Chamblee54

The facebook friend announced that he took a test, My Spiritual Profile. The results for the fbf were ” took the quiz and came out as a “Seeker.” No surprise there, I guess! “. PG thought this would be a good subject to write about, some text to put between the pictures. These images are from ” The Special Collections and Archives,Georgia State University Library”
For those who are new to Chamblee54, here is the back story. PG is from Atlanta GA, where he continues to live. His family was Southern Baptist. PG left that tradition when he was 17. There have been flirtations with various “spiritual” paths, a week in a moonie camp, and a lifetime in the Jesus happy USA. In both politics and religion, PG is wary of moving lips.
There is a website called twenty two words. Back when they required posts to be twenty two words or less, they asked readers to describe their religion/non religion. PG turned this into a dandy post about his wonderful opinions. The answer was : 1. My beliefs are my business. 2. Practice outweighs belief. 3. G-d does not write books. 4. Jesus has nothing to do with Life after death.
The survey is ten multiple choice statements, where you choose a second half of the sentence. This makes for easy scoring. The bad news is that you often have to choose the least bad answer, rather than one you agree with. This is often the case with man made religions.
The first question was interesting. I try to feel close to G-d through… When PG first read it, he somehow did not see the “try to”, and thought it was asking when you feel close to G-d. PG questions the separation of G-d and man. He maintains that G-d lives in his heart, as an involuntary part of being a living human being. It is not something you have to make an effort to do. The correct answer, at least for the question as PG first understood it, was Going about my normal activities. These activities are not always normal.
The second question is an exercise in pounding a square peg into a round hole. This is typical of many religions, where you get the answers first, and tailor the questions to fit. The statement was When I have an extraordinary experience of God’s presence, I… The answer that was the best fit for PG was Hold it quietly in my heart. A bit of humble reticence would serve  our culture well.
The third question typifies a semantic mess in our culture. When I am questioned about my faith, I… It seems to PG that religion is becoming a dirty word, so people say “faith” instead. The danger is that faith will become a dirty word now. In any event, to PG the correct answer to that question is NONE OF YOUR BUSINESS! The use of cusswords in front of business is optional. For purposes of this study, PG chose Feel no need to defend myself
Question four spoke to PG, although not in the way that the designer of this survey intended. The first part reads If someone threatened to harm me unless I renounced my faith, I would… One of the key experiences in the evolution of PG has been the experience of hateful, aggressive preaching. People will use Jesus to hurt you, often as a part of petty quarrels. PG has suffered because of verbal abuse for Jesus.
The answer PG chose was Wonder if there were a new way to look at faith PG used to buy the line about a friendly Jesus. Then, he realized that the best way to know Jesus was through his believers. After years of verbal abuse from Jesus worshipers, PG came to the conclusion that JESUS HATES ME.
Number five was If I felt that G-d was calling me to perform an extraordinary feat, I would … There was a good answer to this. Do it humbly and quietly.
Number six is back to making the best of a bad choice. When I feel disconnected to the Holy One and wonder about G-d’s presence, I … What some people do not realize is that unhappiness, boredom and pain are just as much a part of life as love, peace, and joy. If G-d made everything, and is in everything, then she made the parts we don’t like. This business of “feeling disconnected” is just as important a part of the cycle as floating on clouds. The least bad answer to this is  Remember the way God was present to me in the past As you get older, your memory doesn’t work as well as before.
Number seven is another bad question. When others around me are trying to find God, I … Try to be a companion to them in their search. The other five answers begin with tell, recount, share, share, and teach. These are all variations on talk, and most people talk too much.
This question assumes two rather unlikely things…that someone is interested in your opinion, and that they will listen to your answer without interrupting. One of the serious problems PG has with Jesus worshipers (and by extension Jesus) is rudeness. Jesus worshipers are very rude people. If they hear something they don’t like, they will not hesitate to interrupt. They do not like to listen. (There are exceptions to this. PG has met very few.)
Number eight is not that great either. If I were going through a period of doubt in my life, I would … For the long version of this, see the answer to question four above. The answer given today is Try to remember that doubt can lead to surprising insights.
Number nine was written by someone who does not have a blog. If a story were written about my spiritual life, I’d want it to say that I … With the internet, anyone with internet access, and too much free time, can write about that fuzzy subject. PG likes the DIY approach. . For the sake of the almighty algorithm, the choice today was Embraced new truth when it was revealed to me.
Number ten is the last question of this survey, and comes not a moment too soon. When I think of being a person of faith in my everyday life, I want to… The phrase “person of faith” sounds bad in the mouth. Certain pundits use the phrase “person of no faith” as an insult, which makes PG ask who appointed them as the judge. This gets back to the whole faith/religion quagmire, and is not productive for living a good life. But, if PG wants the computer to tell him what kind of spiritual critter he is, an answer  is required. Remain open to new possibilities of experiencing God.
The answer is that PG is a seeker. This seems to be based on asking questions, rather than accepting answers. What this does not discuss is the issue of “seeker fatigue”. Man has all sorts of questions and answers, and it can be confusing and tiresome. When you add anger and control issues to the mix, the results can be most unappealing. At this point in his life, PG just wants to enjoy what time he has left.