Chad and Chew

Creatio Ex Nihilo…this came to my mind today when I was asked yet again why I’m studying religion.  Knowing full well this remark is steeped in curiosity yet tinged with a dram of smart aleckness, I ask why the hell not?  I keep bumping into people who turn into donuts when I tell them what I study.  The face stays doughy, but the eyes just glaze over.  When they sense that I’m finished speaking, they begin to respond…what are ya gonna do with that?  become ordained? 

And when I do go into why I want to do it, I can tell people have already tuned out.  The reason being - we all think we understand religion.  It’s this organized entity out to tell us what not to do and make us feel ashamed.  It’s a big Jesus freak in your corner who dances to Amy Grant while unabashedly peeing on your heathen Parade.

Yet, that’s not what is to me.  It’s an interconnection of history, politics, psychology, art, literature, mythology, anthropology….it’s an Indra’s net that is the reflects the totality and is the totality.  But religion is not the only pearl.  History, politics, psychology….they are all infused with and inextricably bound with each other.  Out of this tremendous fusion, human behavior fashions itself.  This behavior, in turn, leads to new mythologies, religions, and art.  The potential for possibilities is limitless. 

And this realization is wonderful, in the sense of a faculty of wonder that is omnipresent.  Yet I think as adults, we lose this child-like quality of seeing the world.  We’d rather, like playdough, sit lifeless in front of the shadows on the cave wall.  Feel free to enjoy that witticism.  As the Wachowski brothers brilliantly pointed out in the first film, we’d rather stay engaged in a matrix.

I say, eff that.  Look around at pop culture.  There’s an slew of serialized shows that depict people looking inward for answer, Lost and Battlestar Galactica being the most developed.  I would argue this is not an inward turning to a "God" or notion of "Heaven" so much as a disciplined introspection that will instigate change.  A change built on death and resurrection.  Christianity doesn’t hold the authority on this.  Think of the Phoenix, the Saturnalia, agriculture, life after 9/11…

Which brings me back to the original question….Why study?  Because it shows the myths and beliefs that my peers and pop culture are co-opting and re-appropriating, as our ancestors have done for millenia.  Because it illustrates how when we sit in a theatre, we are being entertained with our own contemporary appropriations of the Homeric campfire stories.  Because it allows me to step outside my own sheltered box and dispel my pre-conceived notions.  Because it allows me to see the similarites among people as well as the differences.  Because it is found in the paper everyday in topics ranging from euthansia to youth in Iraq…from education to ajudication.  And most importantly, because it gives me a voice to my imagination and an anchor for my knowledge.  Because you can’t get something from nothing.

This entry was posted on Monday, November 7th, 2005 at 5:43 pm and is filed under Religion. You can follow any responses to this entry through the RSS 2.0 feed. You can skip to the end and leave a response. Pinging is currently not allowed.