This post is the first in an occasional series about Millennials and faith, or lack thereof. I am actively working to enlist multiple viewpoints on this issue, so if you feel yours is not yet represented, please submit a new post on the matter to millennialvoice@gmail.com! [FYI: One of our regular posters, Kate H Long, regularly posts about being young, female and Catholic on the Blog From the Pews in the Back. Check it out in our blogroll.]
by Patrick Mongeau (b. 1984)
My television has shown and shouted to me more than once some variation of the phrase, “The Future Is Now.” Whether it was used to promote a new brand of four-blade razors or advanced technology in surround sound, it’s a pretty regularly received message for all of us. If now is the future, though – what is tomorrow?
I have no answers, but a few ideas. If you ask someone my age about the end of the world, they will likely say, “Do you mean 2012?” It’s a well-known fact among Millennials that the year is signified to be the end of times on a Mayan calendar.
There are several other myths to back up the nearing of the end. The Catholic Church puts the faces of the pope in a circle around the dome of St. Peter’s basilica. After the current pope, there will be one space left. Ominous, no? I’ve heard other tidbits, though I forget them.
The shift that I predict will not be great and destructive, but constructive and sanctifying. I believe that there will soon be a major shift in the way the world thinks about God. No longer will we believe that different constructs of the universe are mutually exclusive. Instead, we’ll see that they are inclusive in many surprising ways. Faith is faith is faith.
Take the example of an all-encompassing power:
In Judaism, Muslim, and Christianity, there is a human-like deity which knows and sees and creates all. Yahweh, Allah, and God.
Eastern forms do not humanize the energy. Chi and Zen are energies that bond and form all things.
When there is a non-humanized power, the religion often names humanized spirits to deliniate properties of matter and explain phenomena. Theologians draw your eye to the differences, calling one thing “Monotheism,” and the other, “Polytheism.” The constructs are the same, only the side of the equation (energy = matter) which is humanized has changed.
Both views show surprising agreement with Science, which simply dehumanizes both sides of the equation.
One day, paradoxically, the Future will be in the past, and a new era will begin. The end of days will not be a horrible destruction, but a death of “God.” Peace will fall down to man from on high, and we will all see that we have been worshiping one thing. Faith.
Patrick Mongeau is a screenwriter, poet, songwriter, joker, thinker, friend, brother, son, cousin, movie critic, bike commuter, bus rider, babysitter, futon seller, pedi-cab driver, temp worker, production assistant, guitar player, and all around good guy. He lives in the world.
Very nice post. I especially liked this line:
ReplyDelete"Faith is faith is faith."
You pretty much hit it right on with that. And I look forward to the beginning of a new era. It's silly that people still hold generation-old grudges against other groups simply because of religious matters, when truly, both groups technically believe in the same thing (with the exception of names and events).
Then, those who don't believe in a higher deity are sort of "shunned" by a massive portion of the population, which is just as wrong. They still believe in something, even if it's not a higher deity. Evolution, maybe? Or perhaps something else?
Very well thought out post. I enjoyed it. Keep it up. :)