Egyptian Ankh
Oh sacred ankh
Oh eternal life
Radiate our lives
with life and sun
Oh sacred cross
Divine triad
Where have you been?
Why do you lie amongst the gods?
Come into our hands
Become a part of us
For ages without end, let us live
For days without end, let our food grow
Oh, our portrayal
We ask with all our heart
We ask with all our life
Please, come and sustain our lives
Mircea Eliade stated that religion has "not vanished without a trace; [it] has contributed toward making us what we are today and so, after all, [it] forms part of our own history". If this is true, then religion must have contributed toward my personal history, and religion has affected my history greatly.
My parents were converted to Christianity, or more specifically, Mormonism at around their highschool years, thus, i was born into a Christian family. As a Christian child, my parents enforced Christian beliefs upon me. Because i was taught so at a young age, I was to attend church every Sunday, and to this day, I still do. Because I'm a Mormon, I was taught a little more strict, however beneficial principles. These include not smoking or drinking, keeping myself pure, and even common things like praying everyday. In short, my religious background has affected me in great, great ways in many aspects of my life. However, sometimes i wonder, do I really need to be a Christian to become who and what I am today? Do i really need my religion to placate all these "mysteries" in life? I even ask myself how different life would be as a shaman, or from the times where totem poles were crafted, when magic was used largely to soothe the gods.
-josh
