The Lord Is My Shepherd

Christian God, Pagan Sacrifice

What can we do to make sure our prayers really do come true? How can we supplicate God best to ensure that he grants our wish? These are not new questions. In fact, they have been asked by human kind since the moment that we became aware of such a thing as desire, and such a thing as being powerful enough to grant them.

I hesitate to write too much about religion because too many people are too flippant and presumptive of their understanding when they speak about it and I don’t wish to be in that category. But this tiny morsel of a tiny aspect of religion is something that I must write about because it makes such clear sense to me that I cannot keep it to myself. This idea, which has been incubating for some time, reached its maximum clarity for me when I watched the episode of Little House on the Prairie called, “The Lord is My Shepherd”.

All religions conceived of by mankind have been attempts at two things: 1) to tell them the truth about how the world works and 2) to give them a way to get their wishes granted. Every religion, except Christianity, contended with the others on the basis of power. “My god is more powerful than yours because he grants more wishes, and offers better protection from enemies.” Power is not evil, but power is also not truth and power is not virtue. And yet don’t we all crave power with seriousness and desperation, and never more than when the life of the most precious and innocent among us is at stake.