DISCLAIMER: I'm sure some of my family members and friends will read this, and some of them are religious types. Please note that I am not lumping you guys in with the folks I will be writing about, since you are those people who use this stuff to be better people and not be indoctrinating crusaders. You guys are doing it right.
Let me first clarify my stance on religion: I have no problem with people using the lessons and values espoused by a certain religion to be a better person and live a better life. Some people need that apparently, and that's fine. I have absolutely no problem with Buddhists, since Buddhism is all about personal enlightenment. There is no "deity" involved. Christians, Muslims, Jews, Mormons, etc. all believe in an omnipotent, omnibenevolent deity to some extent. The problem is that this concept, along with the associated hokum and mummery that are a part of these religions, is not compatible in a world where evil and suffering exist, and where logic and reason have disproved many widely held "beliefs" that were laid down as divine law.
With that being said, I absolutely cannot stand anyone who believes with no doubt in their mind that everything in the Bible happened for real and that all this mythological nonsense actually exists. Most people don't realize that the Bible as it exists today is an amalgamation of texts from many questionable sources that have been written and re-written to suit the various groups' idiosyncratic view of Christianity. Theologians today still can't agree on what is truth and what is not in any version of any Bible, anywhere. Most notable among these revisions is the King James version of the Holy Bible, in which the king gave the transliterators instructions that would guarantee this version of the Bible would conform to the teachings and structure of the Church of England, which seceded from the Roman Catholic Church during the reign of King Henry VIII, who was excommunicated for doing so, just so he could get an annulment of his marriage to Catherine of Aragon.
What's the point of all this historical geegaw? It's to show that the things that most people take as DIVINE TRUTH NOT TO BE CONTESTED is all a result of personal human desires and politicking. The things you read in this book are not historical accounts of what actually happened over 2000 years ago. I'm sure that there was a dude who ran around trying to get people to love each other and be good, and I'm sure powerful people who didn't want things to change had him killed for it, but that doesn't mean that it was an act in a divine drama. The Bible is meant to be a collection of STORIES to give people guidance to be morally good human beings. That's all. That's why they're called PARABLES and not FACTUAL ACCOUNTS.
Then there are the people who either look down upon you with pity or disbelief when you tell them you're not religious. Does THIS sound rational and sane to you?
Of course, that assumes that religious types who actually BELIEVE the above are both rational and sane, which many are not. All I have to say is Westboro Baptist Church. Granted, they are completely crazy, but that craziness stems from their belief and interpretation of what? That's right, the Bible. Faith is a powerful thing, I'm not denying that. Most of the time it's a force of... I don't want to say evil, but of not-so-good. These guys think that it's good that our soldiers are dying because they think what they're doing is evil, and that gays are demons in disguise trying to subvert people to unending sin, etc. By believing everything in the Bible as incontrovertible truth, angels, Hell, and all that nonsense, you shut your brain off to actual use. Thinking for yourself and questioning everything is what leads to progress and the betterment of humanity. Embedding yourself in a cycle of faith that can be interpreted any way you fucking want it to be makes you a neural automaton. Why do good people die? Because God wills it. That's a terrible fucking answer, and believing that makes you a pretty awful person.
I have another picture for you (yay pictures!), which I absolutely love since it pretty much states in no uncertain terms that God as most people believe Him to be, does not exist:
Why call him God? Exactly my point. In order for your argument that God exists to be valid, you have to have some kind of PROOF. Believers will refute that claim, saying that proof isn't necessary when you have faith. Which leads us back to the whole not using your brain to find out the truth thing. I have for you an example of what I'm talking about. It's an old, yet excellent analogy called Russell's Teapot:
"Many orthodox people speak as though it were the business of sceptics to disprove received dogmas rather than of dogmatists to prove them. This is, of course, a mistake. If I were to suggest that between the Earth and Mars there is a china teapot revolving about the sun in an elliptical orbit, nobody would be able to disprove my assertion provided I were careful to add that the teapot is too small to be revealed even by our most powerful telescopes. But if I were to go on to say that, since my assertion cannot be disproved, it is intolerable presumption on the part of human reason to doubt it, I should rightly be thought to be talking nonsense. If, however, the existence of such a teapot were affirmed in ancient books, taught as the sacred truth every Sunday, and instilled into the minds of children at school, hesitation to believe in its existence would become a mark of eccentricity and entitle the doubter to the attentions of the psychiatrist in an enlightened age or of the Inquisitor in an earlier time."
The old "Just because you can't see it doesn't mean it doesn't exist" argument holds absolutely no water with this teapot. It's like believing in Santa Claus. It's nice to believe there is a benevolent, jolly guy who rewards good people and punishes bad ones, but eventually the kids who believe this grow up and realize there is no way that something this inane is possible. Religious types haven't really "grown up" yet, to extend the analogy. They'd rather be blissfully ignorant than come to grips with the fact that reality sucks and it's up to people to make it better, not wait for some nonexistent creator to come down and eventually make things better, someday. If you want me to believe in God, then the burden of proof is on you, not on me. Any lawyer will tell you that if you want someone to believe what you say, the burden of proof is on you, no one else. Denny Crane.
Yes, I know, long rant, but it's a rather extensive subject. In summation: People who blindly believe in ridiculous things that cannot be proved and claim it's ok cause it's religion are completely and unfailingly retarded. Some of the worst atrocities in the world are committed in the name of religion, not just in history, but today as well. Yes, there are non-religious atrocities too, but those are easier to understand (note: still not acceptable of course), since humans are inherently flawed and there are most definitely evil people who will do these things because they can. Doing something awful in the name of a supposedly good God is worse because it's ignorant and savage. GOD WILLS IT is not an acceptable reason for anything.
I leave you with a few more pictures. Hopefully you will get a chuckle. My next rant is probably going to be more scientific in nature, so all you religious whackjobs had better rest up so you can write me more letters about how the earth doesn't revolve around the sun and how rain is angel's tears. Out!
Ah yes, the Doctor: Always there when you need him :D
Death is only the beginning...
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