12 Faiths in 12 Months?

Geez, I'm on a roll today.

Just stumbled across this article summarizing one man's journey through a whirlwind taste-test of 12 different faiths. 

He and his wife suffered the trauma of miscarriage.  Wife, Heather, finds solace in the Baptist Christianity and husband, Andrew, spends a few years hating the idea of a god who could so cruelly take away the miracle of life they'd participated in creating.

When Andrew finally hits a wall where his hatred threatens to destroy him, he develops the idea for what he calls Project Conversion (complete with its own Facebook page).  He took it upon himself to follow 12 different faiths for 12 months, spending half the month learning and half the month practicing these new faiths.

In theory, this is a fairly decent idea.  He was reaching out to God in the only way he knew how - to sample the various faiths and see which one fit him the best.  I know a lot of hard-line Catholics will razz me for that (considering that faith should not conform to you, but you to the Truth), but I think it's very important for someone with no real religious background to do a bit of digging.  It's important for cradle Catholics (or cradle Buddhists, Muslims, etc) to broaden their perspectives, too. 

I'm not advocating trying to practice other religions, mind you.  I'm suggesting learning about these different theologies and cultures because, as Andrew Bowen found out, there truly is something to be gained from each. 

I've always believed the idea of God to be similar to a mountain.  God is at the top of the mountain, and our journey to Him can take us through many paths.  Some may find their way to Him through Islam.  Others may find their way to Him through non-denominational Christianity.  Others, still, might find their way to Him by virtue of their defense of all that is good in the world.  I believe Catholicism offers the straightest path to God, but I don't discount the virtues in other faiths.

I think that's what this guy was trying to get at as he made his way through the cycle of religions.

However, I wish the author of the article pointed out that it is impossible to even skim the surface of these religions - many (though not all) of which date back thousands of years.

I also take the statement "But this was no reality TV stunt" with a grain of salt.  Considering the pictures that accompanied the article, it was obvious that from the start he was looking to do something with this "Project Conversion."  Also, you don't start calling something a "Project" unless you've got an idea in mind of what you plan to accomplish.  Ha ha ha.

But that's fine.  He's now looking to write a book about his experiences, and more power to him if he cashes in.  It's a great idea that could very well have a very positive impact!

However, I still wish that you can't "immerse" yourself in any religion within the confines of one month.  There simply isn't enough time, and no mentor (no matter how brilliant) could possibly cover the nuances of the various faith sets.

Regardless, it's an interesting experiment, and I'm curious to see where it will lead.  Thought you folks might be interested, too!  :)

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