Student Spirituality - Got Jesus?

Student Spirituality - Got Jesus?

You may have an idea of what’s coming here. Yes, this is an essay about religion and spirituality. When you finish reading this essay, you might say, “It’s 2005; why in the world do you care about religious crap anymore?” Or maybe, “Get down off your crucifix, man.” Or, “You’re gay. Get a life.” That one’s my favorite. But before you bust out the Bible jokes, you could try to pinpoint the reason as to why you find religious people to be odd or ridiculous. Let’s see if this sounds familiar.

Let’s start when you’re little. Your parents take you to a church, mosque, synagogue, or whatever their place of worship is, and you may not really want to go. You may not even know why they take you there. All you know is that it’s more fun to go home and play video games, watch television, or play with your friends. So already, this religion crap is a pain. Strike one.

It also teaches you all this garbage; that you shouldn’t lie, steal, disobey your parents, or use those nasty four-letter words. And when you’re old enough, it tells you that you shouldn’t engage yourself in some activities. You know what they are. Well, where’s the fun in any of that? Strike two.

Then, when you want acceptance from the “popular kids” in middle school, you learn that they all feel the same way. They hate going to church, and following those dumb little rules, and they don’t see the point either. So that makes it official. Religious crap is a waste of time. Strike three.

Then you encounter people who follow that junk like it means something. They let those ideas influence or even completely control everything they do in their life. What better a target for ridicule? Those people are so funny, the way they actually follow that crap. It makes you want to laugh. Well, if you need something to seal the deal, that’s it because you can’t bear to be ridiculed by anybody. That would be sacrilegious to your self-esteem. No pun intended. Strike four. We’re not playing baseball.

That may explain it, and it may not. If not, it probably comes pretty close.

Take all of that, and put it on a college campus, where beer or sex is king in some circles, and career aspirations of financial success pop up. Hopefully. The idea of even making fun of those weirdos gets buried beneath all of that.