The Journey to Faith

What is religion really?  Is it not the adherence to a set of guidelines for living a life which is believed to be good and true?  It is, as I perceive it, simply an individual's method of seeing themselves within the context of the unknown and unknowable.  For many that means having faith (often blindly so) in a relgious dogma that most will never comprehend.  For others it may mean adopting a personal philosophy that promotes understanding and acceptance on an case-by-case basis.  What is organized religion but the user friendly version of spirituality for the masses; a way for people to absolve themselves of their wrongdoings by shifting the blame from their own conscience? 

While I argue with myself and others on what is fundamental to spirituality, my own beliefs become more concrete.  I study the origins of religious beliefs trying to see beyond the rites and rituals and politics and business of organized religion to the deeper meanings.  It seems to me that underscoring all religious belief there persists several basic truths that, while manifested differently in each, are at the essence of all of them.  That of love and faith and honesty.  Unfortunately for some these ideals have become distorted through the self-serving pageantry of modern organized religion until the true meanings of them are all but obliterated.  Religion has often become the masquerade that people perpetuate in order to avoid revealing who they are and what (if anything) they believe within themselves, or their spirituality. 

To even begin to consider the validity of religion, a person MUST first know what they believe to be true.  People tend to forget that most religions were begun by very human individuals who's motives and thought processes were probably no more holy than yours or mine, and in forgetting that, they also forget that they have the power to reason with themselves what they see as right and wrong, instead adopting someone elses preconceived values.  We have all been given the ability to think.  It is sad how few ever use it. 

Personally, I have come to believe in the integrity of simple goodness.  Of living a life that is as honest and true to who I am as possible.  A lofty goal indeed....  I have found that to have faith, in myself, in others, in the existance of love, in the feeling  of love, I must first be brutally honest with myself regarding all that I am.  It is only then can I face the darkness and the hatred.  I do not and will not believe that the dark side of ourselves, the potential for evil that is within comes from an external source.  I would like to think that we have a little more responsibility for our actions than to blame it on the devil, in any of his incarnations. 

And now you know.... But I am just one person, one perspective.  Tell me my friend, what do you believe?