My faith journey is a complicated one. If it wasn't complicated, it wouldn't be much of a journey.
I am not a practicing Mormon -- or a practicing Catholic, as I was raised -- but I do believe in God, and I do believe that Jesus was his son, and that Jesus died for our sins and was resurrected after three days. I also believe he was able to feed a crowd of thousands with only a few loaves and fishes. I don't believe these things to be metaphorical. I believe they actually happened.
Religious beliefs are wacky. In order to believe these things (which I do), I have to accept that Mary became pregnant without having sex with Joseph, and I also have to accept that a man (even a holy man) came back from the dead, visited his old friends, shared some wisdom, and then ascended into heaven as everyone watched.
I believe God has a plan for all of us/ I believe that plan involves me getting my own planet
The South Park guys -- Trey Parker and Matt Stone -- produce some of the most thoughtful and insightful works of art about the quirky nature of religious belief. When cynicism is called for, they are cynical, but The Book of Mormon isn't a cynical musical, and it isn't about taking shots at Mormonism. At times, it is incredibly filthy and profane, but it is also a consistently sweet story about the challenges of maintaining one's faith, even when the sadness and senselessness of the world conspire to shatter it, and the affection that Parker and Stone have for their subject is really kind of beautiful in a way.
The Book of Mormon, the musical, really inspires me. I don't think this was its intent -- foremost, I think its intent is to entertain and to be a good musical -- but such is the outcome. Even atheists can find inspiration in The Book of Mormon.
Andrew Rannells "I Believe (from The Book of Mormon)"
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