Do-It-Yourself Sermons

It's been awhile, but I've gone to church on occasion.  Sometimes I get a sermon inadvertently when I go to a funeral or to a wedding, when the preacherman sneaks in a sermon as a part of the ceremony.  Some are okay, as those offering words to live by in the form of advice and example, but the theolgical sermons touting that preacherman's beliefs are too much.

My favorite sermons are those I serve up to myself or accept as gifts from friends, co-workers and various and sundry others I meet in the course of a day.  Note that I use the word sermon to mean, "any serious speech, discourse, or exhortation, especially on a moral issue."  Thus, a sermon may take various and sundry forms; they may be planned or they may be spontaneous.  They are most always meaningful; they are most often not related to gods or mankind's wobbly construct of superstitious religious rantings.

Have you ever consorted with the great minds of history, those who were original thinkers who drove our civilization forward?  The great philosophers, mathematicians, scientists, teachers all, who give us meaning to our existance, to life, to the universe, to everything?  You need not agree with those minds as you explore them, minds such as Kant, Francis Bacon, Albert Einstein, Bertrand Russell, Kurt Vonnegut, Ayn Rand, and Susan Haack, to name but a few of thousands.

One of my favorite ways of receiving wisdom is through reading thought-provoking fiction, such as a recent book completed by me, "The Electric Church," by Jeff Somers, or a book I just started last night, "Inferno," by Larry Niven and Jerry Pournelle.  Both address spiritual issues in an unusual and imaginative way.  Both cause the reader to think about life and existance, much more so, I think, than the run-of-the-mill evangelical cacophony of words that merely aggrandize a set of beliefs, thelogical beliefs with little foundation.

The daily news may serve as impromptu sermons, such as the amazing story of South Carolina's morally decrepit governor.  Was I happy to see that his wife did not do the "dutiful, forgining wife" routine by standing next to him as he confessed and asked for forgiveness and understanding.  Her behaviour told more than any normal sermon in her absence from his side.  If only the wives of other philandering men would learn from her sermon of absence.  Here in her behavior we had a lesson in strength and independence.  We have an example of a truly strong women for our girls and young ladies and other wives to emulate.

Looking at nature, the great outdoors and the cosmos surrounding our puny planet is a warehouse full of sermons from which we may learn.  We need no explanation to take in the wonder of it all; we read and discuss the facts surrounding the cosmos, and we discuss, think and create within ourselves beautiful sermons regarding creation and existence.  One of the great sermons on life, the universe and everything is discovererd by watching the BBC version of "HItchiker's Guide to the Universe."

Of course there are the sermonizing sessions given us in love and generosity by parents, teachers and friends.  Thbose are tailored closer to our needs, or, at least our needs as defined by the sermonizer.

The most intimate personal sermons are those occuring within my brain after reading or listening to the words of intelligence, or throughtful fellow humans.  Such sermons are triggered within my brain by reading, listening and experiencing the wisdom of my fellow humankind.

So, go to church, temple, mosque, or synagogue regularly if you must limit yourself.  But consider skipping out once in a while and get some real wisdom, unencumbered by theology.  Alternately, visit the houses of worship of those who believe differently from your normal place of worship.  That will lead to some intense inner sermons if you do this with an open mind.  When it comes to religion, all are equally wrong; all are equally right.  Learn from life using your own mind rather than the mind of a "holy" representative preaching from behind a pulpit.

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