I think we are pretty much on the same page about organized religion. When you and your brother were growing up, we let you experience different areas of faith, spirituality and religions and go off on your own with bible study and such. We provided a base for you that stressed kindness/fairness to others, obeyance of laws (natural and ordered) and belief in yourselves and what you could accomplish. You ultimately decided what was best for yourselves. We are happy with that and very proud of you both.

I did not mean to talk about any particular religion with the video; only the “unconditional love” aspect of it.

What I disagree with is religious extremism (of any brand), and aggressive peddling of religious beliefs–often for despicable ulterior motives. Generally speaking, I have serious issues with any church that is after “converting” others, even if it’s disguised as “salvation.” There is a fine line between reaching out to those in despair, and preying on the weak.

As long as we are aware of the common pitfalls of organized faith, investigating spirituality is an endeavor I highly recommend. Siddhartha, by Herman Hesse, blew my mind when I read it in high school. More recently, I found The Way of the Peaceful Warrior, by Dan Millman, to be quite provocative.

Thanks, as always, for sharing (and for being a great mom!).

Steven

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=cyheJ480LYA

Don’t quit watching until the end.