I am not a religious person. Nor am I an Atheist. We sent
Erin to Catholic school because we felt that it offered her the best
opportunity to get the best education possible without becoming completely
overwhelmed in a school as large as the ones found in the school district in
which we reside. The financial cost has not always been easy to carry, and
there is always a doubt on whether it was the correct decision to make – there always
should be doubt in decisions like this. So far, it seems like it turned out to
be the right decision, especially in light of the issue Erin had, but only time
will tell if we really did do the best thing for our child. Unfortunately, the
financial burden of continuing a Catholic education for Erin, and starting Abby
on her own are simply going to be more than we can reasonably offset. It’s another
decision that comes with self-doubt and second guessing, but one that we must
be made when weighed with the greater good of our family – like our plans to
move to the Lancaster area.
Anyway, the point that I am getting to is that I neither
believe nor disbelieve in the concept of God as he is written and described not
only in the Catholicism, but many other religions as well. If we take the
concept of God and break it down to its most basic form – God as the Creator of
Life, then yes, I do believe in God since Life obviously exists. Beyond that,
however, the form or function that this God takes is most certainly up for
debate.
Many years ago, when I was building my website and
fighting the good fight against the bad maths of the world during the supposed,
and then actual, turn of the century and millennium, I had a conversation with
a gentleman who was, as I recall, a Christian. I don’t remember the exact
details of the discussions we had, but at one point, I was asked about my
thoughts on the Bible, and the stories contained therein. My response was that
I look upon the Bible the same way I look upon Myths, Fables, Fairy Tales and
the like – interesting stories that speak of morality, always something that
should be looked at in the grander context of when it was written. The Bible,
and every other text that is the basis for the world’s currently practiced
religions were not written by the ethereal hand of some all-powerful deity, but
written by the hand of Man. As we all know, Man is fallible and prone to many
faults, not the least of which is selfishness and self-interests.
All through history, mankind has believed in any number
of supernatural beings ruling over the fate of Humanity. On numerous occasions,
these deities have interacted with humans in some form or fashion through the
years: transforming them into hideous monsters; impregnating them; saving their
lives; communing through burning bushes; providing moral codes; etc. One can
look back at history and see that the life of a Human is not an easy one. Sure,
we have advanced as a society in terms of technology and intelligence, but the
threat of violence, disasters, and death are still as prevalent today as they
were thousands of years ago. Why then have not any single one of the deities
seen fit to interfere with or aid the human condition since these ancient
times? Hell, at the very least, with today’s technology we are capable of
burning this planet to a cinder in a blink of an eye. To me, if I were a
Creator of a world, I would most certainly be doing something about that! In
the grand scheme of things, we as a race are still infants and our respective
Deities have left us to fend for ourselves. That really doesn’t make much sense
to me. So, with that in mind, I simple look at these religious texts as nothing
more than a code of laws that our ancestors felt they needed to maintain some
form of civilized society, just like the laws and constitutions we live by
today.
Somehow though, we have warped these ideals into the
belief that no one should ever be offended by something around them or that
they should never get their feelings hurt. The only moral code, past and
present, that I can think of that would remotely cover this topic is treat
others as you would like to be treated. Seems like we are actually pretty good at
following that code as it pertains to the intolerance of someone else’s beliefs
and way of life.
Those attacks on the Christmas holiday are as rife with
intolerance as they claim every light on a Christmas tree is intolerant to
those who do not celebrate the holiday or believe in the faith that leads to its
significance in the world. To attack the phrase “In God We Trust” is in itself
an intolerant act. America was founded upon the notion of being able to
practice one’s religion without fear of persecution. However, most major
religions have a history of persecuting those who do not believe in that
religion, even if said religion is based upon a moral code of acceptance and
tolerance. The Puritans murdered people in the name of faith during the Salem
Witch Trials. The Spanish Inquisition oversaw the deaths of thousands of
people. The early followers of Christ were persecuted by both Judaism and Roman
beliefs. Obviously in the modern world we have radical Muslims murdering anyone
under the sun in the name of Allah. This world has seen has seen the deaths of
millions brought about in the name of some deity or ethnicity. Wars have been
fought and continue to be fought over the belief that some random patch of dirt
is more special than any other on this planet. It is patently ridiculous to
think that any superior being capable of creating a planet would consider any
part of that planet more special than any other, and allow his Creations to
kill each other for possession of it on top of that.
We are an extremely selfish and intolerant race. That
intolerance is bred from fear of those that are different from us. Therefore we
must form collectives of like-minded others to protect ourselves from that
fear. However, that fear never goes away, and hatred of that which is different
breeds from it. Each collective convinces itself that it must turn the way of
thought in each of the other collectives towards its own, or it must be
destroyed. Examples abound in history of this – either wars of extermination or
missionaries attempting to convert “savages” to the “True” way of life. We have
had another recent example in this of a Christian Missionary traveling to a
remote island near India with the express intent of converting their way of
life to that of a follower of Christ. He was killed by the tribespeople for his
intrusion. Some people have said he loved helping those in need and had a love
for other people, including those on the island. Others have called him a
martyr for the Christian cause. What a crock of shit. He is just another
perfect example of intolerance hiding beneath the skin of love and
inclusiveness.
First of all, apparently he did not tell anyone in
authority of his intention to travel to the island. Secondly, if he truly did
have a love for these people, then he would have left them to live as they have
lived for centuries. They have no needs other than to live their lives as they
have always lived. Did he even consider the thought of disease? History with
the American Indian should have given anyone pause enough not to risk exposure
to any illnesses that these people would not have any natural immunity against.
He could have wiped out an entire group of people out of the false notion of
love and tolerance. But he was selfish in his thinking. He wanted to prove
himself to God and to others that he was a good Christian. Maybe he should have
thought more about being a good human being and understanding the fact that
they have as much right to live the way they see fit, within reason, as anyone
else does. Every religion and every country was built upon the blood of those
who believed differently.
It continues to this very day, with this New Age religion
called Political Correctness. This hive-mind is the most insidious of all
because it follows no deity, nor religious-like text. But the cults that have
sprung out from this religion are as bad as those cults lead by those who fell into
the basest of human nature, and are equally intolerant of anyone or anything
that does not conform to their beliefs. If we, as a society expect to be able
to continue to grow and thrive, then it’s long past time for us to wake up and
start doing something about it.
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