leaning away from god

thank god no one from my small group reads my blog, but i think i more naturally tend towards buddhism than christianity. true buddhism is human centered (even self centered), while a lot of monotheistic religions seem to be more god centered. and that it's more of a philosophy than a religions probably appeals to me. the basic tenets of buddhism also really speak to me:

(1) to lead a moral life
(2) to be mindful and aware of thoughts and actions
(3) to develop wisdom and understanding

a lot of small group is focused on "what does god want from/for me?" "what does god mean when he does this?" "what does the bible say about that?" i just can't get myself to care about him, his intentions, or his word. i feel like if you were to ask a christian to describe christianity in under a minute, their definition would talk more about god, jesus, the church, than on what it actually *means* to be christian (which, to me is basically to live life according to wwjd). buddhists tend not to proselytize, and while a lot of them certainly worship buddha, i feel like their under-one-minute definition of their religion would focus more on the philosophy of the religion rather than the structure of it. i like that.

also, from what i've seen. a lot of christians missions trips are more focused on spreading the word of god than actually helping people. (that's an unfair way of putting it, i know, because christians believe that spreading the word of god is the best and most important way to help people. but i think that's a easy justification for those of us who live with more than enough money, food, shelter, health care access, education, etc) the buddhist missions trips i've heard about go to disaster areas to help out and *not* talk about their religion unless asked. that's pretty cool.

when speaking of christian missions, i'm always reminded of the desmond tutu quotation: “When the missionaries came to Africa they had the Bible and we had the land. They said "Let us pray." We closed our eyes. When we opened them we had the Bible and they had the land.” i don't think that applies so much in today's world, but has it ever applied to buddhists?

i wonder if there are any buddhist "life group" equivalents in our area?

random article: Big Drop in Share of Americans Calling Themselves Christian