In my previous blogs, I've been ranting. While it's been fun, and
it's nice to get that off my chest, I figured I'd take a break and focus on
something that affects our world in such a huge way: religion.
With this project,
I never really thought I'd get this personal, and I probably shouldn't, but I
figure this class is about talking about real things that matter, so here goes
nothing.
From the time I
was old enough to read, religion had always been pushed down my throat. My
parents, both Jewish, sent me to religious Sunday school, we went to synagogue
at least once a week, and my mom was really big into it. My dad wasn't, but
that's not important. The bottom line: I was taught, from the beginning, that religion
is super-important. As most people do as they mature, they begin to question
their beliefs. This came to me around 8th grade; I completely dropped
everything and became atheist. I guess it was my way of rebelling against my
parents teachings, but whatever the reason, I just stopped 100%. My basis was
that I simply couldn't believe in all the BS stories that I had always read. I
mean, parting a sea? C'mon. My mom didn't like this, as she thought I was going
down a bad and sadistic path, so she scheduled me a meeting with a rabbi.
After lots of
small talk, he asked me why I was here, and I told him exactly the realizations
that I had come to. He told me he didn't believe in the stories either. That
one caught me off guard. He explained that the stories themselves didn't matter
at all; it was the lessons learned from them. This gave me a new mindset on
what the point of religion really was and the way it affects people. Since
then, I've just accepted that I don't know anything, and I can't bring myself to
have faith, so I consider myself to be a member of "The Church of I Don't
Know." Pretty self-explanatory.
Enough about me.
My main reason for
writing this was not to preach to people why religion is stupid and why it is
illogical. Much to the contrary, I think religion has done great things for
this world. Like everything, it can be used for evil by extremists such as the
crusades, the Muslim terrorist organizations, etc. But, for the most part, it's
had a positive effect on the world. The main thing it accomplishes is that it
gives people a moral compass. It teaches people not to go around stealing and
murdering, and is a good way to keep people from doing evil things. It also
gives people something to believe in, and the belief in a higher power can do a
lot of good in a person's life.
Another reason
it's been good is that it is a full-spectrum unifier. People who practice the
same religion and share the same faith often bond together, and this promotes
peace among people.
That was the good, now for the bad.
I'm in no way saying that religion is a bad thing, but it should be used in moderation, and it should be a pretty personal relationship between you and whatever higher power you choose. My biggest problem with most major religions, like christianity and Islam, are their tendency to "recruit." That makes me sick. The missionaries who walk around, spreading the word of their respective religions are completely overstepping their boundaries in my opinion. I'm all for being informed about religions, but saying "If you aren't a Christian, and you don't believe in Jesus, you're going to hell!" is just completely wrong. Religion also, is not a reason to have wars. People fight wars because of differing religion beliefs, which again, is just against everything religion should be for. It should be a personal thing, not something to Jam down people's throats or even kill over.
I guess I'm just tired of being criticized for decisions I make in a religious sense. How do Christians KNOW that if you don't believe, or do other "sins" that you're going to hell. It's simple. They don't. No one knows. It may be their personal belief, but they are in no position to guilt others for not sharing that.
In conclusion, I'm glad there's religion, but it's a two-edged sword.
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