If I felt like pissing people off, I’d write about religion

And of course, I’m always looking for a fun way to start a debate, so are you surprised I’d mention a little of my religious views? You shouldn’t be.

Now, first thing, I was raised very religiously. I went to church every Sunday, a very lovely Lutheran Church, and my mom taught our Sunday School class. Thus, I was always the test rat at home for lesson plans. My parents had me in summer church classes, church plays, church choirs, you name it. I know the apostle’s creed still, memorized forwards and backwards. This is actually because for each verse we memorized we got candy. Mmmm candy! I know all the stories in the bible, I know the teaching, etc. etc. etc. So don’t anyone try and tell me I don’t know what I’m talking about when it comes to basic Christianity.

As for other religions, I know their political and social histories, not as much their theology, but enough of it overlaps to have a good general understanding.

So I’ll start with this. Is there a supreme being watching over all of us? Sure, why not? I don’t see why there can’t be, we just can’t actually prove it. Who is it? Well, that’s why we gave him the ambiguous name of “God.”

I really don’t have a problem with people using their faith to make them feel good about living, and using it as a reason to do good things. I mean, that would be like having a problem with people doing good things. What bothers me the most is when people 1) Try to tell me that their God is the best god ever, 2) Tell me that unless I do certain things for their church, and worship the way they want me to, I’ll go to hell, 3) believe Evolution is false, and 4) the bible is the word of God.

We’ll go in order.

1) How can your God be the best god ever? No, honestly, how? Did he beat up all the other gods? Is he the big bad god on the block? Newsflash, most religions in the world we can remember back to the time they were created, and half of them worship the same God. Why then does your god want you to kill his other followers *cough*Islam*cough* oh and *cough*Catholics!*cough* Yeah, that’s right, you went after the Jews. That totally counts. Dude, wasn’t Jesus a Jew? Someone had a misstep in logic during some point in history, that’s for sure.

2) So If I don’t do things your way, it’s the wrong way? This kind of piggy-backs off my last point. If the three main monotheistic religions worship the same god, why then do they not get along? Because their practices are different? Honestly, if someone doesn’t pray 5 times a day, or doesn’t go to church every Sunday, or learn how to read Hebrew, does it make them any less of a believer in God? It seems that the religions really only differ in practices. If I’m gonna worship the same god you do, I’ll do it my way, and if I piss him off because I did it my way, then well that’s between me and God, not anyone else.

3) Evolution, yes, is in fact a theory. But as a friend of mine once said, “So is gravity. Go jump off a building and test that one.” Truth is, people believe that they were never “monkeys.” We are part of the same family, the evidence is there, it’s widely accepted, and it has scientific evidence. I don’t care how you interpreted your bible, which I’ll get into next, Science has spoken. And the big bang theory, whose to say God wasn’t behind the big bang? hmm?

4) The Bible. My biggest problem is in fact with the Bible itself. So many people put so much emphasis on the Bible being “the word of God” and it being full of true stories, and how we should make it pretty much our Dictionary of Faith. I believe it is well known that the Bible was compiled and the stories chosen by, I think, Atheists hundreds of years after all of it happened. Thus, they had no idea what actually happened, and we don’t know what stories were even left out! Also, the stories were all written by men. Why are women not seen as better? Because men wrote the Bible. Why do Catholics believe we have original sin? Because me wrote the Bible. Had women written the Bible, the world would be a different, and female dominated, place.

I get most frustrated with how people take the Bible word for word. The Bible is full of STORIES, exaggerated stories with morals. The fact that catholicism broke into at least 3 different groups based partially on the interpretation of one sacrament irks me. Is the win and the bread the blood and flesh of Christ? Well gosh it doesn’t taste like it, but the Bible says it is, so it has to be! Or, not its just a representation. Or no! There is a transformation that occurs! Does it matter? You’re all doing the exact same thing. You’re drinking wine, and eating bread. As long as the principle is behind the action, it doesn’t matter what it is or isn’t right?

I think people get too hung up on trying to live by the word of God. People claiming to die for god. People like the VT shooter talking about dying like Christ. I thought Christ always taught to turn the other cheek. I thought killing was a sin. It seems like people sometimes use the excuse of religion as a reason to sin. Take all the religious wars. I’m pretty sure God didn’t ask for people to go out and seize vast lands in the name of God. Pretty sure God just wants people to get along, be happy, be good people, right? I dunno, but that’s why my mommy taught me.

To me, Religion shouldn’t be so much about the supreme being, and more about the person. Religion should be more of a set of guild lines. Instead of interpreting everything as the word of God, trying to find miracles, and waging holy missions, why instead don’t people try and please God by doing the only things he really asked of us? Believe, and follow the ten commandments. If people did that, the world would be better off anyway.

The true hypocrites though, are the people that do good things solely for the sake of getting into heaven. It seems a bit selfish to me to do a good thing in the belief that you are in the end benefiting yourself. Doesn’t it make you more of a religious person to do a good thing, not to please God, but for the sake of doing a good thing?

I’m really not a believer. I don’t get hung up on the whole is there, or is there not a God. Either way, doesn’t really bother me. I feel like, once I die, that’s it. And without solid evidence, you can’t really change my mind. Instead, I’m not going to deny other people their right to believe. Some people need that faith to keep going this shity reality we have. I totally understand that. But I’m also not going to ignore how I was raised. I was raised with the principles of religion, and they are good ones. They are great rules and guidelines to live life by.

I think, that if people shifted the emphasis away from the appeasing the supreme being, and more following the guides to live a good life, not only would things drastically improve within relations, but also, isn’t that directly appeasing God?

Religious people believe God gave us life. Dying to appease him is like giving back a gift you got from your friend for your birthday. It’s as if you didn’t want it. Isn’t that more insulting than pleasing?

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