Praise God.
Agnostic: 1. One who believes that it is impossible to know whether there is a God. 2. One who is skeptical about the existence of God but does not profess true atheism.
Atheist: One who disbelieves or denies the existence of God or gods.
As written by the great Terry Pratchett, Granny Weatherwax once said something along the lines of, “I don’t hold with believin’ in gods. It only encourages them.” That’s a statement I can get behind.
Of course, in Pratchett’s Discworld, it’s pretty easy to believe in gods, as they tend to do a lot of smiting with lightening bolts and interfering and so forth. The gods in our world, if indeed there are any, are keeping quiet. Too busy slapping their likenesses on grilled cheese sandwiches and Easter eggs to be sold on Ebay, to have anything good to say, I guess.
The older I get, the harder it is to believe in gods. Particularly with so many loud and vocal nutjobs advocating the will of Jeeeeezus! all over TV these last few years. You get lunatics like Pat Robertson hollering about God sending Katrina to kill “fags” and whatnot, and you have to think to yourself, This is what they want me to believe in? Granted, there’s plenty of decent, intelligent, kind religious folks out there. They’re just keeping their mouths shut. What we need are a few more of the decent religious types on TV telling Robertson and his like to shut the hell up. That would help the current religious public image considerably.
I also have the general idea that, you know, even if there are gods, and kids, I get more and more certain that there aren’t every year, but even if there are, maybe we should kick them all to the curb anyhow. Look at all the trouble they’re causing, and have caused in the past. You get Crusades and Inquisitions, you get Muslim fanatics murdering thousands, you get totalitarian religious regimes oppressing innocent millions, Intelligent Design vs. Evolution debates, abortion arguments, oppressing homosexuals . . . the list goes on. Is it really worth it?
Sure, you get some good out of religion, mostly in the form of community support and charity, but really, those things can be accomplished without religion. I mean, we could just all take Sundays off, and sit around at someone’s house and BS while eating nachos and chilling out in front of the TV. Face it: it would be more fun than church, too. If you really feel like singing, there are songs that are more fun to sing than most gospels, too. We could do that cascading “Row, Row, Row Your Boat” thing that sounds so nifty when you get it right.
Seriously, though. Wouldn’t your god be a lot more impressed with the fact that you decided to be good all on your own, without his or her having to frighten you with various hells, or bait you along with different heavens? If all these religions are supposed to be so much about loving and forgiving and tolerance, then isn’t it about time we knocked it off with all the accompanying loud-mouthed TV talking head hatemongering?
Wouldn’t it be nice if we put the same effort into making our world a better place as we did into praising Jesus or whomever? Couldn’t we devote our fanatical energies to ending world hunger, world peace, solving problems, and making the world a better place to live in? Wouldn’t our lives be better if we loved them and lived them with the same passion we devote to getting into a heaven?
It’s a thought. Y’know. Just a suggestion.
April 14th, 2006 at 2:09 am
You’re right. The problem with religion is people aren’t making their own reasoned judgements, they’re just saying “God said it so it must be”.
And so if some peasant in the Middle East 2000 years ago said “Geese must fly upsidedown” his followers will dedicate their lives to trying to encourage geese to fly upsidedown.
Not only that, but they spend hours and hours of each day discussing why God wanted them to make geese fly upsidedown.
So you get ridiculous arguments: “He just wanted to protect us from goose shit”
“No, geese are the eyes of God and they will have to fly upsidedown so He can see us.”
and it goes on…
April 14th, 2006 at 10:02 am
You’re right. The problem with religion is people aren’t making their own reasoned judgements, they’re just saying “God said it so it must be”.
This is one of the attitudes I hate the most from religious people. You can present them with all the logical arguements and evidence about a particular thing that you want, but it makes no difference to that sort. Because, as you said, “God said it so it must be true.” I have to imagine that being that sort of Christian (or any religious denomination) must make life incredibly easy. You never have to think for yourself or take responsibility for yourself.
I know a friend of a friend who was “born-again” a few years ago. She was arguing with the friend one day about some current event or another, and in the midst of the arguement, held up her Bible (which she’d been using to make her points), and announced, “I don’t have to think about it! The Bible tells me everything I need to know!”
How sad.
June 21st, 2006 at 6:33 am
We could do that cascading “Row, Row, Row Your Boat†thing that sounds so nifty when you get it right.
That’s really great point. One of fav memories is sitting ’round the living room or the dining room table, harmonizing old and new songs. Sweet Judy Blue Eyes, John B Sail, Somebody to Love… And, even if you’ve not got the greatest singing voice, the mix of the melodies fills in the lack and makes for some awesome human beauty.
June 25th, 2006 at 1:57 pm
Some friends and I used to sit around the bonfire on summer nights, doing sing-alongs. Goofy, but so much fun. And you’re right — even if your voices aren’t the greatest, the enthusiasm will more than make up for it.
June 26th, 2006 at 12:11 pm
I find it curious that the fundementalists et al. accept the bible as “gospel”
without question. If I were going to base my entire life and interactions on a text,
I think I would learn to read it in its original language.
June 27th, 2006 at 1:32 pm
That’s one of the first problems I had with the Bible. It’s original language isn’t even spoken anymore, and it’s been translated into hundreds of different languages, thousands of times, many times by hand . . . of course there are no translation errors or anything like that. *eyeroll* Not to mention that the book was edited together for political reasons to start with.
June 29th, 2006 at 7:14 pm
I live in the middle of the Bible belt, raised in the Christian faith, and surrounded by Christians in my family and even at work. The past few years I’ve changed my beliefs completely and agree with all each of you have said. It is nice to know I’m not alone in the world, because I sure as hell am here! Everything is different in the world when it’s not run through the “Christian filter”…..but, as I’ve said, I can’t discuss politics, human rights or logic with all the people I know(except my husband and gay brother!). By the way, I’m 46, love tv, dogs (animals)and logic. I have been known to be cranky and sarcastic…..
June 30th, 2006 at 1:57 am
Nice to meet you! I can sympathize with your situation — my hometown is deeply Christian, Republican, and conservative (which is really weird, considering that it’s been a union-run town for about forever). It’s not quite as bad, here, as you describe, but it’s close enough to make me extra careful about who I’m starting what kind of conversation with.