The Road to Vision

         It has come to my attention that my non-Christian readers interpreted my message in "Path to The Sun" differently than my Christian readers. Do not be mislead; this was intentional. At the time I felt it appropriate to write something that would have a clear meaning to those who knew me and would have another for those who did not. However, I now feel it is in order to specify what exactly I meant by some of the statements I made.
         " In our present day, for I will not presume to have insight into the personal thoughts, feelings and beliefs of our predecessors, it is a rarity to find someone who, as an organism and body, has a sense of obligation to his soul." This is one of the clearer points made and is quite simply an observation. Amongst my peers I find few who regard anything more important than the worldly things such as I talked about in the first paragraph of "Path to The Sun". This leads to a disregard for the spiritual and ultimately a degradation of their fellows to nothing more than other organisms seeking to get the same fix or bang the same bitch.
         This is readily observant in everyday life. Consider the conversations that people around you have. About a week and a half ago I was riding on the bus on a school field trip. I was enjoying an enthralling conversation about Tolkien, the author of "The Lord of the Rings", and his Christian views. I was having this conversation with two friends, one of them being a Christian, the other a non-religious intellectual who believes firmly that there is nothing more to man than molecules. The latter admittedly does not follow any religion but still finds the topic intriguing. Across the isle a boy and a girl are having a conversation about sex. They go in depth and discuss everything from endurance to their favorite positions and new tricks. What I want to point out is not the horrifying reality of rampant sexual immorality but instead where it has come from.
         The fellow was adamantly complaining to this girl about someone he had dated or was dating. Simply put, he was displeased because the girl he was in a relationship with wasn't sexually satisfying. Here I was appalled. The appalling realization was not that they were both unaware of the truth, for I knew that already, but that even though my non-religious friend appeared to be much closer to reality he was still in the same boat of ignorance as my classmate. (I refer to my belief in Christianity as the truth, something which will be brought up later on.) My friend had developed a vague understanding, without much of his own basis, that there was more to life; that there was purpose, meaning, and value. My classmate on the other hand was quite bound to the meat of his being and obligated to sexual impulses and selfish needs. This brings me to what I was saying next.
         Obviously my opinion is that the truth of the situation, the reality, is that there is meaning, purpose, and value to life. What I sought to say was that there is quite clearly a varying degree to which my peers express this same belief. Some of them very little and some of them very largely.
         This is where we find the sense of the soul. If the truth is that there are souls, that there is a spiritual, and that there is more to life, then I think it is fairly obvious that, "Some of us are still in the womb with our eyelids fused shut, while others of us are struggling to read the highway signs". I go on to say that this vision recognizes a light and crawls humbly towards it, and furthermore that this action brings others closer to the truth. By this I mean plainly that one such as myself, by acting on this truth of value, purpose, and meaning may bring others, such as my non-religious friend, closer to the truth of value, purpose, and meaning.
         Here we conclude with confusion. I state that there is no need for the term religion, that I am simply crawling towards the sun of my soul's universe. This statement is perfectly accurate but is more accurately interpreted by those who know me. For those that do not it may be interpreted differently. It is here that I wish most to clarify. The reason that I feel there is no need for the term religion is not that I think that religion is wrong but that as a Christian I do not need the word.
         I do not see myself as a follower of a religion but a follower of God, Christ, and the Bible as God's word. Thus when I go on to say that I am simply crawling towards the sun of my soul's universe I am not speaking of enlightenment or of spiritual maturity which leads to more humane humans; I am speaking of growing in relationship and knowledge of God. This is where the Christian and the non-Christian readers differ in their interpretations of what I have said. I do not blame for misinterpretations because it is my own fault. Here I hope to present clarity.
         The main purpose in this then is not only to elaborate on already presented ideas but to clarify my stance on Christianity. I agree wholeheartedly with those who have said that life is more than following some brand name religion or being a part of some brainwashing organization. However, I do not think that Christianity is such a religion or that the church is such an organization. Christians, like all other people, are with faults and therefore the churches that are made up of them are not going to be without their faults. Perhaps the idea that Christianity isn't worth looking into or living out stems from this lack of consistency within the body of believers. Perhaps the view that the church is a brainwashing organization comes from religious zealots who are faithful but ignorant. However, this is not Christianity. The truth of Christianity is not changed by the actions of those who believe in it, or claim to believe in it. The Bible itself states that such followers should not exist. "It is not good to have zeal without knowledge, nor to be hasty and miss the way"(Proverbs 19:2).
          The sun is the largest source of light on our planet. If our eyes are blind or impaired does this change? The path to the sun is clearly lit. Finding the road to vision is the tricky part. Thus I conclude: it is a great pity we do not all see the same and that some have better vision than others.