Everand Logo

Welcome to Everand!

  • Discover millions of ebooks, audiobooks, and so much more with a free trial

    Only $11.99/month after trial. Cancel anytime.

    Holy Hodgepodge!: Have You Thought About Your Religion Lately?
    Holy Hodgepodge!: Have You Thought About Your Religion Lately?
    Holy Hodgepodge!: Have You Thought About Your Religion Lately?
    Ebook114 pages1 hour

    Holy Hodgepodge!: Have You Thought About Your Religion Lately?

    By Paul E. E. Sago

    ()

    Read preview

    About this ebook

    We often claim that religion is the most important facet of our lives. It determines the quality of life here and in the hereafter, yet we give it little serious thought. Our beliefs are arranged. We simply borrow or accept what someone else tells us. It is customaryand generally expectedthat we follow the same religious patterns and preferences as our parents and grandparents.

    In Holy Hodgepodge, author Paul E. Sago invites us to think seriously about our religious beliefs: what do we really believe and why do we believe it? Through a unique blend of personal experience and theological reflection, Sago examines several key concepts of various religions with a critical eye. He discusses the ideas of God, creation, sin, the afterlife, heaven, and hell.

    Providing a refreshing view of God and religion, Holy Hodgepodge encourages us to think more seriously about what we have so easily, and sometimes rather casually, accepted as our beliefs about God and religion to bring forth a new faith that will be more personal and meaningful.

    LanguageEnglish
    PublisheriUniverse
    Release dateMar 21, 2011
    ISBN9781450297547
    Holy Hodgepodge!: Have You Thought About Your Religion Lately?
    Author

    Paul E. E. Sago

    Paul Sago served fifty-two years under the broad umbrella of organized religion. He was pastor of four churches, vice president for three church-related colleges, and president of two universities, one being church-related. Dr. Sago and his wife, Donna, live in Oklahoma.

    Related to Holy Hodgepodge!

    Related ebooks

    Self-Improvement For You

    View More
    View More

    Related podcast episodes

    Related articles

    Related categories

    Reviews for Holy Hodgepodge!

    0 ratings

    0 ratings0 reviews

    What did you think?

    Tap to rate

    Review must be at least 10 words

      Book preview

      Holy Hodgepodge! - Paul E. E. Sago

      Acknowledgments

      My deep appreciation to Peggy Blackburn McCoy for encouragement during the writing process and her generous comments in the foreword.

      Thanks to my good friends, Harvey and Wendy Holt, Linda Tomb, and Kevin Ogden for providing immeasurable assistance by proofreading early copy and suggesting improvements for my manuscript.

      I appreciate the professionals at iUniverse who were so generous with their guidance and technical support during the publishing process. Special thanks to Kimberley West, my publishing consultant.

      Special thanks to my wife, Donna, who did all the typing for the several preliminary copies and the final manuscript.

      Contents

      Foreword

      Prefacex

      Introduction

      Chapter I

      Chapter II

      Chapter III

      Chapter IV

      Chapter V

      Chapter VI

      Chapter VII

      Chapter VIII

      Chapter IX

      Chapter X

      Chapter XI

      Chapter XII

      Chapter XIII

      Chapter XIV

      Foreword

      Holy Hodgepodge is unique in its perspective and thought provoking in its content. The book does not provide answers so much as a clarifying pathway along which one is encouraged to think about his or her religion.

      All my life I have tried to make sense of the concepts of God, love, sin, guilt, fear, and redemption. Somehow the pieces did not fit together. The whole thing was more like a jumble of jigsaw pieces that had been forced into ill-chosen spots.

      Dr. Sago’s book is refreshing in that he encourages readers to think for themselves. Each chapter is a wonderful aha experience.

      If you ever wondered why, how, or if our lives relate to this awesome universe, then read this book.

      If you are curious about life, religion, or our world, read this book.

      If you wonder about or question the hows and whys of organized religion, read this book.

      Be prepared to ponder, think, and consider your own philosophy of religion. It will be okay. The Creator of our universe can handle our questions.

      Thank you, Dr. Sago, for giving your readers such a clear and simple, but oh so important, guidebook to help us be thinkers along the way.

      One happy, thoughtful traveler,

      Peggy Blackburn McCoy

      Preface

      During my preteen years, my closest friend lived just two blocks away. It was a small town. Everyone seemed to know everybody else’s business (i.e., how they spent their time, when they got in at night, who various people were dating, and even the wrongdoing of some).

