Spiritual Adaptation

Depending upon what our experience is growing up we all deal with spiritual Adaptation to try to get along with our parents and siblings as young children. Then as teenagers and young adults often what we believe can go through many different permutations. For example, many of my beliefs at 18 were completely the opposite by the time I was 21 or 22. But oddly enough, my more traditional side was back more in control regarding my beliefs by the time I was 25 to 30 years of age. So, in some ways I had done a completely 360 degrees in some of my beliefs during this time. However, when I was 18 it was 1966 and when I was 30 it was 1978 which was a time of extreme change socially, spiritually, and in regard to religion both in the U.S. and throughout the western world of Secular Christianity which is how I would refer to both the U.S. and European cultures in that era.

Every generation has to deal with its own form of spiritual adaptation because it goes to the core of what we actually believe is really going on way beyond any religion,  politics or even science. For some people Science or atheism or even nature is their spiritual core and religion. So there are as many core beliefs as there are people in reality. And most people sort of pretend to be like everyone else sort of because it is safer. So, what I'm saying is that if someone's beliefs are too different than the norm in whatever country they live in, then likely they don't feel safe enough to tell anyone but people they trust with their lives (and sometimes not even then) about their core beliefs about themselves, everyone else and the whole universe. And then there are people who avoid dealing with what they believe all their lives for one reason or another and just pretend life is sort of like watching TV. To each his own I always say.

So, it is important not to assume everyone believes like you do even if they attend your church and you have known them since you were born. People go to church often more for a social life than for any other reason. If you think they believe everything that the minister actually says you might be mistaken. When I grew up in my church I like you believed everyone believed like me. However, I was wrong. I later learned that about 75% of the people came to church to meet people and associate with others and because their parents were in the religion and I have since found out that this is true about most religions. That is why in some ways it can be downright dangerous to trust the people in your own church too much. People join all sorts of different groups for many different reasons that you might not be able to ferret out. In some ways you likely will hear a lot more truth from people at a bar than at your church social because there is about 75% less social pressure to think in a regimental way in a bar than in a church. I'm not advocating going to a bar and I don't even drink usually because my family on my Dad's side are allergic to alcohol. But I'm just trying to make a point that trusting people in your own church too much might be the same mistake as if you went to a bar and trusted someone after drinking too much. In the bar they are drunk on alcohol but in the church many are drunk on religion. In neither situation are you dealing with fully rational people at least on the surface. Think about what I'm trying to say to you to help you stay aware and safe in your lives.