Being an organ donor - a religious rant
So as of lately, I'm becoming really interested in religion.
I'm taking a class in Religion, and it's just so fascinating.
Idk, I think I'm doing it to maybe figure out if it's for me - y'know, this whole religion-thing.
I've thought of myself as an atheist, or maybe an agnostic to some extent, for at least three years.
Well, I figured the other day that since I'm now 18, I should get stuff sorted out for myself, y'know like talking to the bank, I've got my drivers license (which you aren't allowed until you're 18 ) and I've always said to myself that I'd be an organ donor. Because, if I'm dead, then why should I keep my organs when it could save other people? Right?
But as I was filling out the form, ticking the little box that said gave consent to remove all my organs, including skin, heart, and my corneas, I started to think about religion. I'm so torn at the moment. I think if I had to choose a religion, it'd probably be by the protestant persuasion. Y'know, Luther and stuff. Just because it's how society is, it's how I was raised (not by my parents, my parents made a conscious choice to not expose me and my sister to their religious and political views). It's the main church in this country.
But, I'm also thinking about 2012 and the concept of a Dooms Day, an apocalypse or whatever, mostly because of the floods around the world, birds supposedly dropping from the sky. And like, what if, just for a second, we think that people like Jehovah's Witnesses are right and we shouldn't take someone else's blood, or hearts or kidneys or corneas? What if there is a Paradise, what if there are all these rules that we should all follow because a man on a mountain got these tablets with 10 rules on them, and we should all follow them, because it's what God wants for us?
What if that's completely wrong though, and God is only trying to sort through the people God really wants? What if the true god is Allah? What if we should aim for not being reborn by reaching Nirvana? Is life suffering and death bliss?
What if there really is not god, and everyone who believes in a god is wasting their time by believing in a god that isn't true, that we only invented thousands and thousands, maybe even millions of years ago because we needed to explain why it rained or why the seasons changed or why it was wrong to kill another person?
As I said, I'm very torn about this, and I don't have the right answer. I don't even know what to believe. I've read about people who are religious who don't think of the word "believe" (in the context of their religion, anyway) as in agreeing that there is a god who can hear them when they pray or loves them. But more as in "trust" that their god loves them and hears their prayers. I don't think I can trust a deity, honestly. I don't think it fits me to surrender my hopes and thoughts to this... being or power that I don't think I've ever met.
Maybe I have met it though. My parents confirmed my faith when i was a baby, and I confirmed it again when I was 13. I was taken to a church in white clothes to signify purity, and a priest asked me if I forsake the Devil, and I said yes. He asked me if I believe in the father, the son and the holy spirit, and I said I did.
But I am so torn.
I'm taking a class in Religion, and it's just so fascinating.
Idk, I think I'm doing it to maybe figure out if it's for me - y'know, this whole religion-thing.
I've thought of myself as an atheist, or maybe an agnostic to some extent, for at least three years.
Well, I figured the other day that since I'm now 18, I should get stuff sorted out for myself, y'know like talking to the bank, I've got my drivers license (which you aren't allowed until you're 18 ) and I've always said to myself that I'd be an organ donor. Because, if I'm dead, then why should I keep my organs when it could save other people? Right?
But as I was filling out the form, ticking the little box that said gave consent to remove all my organs, including skin, heart, and my corneas, I started to think about religion. I'm so torn at the moment. I think if I had to choose a religion, it'd probably be by the protestant persuasion. Y'know, Luther and stuff. Just because it's how society is, it's how I was raised (not by my parents, my parents made a conscious choice to not expose me and my sister to their religious and political views). It's the main church in this country.
But, I'm also thinking about 2012 and the concept of a Dooms Day, an apocalypse or whatever, mostly because of the floods around the world, birds supposedly dropping from the sky. And like, what if, just for a second, we think that people like Jehovah's Witnesses are right and we shouldn't take someone else's blood, or hearts or kidneys or corneas? What if there is a Paradise, what if there are all these rules that we should all follow because a man on a mountain got these tablets with 10 rules on them, and we should all follow them, because it's what God wants for us?
What if that's completely wrong though, and God is only trying to sort through the people God really wants? What if the true god is Allah? What if we should aim for not being reborn by reaching Nirvana? Is life suffering and death bliss?
What if there really is not god, and everyone who believes in a god is wasting their time by believing in a god that isn't true, that we only invented thousands and thousands, maybe even millions of years ago because we needed to explain why it rained or why the seasons changed or why it was wrong to kill another person?
