I do not believe in "God".
I am not Agnostic, where I think there is a higher power, just not gonna label it (hoping not to piss it off). I do not think there is anything but the big ol' Universe. I have said many times, "Universe got jokes." Personification of something expansive and/or conceptual, such as the Universe, is just a matter of scaling it down for comprehension.
I am an Atheist. I do not believe in any of the millions of deities that have come and been led across the river Styx by Charon... Essentially, my Christian, Muslim, and Jewish friends, I went one god further. You do not believe in Lloth, Thor, Zeus, Apollo, Mars, Daikoku, Amen Ra... Neither do I! We have so much in common. I am 100% Atheist, you are 99.9999999999% Atheist!
I also will throw out a "Goddammit". I will sprain eye muscles by rolling them so hard and letting out an "ohhhhh my gahhhhhh-duh"... This usually happens when a Republican is talking...
This is the same thing as before... scaling it down for matters of comprehension. It is much easier to say, "oh my god", vs. "Oh my non-existent deity with whom many identify as their savior" or "oh my Itzananohk'u" (patron god of the Lacandon people).
In this blog, I will do my darnedest to not pick on any one religion... But since I am surrounded by Christians... They may take the brunt of this... And be used as examples versus other belief systems.
My history of religious experience is not all that encompassing. I went to summer bible camps once or twice... Pledged my soul to Jesus Christ. By doing so, I was rewarded with Lego's. If Satan had a better deal, or just more Lego's...
I remember my weariness of religion and religious people being exemplified by the kid across the street in Duncanville, TX. (He STILL LIVES THERE! No, not in the same town... In the SAME HOUSE!). We will call this person "David". I was 12 years old or so and out stretching my legs, having just watched 4 or 5 hours solid of Bruce Lee flicks...
David, about the same age (plus or minus one year), was taking roof shingles, folding them up into about four inch squares and whipping them, like Chinese stars at his two neighbors girls who were playing in their front yard and were maybe 5 and 7 years old. I proceeded to make my case that he better knock it the fuck off. He whipped another one... I moved closer and added, "Or Else." He then flicked one at me, welting my shoulder.
I delivered the cleanest and most beautiful kicks to the throat of my life... It was a thing of beauty. Bruce Lee would have given me the raised fist of, "HELLS YES! THAT'S HOW YOU KICK A THROAT!". David proceeded to grasp his throat, make a "pig-squeal" noise and run inside his house. 5 minutes or so later out came his Dad. Deacon of a church, I think... Could give a rat's ass. He judged me right there and then, "You Hellbound Sinner!" The mother of the two girls gave me ice cream. Guess whose opinion I valued more?
My sojourn to religious freedom then moved, as I did, to Augusta, Kansas. Think rural... Now rewind your watch back 10 years... Think "Footloose", without the humor. Oh, we were like peas and carrots!
We moved out to the country. Six miles from town. I learned that we would be burning trash. You get a 55 gallon drum, put your trash in it, set that shit on fire. Being from the city, not understanding the whole deal... And Kansas being a tad windy... Little embers were flying around. I, thinking of a hundred acre fire being blamed on little ol' me, tried desperately to stomp out the offending sparks.
About a week or so later, I get called to the principal's office. A guy from Topeka, Child Social Services, asks me, point blank, "Are you a Satanist?". Now... upon reflection... I should have said "According to the First Amendment of the Constitution of these United States, I can honestly say 'None of your fucking business.'", but, at most, I think I uttered a "No?".
My friends Dad, yet another Deacon in some stupid church, was driving by and saw me "Dancing around the Satanic flames of a ritual". Great. So rumor got spread around real, REAL, quick about my visit from the State... I played that shit up for all it was worth. If a nice young lady wanted to piss off her folks... Guess who she went to?
By the time I was 18, I was done with organized religion. I was probably 80% Agnostic, 20% Atheist at this point... I didn't think there was a higher power, but I WANTED there to be. Would explain some of the stupidity in the world...
The best example I have ever heard falling out of religion was in Kevin Smith's "Dogma"...
"He (Cleric) said that faith is like a glass of water. When you're young, the glass is small, and it's easy to fill up. But the older you get, the bigger the glass gets, and the same amount of liquid doesn't fill it anymore. Periodically, the glass has to be refilled."
Or like me, give up the Kool Aid all together. For me, knowledge (you know... the FORBIDDEN FRUIT) about the time and place where these supposedly holy texts were written, proved to be too convenient...
Why is pork outlawed in some of the most prominent religions? Back in the day, there was no refrigeration. Meat would go bad... Guess what meat goes bad quicker and can kill your ass if you are not careful? Less people equals less tithes. "NO BACON FOR YOU!!!!" "PORK CHOPS ARE BLASPHEMY!!!". See where this is going?
Homosexuality is on par with a ton of abominations in the bible... My favorite being "A Proud Look"... That is an abomination... Say you just completed a super hard Sudoku... Feeling pretty good about yourself??? Same thing as sucking a dick if you are a dude!!! Ladies, did you wear slacks? You might as well sleep with your dog... Same thing... an "abomination". I do get so tired of people who cherry pick which parts of the bible make them holier than me.
Once identified as an Atheist, people assume I am a man of Science. Sorta... kinda... I trust more in science's ability to say "I don't know. Let me question more." This is in direct opposition to the religion standard of "If you don't know, IT WAS GOD! DO NOT QUESTION!!! And if you do, then God is just so far advanced, you won't be able to comprehend it anyway, so don't hurt your head. Give me money."
I have debated this with many a religious folk. An old teacher friend tried the "Young one, you can't see or touch love, much like you can't see or touch God."
My reply, "I have concrete proof of love... You welcomed me into your home. You let me sit at your family table. You shared your food with me. You let me alone with your daughter... Foolish as that was... If that is not love, then I do not know what is."
I will never attack someone's faith. In the same vein, I will not be accosted over my non-belief. If someone states "This is what I believe, and it gives me a sense of peace and calm." AWESOME! Good on ya! Sadly, more often than not, they will then say "You need to...." or "You should..." do x, y, or z.... THAT is when I will attack and destroy whatever belief system they hold dear. It is not an attack. It is retaliation for their affront on me.
I will also let them know that I think teaching children any religion before the age of at least 13 is tantamount to abuse. The reason why they have Sunday school??? Same as big Tobacco's use of cool characters aimed at young people... Get 'em while they are young. Impressionable. There are no "Christian Children", there are no "Muslim Children", there are no "Jewish Children". There are "Children of Religious Parents".
I have held off this blog because it is so divisive. Religion is such a personal thing. I would like more of the religions types to keep it that way. Personal. Inside Internal. A lot of you guys got big ol' houses with lower case "t"s on top... Go there.
The reason my cup runneth over was because I was on another site's forum... A thread about the suicide of Robin Williams was started. A douche wrote,
"He had everything men seek. So what depresses a soul who's life seems ultra full? In my view it has to be a lack of a true and honest connection to God. For it seems so few people of faith ( devoted faith of any persuasion)..kill themselves. The Spiritual seems to be the missing piece."
That pissed me off. Islamic Extremists kill themselves with Teddy Bear vests... No wait... SUICIDE VESTS... Christians shoot doctors and murder their children in bathtubs. He took a serious condition and made it one of superstition.
Just so you know, you can't pray away depression. You can't baptize away an addictive personality. You can't Tom Cruise away a chemical imbalance in yer head...
I really do not like religion. It is what holds us back. It will destroy us. It is a leash. It is control.
Peace be unto you, I am good (without god),
d
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