your own way on your own without our prompting.