As I said, I'm very torn about this, and I don't have the right answer. I don't even know what to believe. I've read about people who are religious who don't think of the word "believe" (in the context of their religion, anyway) as in agreeing that there is a god who can hear them when they pray or loves them. But more as in "trust" that their god loves them and hears their prayers. I don't think I can trust a deity, honestly. I don't think it fits me to surrender my hopes and thoughts to this... being or power that I don't think I've ever met.
Maybe I have met it though. My parents confirmed my faith when i was a baby, and I confirmed it again when I was 13. I was taken to a church in white clothes to signify purity, and a priest asked me if I forsake the Devil, and I said yes. He asked me if I believe in the father, the son and the holy spirit, and I said I did.
But I am so torn.
I am very religious but I understand what you are saying. But I will just say what I once read that has always stuck with me.
"I would rather live as if there is God and die to find out there isnt than to live as if there is not God and die to find out there is"
ColieAnne91, January 18th, 2011 at 06:16:16pm
Thanks you guys, it's great to see that people have thought this over.
As I said, I've always said I'd be an organ donor, and I did tick all the boxes. If I decide to become really religious at some point and i'll be sure that my god or whatever i believe in doesn't want me to give away my organs when I'm dead and have no physical need for them, I can always change it back to not consenting.
Kristmas_Tsanne, January 18th, 2011 at 05:48:49pm
"What if there really is not god, and everyone who believes in a god is wasting their time by believing in a god that isn't true..."
I consider myself an athiest. I often get a bad rep. for that, but for me it's all about tolerance. Someone who believes in a God that may not be true is not wasting their time. Though I don't agree with people shoving their beliefs through the ears of others and looking down on them for not believing the same, I think it's important to have something to believe in, or to have something to help you in hard times. For some, it's family and friends, some it's God, and for people like me it's music.
There's a lot of things I could talk about regarding the "do's" and "don'ts" of religion. But as far as giving blood/ organs, it's up to you. There are many speculations of what happens when you die, but I think that most of those speculations don't require you to have blood/ organs intact. It really does help others that need them, and it's a good moral thing to do.
But it's your body, and your choice.
Shorty of Suburbia, January 18th, 2011 at 12:02:31pm
I have my own system of beliefs, which are 99% summed up by the Shinto religion of Japan. So I'd technically class myself as a Shintoist.
However, I think most religion is a huge con, and you have to use your brain to figure out right vs wrong, as opposed to some huge beardy dude in the sky telling you.
I'm an organ donor, because I believe that saving lives is right.
TO BE DELETED, January 18th, 2011 at 11:19:00am
I honestly hate religion. It's just a form people have come up with that separates us and them. Religion is all full of hate, war and hypocrites. This is just my view though. There is no correct religion and whatever you choose someone is going to hate the choice. I am an athiest by choice, not only because I don't like religion, but because I'm sick of it being forced on me and it caused me to not believe in anything. And I'm happy with that. So whatever you choose, you have to be happy with it.
As for the whole donor thing (in a religious point of view). If god didn't want people to donate organs then he wouldn't have made someone who created the option. He wouldn't have let someone else discover blood typing and he wouldn't have made the conditions where people needed a transplant or blood transfusion.
Organ donation is a very very good thing. It gives people a chance to live when they probably would not be. It's not like their defying death or anything, but think of how they will feel when they find out that some person gave them their organ so they could continue living a happy life.
Rage, January 18th, 2011 at 03:28:32am
I agree with all she said.
Shoelace-Necktie, January 17th, 2011 at 08:12:27pm
The thing is with religion, not to take it too seriously. Which is not to say that religion is a joke or something to be taken lightly, just that its not something to tear yourself (or anyone else) apart over. I'm really against people not giving blood or organs, primarily because that kills people, and what kind of god/alien/protective higher being would give us the technology to save our loved ones and expect us not to use it? It really irritates me how many people use it to justify their actions, so I am an atheist. But whenever a situation is out of my control I pray to whatever higher powers name I can remember, I bargin with god, and I usually keep my promises, such as i promised to go to this church thing if my grandma would be okay, and I did. I dont think that you NEED to figure this out right now, but I dont think you should stop asking questions. Keep studying and find your own answers, but remember that if you cant find an answer that you believe in, that fits you, that you probably dont really want an answer.
Yay!, January 17th, 2011 at 07:46:42pm