      On the other hand, there were a few things that were personal, quiet, and unchanging. One of those was the father of my best friend. In public, he seemed to be congenial, happy, and easygoing. At home, he was a dictator. He was, in every way, the head of the house. On occasion, when I visited my friend, his father would make what seemed to be extreme demands on him. The father’s opinion was—do it exactly this way and do it right now. If my friend dared to ask why, his father would say abruptly, Because I said so; there need be no other reason!

      I considered that man to be harsh and insufficiently aware of the feelings of others. For a while, I thought that the father was the only person with such an attitude. Then I was introduced to the church. Believe it or not, in the church I found the same opinions held by my friend’s rather caustic father. The attitude of organized religion seemed to be, this is the way it is, because this is the way it has always been. It is written, it is doctrine, believe it, and ask no questions because we say so.

      I am very inquisitive by nature. I need to know when, what, and why. I feel it necessary to investigate every possible avenue leading to a final opinion. Obviously, I am uncomfortable in the organized church. During my more than fifty years as a Christian college president, pastor, and counselor, I noticed that most people seemed to be satisfied with the church’s answers to all questions. They sought no answers beyond doctrine. To me, such an attitude was—and is—unacceptable. So now, with all due respect, I write about it.

      Introduction

      It seems that many people, perhaps most, do not think seriously about their religion. Most folks, when shopping for an automobile, kick the tires, look it over carefully, and, in all probability, test drive different makes and models before making a purchase. When looking for a place to live, they examine the features of different houses or apartments; compare price, size, and location; and seriously discuss advantages and disadvantages of each property. Sometimes women shopping for shoes go to several stores and try on dozens of pairs before making a purchase. Those same people have, in all probability, accepted their religion without question.

      Most young men and women of marriageable age, although looking forward to married life, would highly resent their family’s involvement in an arranged marriage. However, when it comes to religion, beliefs are arranged. We simply borrow or accept in total what someone else tells us. It is customary—and generally expected—that we follow the same religious patterns and preferences as our parents and grandparents, even though the conditions surrounding us have significantly changed through the decades. The choice seems to be less thoughtful and more emotional.

      Further, we tend to enthusiastically accept things said in church as absolute fact, even though we would question the same thought if it were expressed elsewhere. Our religion seems to work in a different emotional and logical realm than other areas of our lives.

      I first started thinking seriously about this when I was a university president. I vividly remember a very bright senior coming to my office with a burning question a few weeks before graduation. She looked at me with total seriousness and said, Dr. Sago, tell me how to be a godly person—and please leave out all the religious hodgepodge. I recall the feeling that came over me when I heard that question. I was astounded by my sudden realization of the enormity of religious hodgepodge.

      In the years since that conversation, I have been amazed at how often it has occurred to me that we claim our religion to be the most important thing in our lives—it determines not only the quality of life here, but also hereafter—yet we give it such little serious thought. We spend a lot of time with the hodgepodge.

      This book is intended to be thought provoking, to entice you, the reader, to think seriously about your religious beliefs: what you really believe and why you believe it. It is not my purpose to be critical or to belittle any religious organization. Further, it is not my intent to change anyone’s religious persuasion. However, I would have you think seriously about every detail of what you say you believe.

      In some religions, thinking freely is not fully acceptable. Religious organizations tend to give answers long before the questions are asked. They tell you what to think, but not necessarily why, and the answers are usually not open for discussion. To question may be interpreted as doubt. To doubt would be sinful. Sinfulness leads to guilt. So why think? It seems much easier just to believe what you are told.

      There is, I think, tremendous benefit in thoughtfulness—to dissecting religious positions, reconstructing them, bringing them up-to-date, and moving them from idealism to reality, from doctrinal statements to personal belief. Wonder has its rewards.

      By writing this book, I hope to motivate the reader to think more seriously about what you have so easily, and sometimes rather casually, accepted as your belief about God and religion. I hope that the very process of thinking will bring forth a new and refreshing faith that will be more personal and meaningful.

      Chapter I:

      Borrowed Beliefs

      I was born in the beautiful Ozark Mountains of southern Missouri during the third year of the greatest depression in the history of our nation. When I entered the world, Doctor Aubershon held me up by my

      Enjoying the preview?
      Page 1 of 1