häretisch - heretic
as i have blogged previously, being in germany has gotten me back to thinking about religion and religious identity. this is, as my college friends will tell you, a favorite topic of mine. probably because i'm not sure what my religious identity is. at school i called it "jordanism". then i realized that it sounded like i was praising myself.
while weaving i listen to free downloads of this american life - a radio show produced by public radio international. the particular episode i downloaded this afternoon dealt with reverend carlton pearson, a pentecostal minister in tulsa who changed his message after he reasoned, and god told him, that there is no hell. that all people are saved, even if they don't accept it. he was deemed a heretic and his ministry has gone bankrupt.
"no hell" is a theory i have been working on for a while, without god speaking to me. if we are all god's children, and god is a loving god, why do we need hell? just to scare us into submission? is that really the best way to get someone to trust and respect you? as a teacher i say no - bullies never win. in this kind of a scenario god has a problem with insecurity.
though he no longer preaches about the tortures of hell, reverend pearson is still a pentecostal minister. his message differs from the pentecostal church, in that one way, but in all other messages, styles, liturgies, he is pentecostal. his congregation consider themselves pentecostal, though the church does not.
i believe in a personal god, not transcendent. so i have my own relationship with god, and so do others who believe in a personal god. my relationship with god doesn't have a name, like methodist or quaker, but these are the traditions in which i was reared, who's messages are closest, and so i say i am one or the other. just to have an answer in case someone asks me. but i find that i can't simply answer that question in one word if i am going to be honest. often i find myself delving into a monologue much longer than my conversant would like.
when the relocation agent came to our apartment to fill out all the paperwork for the work visa, she said, "what is your religious affiliation, jordan?" i stood there, wondering if i had heard her correctly. maybe her german wasn't as good as i thought. how dare she make me commit to an entire set of beliefs before i am ready! "she's christian but not one of the one's you tax" was dan's quick response.
here in germany they tax certain religions, a fact that dan apparently knew and had not prepared me for. i am guessing they tax because of a severe drop in attendance, and all of the leftover guilt that came with the holocaust. and i understand taxing certain religions is quite common in europe. it makes me a little uncomfortable to think that this is okay. i guess the first amendment really got to me.
i'm not sure i believe that one can be a heretic. maybe to some of you reading this entry i am one. that's fine. maybe i should have put that on the paperwork for the visa. is there a german tax for that? all i know is that the line for the answer was not long enough for me.
while weaving i listen to free downloads of this american life - a radio show produced by public radio international. the particular episode i downloaded this afternoon dealt with reverend carlton pearson, a pentecostal minister in tulsa who changed his message after he reasoned, and god told him, that there is no hell. that all people are saved, even if they don't accept it. he was deemed a heretic and his ministry has gone bankrupt.
"no hell" is a theory i have been working on for a while, without god speaking to me. if we are all god's children, and god is a loving god, why do we need hell? just to scare us into submission? is that really the best way to get someone to trust and respect you? as a teacher i say no - bullies never win. in this kind of a scenario god has a problem with insecurity.
though he no longer preaches about the tortures of hell, reverend pearson is still a pentecostal minister. his message differs from the pentecostal church, in that one way, but in all other messages, styles, liturgies, he is pentecostal. his congregation consider themselves pentecostal, though the church does not.
i believe in a personal god, not transcendent. so i have my own relationship with god, and so do others who believe in a personal god. my relationship with god doesn't have a name, like methodist or quaker, but these are the traditions in which i was reared, who's messages are closest, and so i say i am one or the other. just to have an answer in case someone asks me. but i find that i can't simply answer that question in one word if i am going to be honest. often i find myself delving into a monologue much longer than my conversant would like.
when the relocation agent came to our apartment to fill out all the paperwork for the work visa, she said, "what is your religious affiliation, jordan?" i stood there, wondering if i had heard her correctly. maybe her german wasn't as good as i thought. how dare she make me commit to an entire set of beliefs before i am ready! "she's christian but not one of the one's you tax" was dan's quick response.
here in germany they tax certain religions, a fact that dan apparently knew and had not prepared me for. i am guessing they tax because of a severe drop in attendance, and all of the leftover guilt that came with the holocaust. and i understand taxing certain religions is quite common in europe. it makes me a little uncomfortable to think that this is okay. i guess the first amendment really got to me.
i'm not sure i believe that one can be a heretic. maybe to some of you reading this entry i am one. that's fine. maybe i should have put that on the paperwork for the visa. is there a german tax for that? all i know is that the line for the answer was not long enough for me.
posted by jordan at
6:07 PM
1 Comments:
I guess I failed to mention that it is not so much a tax, as a government organized tithing mechanism. Its not like you get taxed just for believing in something - they just take money out of your paycheck and give it to the church of your choice should you happen to be Catholic or Lutheran and willing to tell the government about it. Oh yea, and the state takes a small "collection fee" off the top of your donation. You know, a little something for their troubles. We Jews are free and clear. Perhaps this is because there are so few of us in Germany and perhaps it is because the Jews don't really work with the whole tithing thing. Either way, it is one of the few times where the Jews have it better in Germany. Take that, Hitler! ….What, too soon?
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Anonymous, at March 07, 2006 7:43 PM
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