“Religion is an insult to human dignity. With or without it, you'd have good people doing good things and evil people doing bad things, but for good people to do bad things, it takes religion.”
- Steven Weinberg
Most people who know me are well aware of my definitive atheism. I generally don't go on about it to anyone but fellow atheists (or those sitting on the fence,) but this is MY BLOG, DAMNIT.
I am completely capable of respecting religion. I have many religious friends and we don't push our beliefs on each other and we're all nice people. We get along!
My issue is with people who feel the need to preach.
The thing that really gets me about religion, is the blind eye it endorses.
I find most people who claim themselves as believing in God and Jesus are merely "convenience Christians," turning to a higher power only when they've lost their keys.
I remember sitting in the very last, very left desk during final exams in grade 12. And of course they have everyone pray to do well on their tests. Praying in general I find to be a little hypocritial, since really, its asking God to do something for you. Is that not the peak of arrogance, asking for favours from the highest of all beings? And if God already has a pre-determined plan for each and every one of us, why would we ask for it to be changed? Because he's wrong? Maybe God wants you to fail your Math 30P exam, he planned it that way.
Anyway, point being, I saw everyone in that gym pray, as far as I could see, including people who as far as I was concerned, were not religious at all.
Why?
Because "it couldn't hurt."
Really?
A true atheist can be defined as someone who will not accept their Last Rights while laying on their death bed. And I mean, you might as well, because it couldn't hurt, right? If you really were living your entire life as an atheist, but turns out HEY, there really IS a heaven, and you've accepted your Last Rights, then God will let you in just as easily as the people who devoted their entire lives to the crucifix.
Do you like apples? How do you like 'DEM APPLES?The thing I don't get about most Christians, is that they are capable of knowing that everyone ELSE's religion is wrong, they just turn a blind eye to their own.
They are capable of persecuting everyone else's beliefs, but not their own.
So many Christians I talk to have the same outlook: They believe in God, they believe in Jesus, but they don't go to church because they don't really think that its required to be a good Christian.
They swear and get tattoos or piercings because.. that's just their interpretation of the bible.
But when I do something they see as unfit for their values, I get an earful about it.
As far as I'm concerned, you're in, or you're out.
The bible isn't a magic trick. You don't get to pick a few cards and hope God remembers which ones you chose. You don't decide which values to follow, and which to disregard. Its a package deal! David Blaine doesn't suddenly pull an 8 of spades out of your back pocket and say SURPRISE, you're going to heaven!
Since when did eternal salvation mean nothing more than shopping for rules that are convenient for you to live by?
I'll take my damnation. God gave me a choice, and I chose not to choose salvation. That's how it goes, right? And fair enough, because I was raised in a Christian household. But what about all the other cultures, that were never even introduced to a life with Jesus. How are they supposed to choose it?
Christianity is equvilent to Jesus saying "Well if you don't know what's wrong, then I'M NOT TELLING YOU."
Jesus is an angry, jealous girlfriend.
But hey, maybe I'm just too lazy to be a
good person.
Oh... wow.. yeah I'm gonna pass.
