The World According to Carp

I live in the land of hunting and fishing folk. Dotted along 191, guide and fly shops are a welcome sign to those new to the area who find hunting fowl or catching fish a religious experience.

When in nature, I do think we do see God. So, I'm going to agree with them.

This posting is not about hunting, fishing, or God, although I've thought a lot about the latter lately. Now before you enter the URL of another website, let me finish...

Why do some life events cause people to "find God" when they've ignored God for the majority of their life? Whether it's marriage, the birth of a child, the loss of a job or business, the ending of a relationship, or not being able to find your keys when you're late for work, I have my suspicions when it comes to these new believers.

Let me back up a bit. I have no doubt that some people, when troubled in their lives, turn to God for support. However, when they turn to God because it's the status quo, I guess my cross begins to rub me the wrong way. For example, if two people are getting married and start attending church out of pressure from families, and then stop attending once the gold is on their fingers...I take issue with that. Or when children are baptized, but then no effort is made to take that child to church or teach them the Golden Rule...I take issue with that. Or, when a married person repeatedly cheats on their spouse or commits a crime but it's OK because they "found God" and now attend church.

Throughout my life, I've lost and found God many times. I used to think we're all hypocrites because we only call upon God when we need a favor. However, maybe the hypocrisy lies in what we attach to religion; more importantly, what we attach to organized religion. I do believe there is a higher power, but I don't believe that higher power wants us to ignore the rights of the oppressed, pay a tithe so my parish priest can drive the biggest and baddest Caddy, or constantly run to the confessional to absolve of us of a sin (mistake) we repeatedly make without remorse or lesson learned. Washing away the sins merely requires a shake of your hand in the Holy Water as you walk out of the church having professed your sins and prayed your penance.

I'm not perfect, but therein lies the beauty of the God. The big, kickass power that I talk to every night in casual conversation. Perhaps some people find religion to be a saving grace for saving face in a society where no one talks about religion but everyone talks about being religious. Perhaps others find religion to be a saving grace when they've run out of excuses for their bad behavior or weaknesses.

Whatever the case, I think (sometimes) you need to lose religion to find it again in order to understand its true meaning.