This conversation to me is one that is very intricate and detailed but one that to me should be more necessary than some like to think. When I think of these two words they can be very synonymous with each other but there are distinct differences to me that makes one more preferable to me over the other. Lets start the with big R word that makes for more divisiveness that togetherness.

Religious people in large part are more judgmental and tend to look at things through the lens of their beliefs of religion. They are more apt to try to drive a wedge through the community with their antiquated beliefs rather than really be a driving force of togetherness as taught in the bible. More specifically, within the Black community religion has always seemed to be a very tense subject to discuss. Primarily due to the fact that that hiding behind religion has torn apart families that have children or relatives that are part of the LGBTQ+ community. It has always been a source of disagreement amongst my peer group just how destructive religion in the Black community has been.

Also, that same religious rigidity seems to lead to black men not be allowed to accept or embrace all of themselves. They are taught too often to be firm and absent of emotions. Not to allow themselves to cry or be seen as “soft” because of what the Bible say. You know how religious people love to use that quote. But, the truth is the Bible doesn’t mention anything about a man not being allowed to be in touch with the softer side of himself. It doesn’t say that a has to be either warrior or mascusensitive. It is not distinguished in any part of the text, yet somehow, because of ancestry and a need for strength during slavery times, Black men have been robbed of their sensitivities, and in some ways, their humanity.

Let me focus for a minute on why I prefer the Spiritual self over the Religious self. The spirit self, to me, is of God and Jesus. The spirit is not judgmental nor does it hinder on acceptance of a theology. It allows for you to be in touch with the higher power in God and believe in Christ, while not being critical or belittling to someone who shares a different belief. Maybe their Muslim or Atheist or Hindu or Buddhist and they chose to worship a different deity but still have the fundamental in a spiritual foundation of God and love of man based upon these foundings. It does amaze me that so many run to the bible and disparage other religious texts, but if you look at the basic pillars and tenants of other faiths of spiritual belief, they have similar principles. A belief in love of self, love of fellow man, togetherness, family, building a strong community, kids being the future and a general sense of equality amongst all people regardless of status or class.

The spirit is something that you cannot quantify or judge. Because to truly be in the spirit is to be one with God and if that is the ultimate goal that one seeks, to be one with the Holy Spirit and to act in a way that would be Godly and acceptable unto the Lord, then one should tap into that love of the Spirit not the love of a text or religion that puts an emphasis on following someone’s interpretation of the text and not having a solid understanding for yourself, in order to fully be present during the service and to challenge the leader of the church it is so needed. The basic premise of blindly trusting man to lead you is something that is not preached in the text either. It is said that you need to trust Jesus and God as your leaders and that the preacher is an extension, sent to help you find that understanding, but he or she is still man and is subject to being tempted by wrongdoing or misgivings when they taste the power and influence given to a leader.

I wonder just how much Religious people truly justify their wandering belief system. See I don’t understand how you can be quick to say that God knows all and sees all and doesn’t make any mistakes. But, the minute that your child or close relative says their gay, you run and hollar God doesn’t like that, you aren’t being in touch with God, or somehow you are sinning because you are loving the same gender. That flies in the face of your initial statement. If you know that God see and knows all. If you know that God created all, then surely you know that God knew that there were Gay people in this world because God created them. Knew that they would be this way and allowed them to live and be free and flourish because we are all God’s people created in God’s image. See that’s where a Spiritual person sits in the seat of preference. A spirit filled person doesn’t look at homosexuality as a sin, it’s seen as what it is, a part of the diaspora of the world. There is not judgment for accepting your sexuality or your gender preference, rather it takes the belief that you are free to be who you are, as long as, you hold the basic tenants of life.

This post may not resonate with many and it may be controversial to some, but it’s something that is necessary to discuss. We have to get to a place where we aren’t judging people because they choose to live in their truth. That they accept God and also accept that they love the same sex or they like to drink or they like to wear mix blended clothing. That they had children prior to being married or they eat shell fish. You see all these things in the text are said to be sins, but we don’t ever focus on those do we? It’s just the most disturbing things to us that we see as not acceptable that we want to run to the bible and start throwing scripture as a weapon. What side of the ledger do you reside? Are you a Spiritual person or are you a Religious person?