Not Much Interested in Your Soul
I'm not much interested in your soul. My interest is in mine. Your soul is in your domain.
And I am not a Bible-thumper. I was reared as a Christian although I do not attend church regularly---only for Christenings and weddings and funerals---I still consider myself a Christian, but I accept most other religions as valid efforts to know “God.” However, religions that call for the death of those who do not accept their religion as the only religion are more than a little difficult for me to accept.
All religions are imperfect efforts because they have been molded by the hands of men. The Bible that many of us seem to view as the word of God is a lot closer to the word of a subcommittee which decided which religious writings to include and exclude.
I do believe in God, and I do believe that I have a soul. My assignment, which I have decided to accept, is to attempt to keep my soul as pure as the moment I was given it. Of course, I have failed miserably at fulfilling the goal of the assignment.
I'm pleased that God gave me free will, but this gift has offered me a mighty challenge. I have, of course, violated the purity challenge, but those violations are my little secrets, and because I'm not answerable to you, I will not share my examples. Oh, and by the way, I do believe that some things are predestined. For example in my case, I believe I am predestined to be little known by the world at large. That is fine with me---I think the world will survive without my input.
Our common measuring stick to determine how well we are guarding our souls is comparing it to other men.
Holy crap! I'm a big winner when I compare my soul to that of mankind in general. What a...well, you know what I’m thinking!
Individuals that I have known or know who seem to have no regard for their souls surprise me. Perhaps it's because they do not believe in God. Look, some people will say that we're confusing “God” with space aliens…there may be some truth in this, but there still is a god who created them as well as man…dumbasses. Even the Catholic Church has taken this position. Others may not believe in an afterlife. I think all of us spend too much time worrying about an afterlife. I just considered whether or not there is an afterlife and the nature of such way beyond my pay grade. I recall totally confusing a couple of missionaries from The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-Day Saints (Mormons) when they offered me the bribe of their version of a Christian afterlife. I responded that if there is such a thing, fine; if not, I'll never regret this fact because I'll be dead, or as a friend once said, chunked in a hole and covered up.
Of course, this is all just one old guy's opinion.
You're dismissed now to tend to your own soul.
enough