Mitch Albom is one of the authors I follow and buy whenever their books are released (not right away, but I buy them eventually after some time), and this book was his latest.
It went very similarly to Tuesdays with Morrie, but this book was about religion. And instead of Morrie Schwartz, this book is mainly about conversations of Albom and Albert Lewis, a rabbi of Albom's synagogue in NJ.
Well, this book just talks about about religion(s) and life - something I have thought about 7 years ago. This book features thoughts nothing new to me, but I did feel the urge to recommend this book to several acquaintances who are especially devoted to their own religions.
This book talks about life with religions. No, life with acceptance to deities - now that's better.
Albom is Jewish, but he also features a story of his experience with a Christian church in Detroit for about 30% of the book.
He doesn't say that Judaism is the way to go, neither says he that Christianity is the ultimately correct one. But he tries to describe the meaning of having a religion, deities in one's life in a right way as each religion was originally mean to be.
Every religion features love, care, ethics and hope. Those are all that matter in a life, and if you cannot provide these by yourself, you can always rely on any of these religions. He just utilizes his Judaism background and his rabbi to give an example of the true way how a religion and how God should influence one's life, and utilizes Christianity in which he feels practically the same to him despite of all their differences. Those two were the religions that he was exposed to in his life, so it was natural for him to choose them in the book. I am sure he could have featured Muslim or Buddhism if those were the religions he had experiences with.
I have been friends with many religious men and women in my life like priests, sisters, pastors and monks. A majority of those are very nice and hearty people, but of course I also have met real fucked-ups those almost fucked up my life. It's a little irony that all those fucked-ups were protestants, which I am fine with now BTW. Probably it was just my bad luck - but I also have a number of good friends who are protestants, so it's a fair deal.
Even before reading this book, I have been telling this to as many people as I can - that people should respect other religions - but obviously those hard-headed, vain-self-centered religion fanatics could not accept that there are other ways to God(s) than their own. Those simply cannot respect others and other opinions in general.
I've heard these so many times - I was in a protestant high school and a Catholic university:
1) You should believe in Jesus because He is the only true God who can save your soul.
2) If you don't believe in Jesus, you will go to hell.
...
The list of this kind goes on and on and on. I've had been very spiritual and philosophical as long as I can remember, and I did consider finding my peace in some religion specially in Christianity (specifically Roman Catholicism since that's the one I was most exposed to), but I got over those periods. I now have a firm belief and faith there exists some deity, and I should live with love in hope following my conscience... and I know I can do that without actually worshiping and participating in any religious ritual.
Once, I have been a victim of those fucked-up religious fanatics who tried to cut my friends away utilizing a verse from the Bible, which goes:
"Do not be yoked with those who are different, with unbelievers. For what partnership do righteousness and lawlessness have? Or what fellowship does light have with darkness? - 2 Corinthians 6:14"
I hate that fucking verse so much, I have memorized it for 10 years now - word by word.
Sure, if you take that verse literally, join the league of the fucked-up. I am big of a man enough to understand you, respect your fucking decisions and still treat you like any other acquaintances in my life.
But if that's what some people truly believe, I am sorry for their souls - for every religion is for the good and unity of humanity and nothing more, nothing less.
I am sad that a best selling author had to write a book something like this to remind people what religions should be. I am very sad that some of religious leaders like priests, pastors, rabbis, monks and imams are so fucked up, they are spreading false teachings to take advantage of their positions. I am sad that people has to be reminded of such obvious and trite nature of religions which existed as long as the history.
People need more love, I guess... and it should be a package deal with respect and understanding than pure self-righteousness and wrong confidence in their own deities.
