God and Me.

By Ed

Before you read this rather sacrilegious block of text, I’d like to say a few words. First and foremost, I’m not going to censor my ideas or feelings. If you think that my less-than-gracious opinions toward organized religion will offend you, I suggest you stop reading here. Second of all, I see no one in a different light for what they believe in. While I may be blatantly against organized religion, treating anyone differently based on what they or I think and believe would make me no better than that which I’m speaking (writing, I suppose) against. With that in mind, allow me to state my thoughts.

For as long as my memory spans, religion has played a rather sizeable role in my life. All of my paternal ancestors were baptized Catholic. The preschool that I went to, in fact, was also Catholic. In my early years, I never lent the whole idea of God much thought, and just assumed that there was indeed a big man in the sky. It was later, around the age of 10, that I began to think seriously about my beliefs. Right off the bat, I realized that I thought the idea of God was somewhat preposterous. I found it difficult to posit that an ethereal, omnipotent being created all that is, was, and will be. Even more far-fetched, it seemed to me, was the idea that this same being watches over us today, recording our sins, giving us divine direction, and saving us from evil. Back then, I found the idea of religion to be nothing more than a factual error. I thought that taking action in the name of one’s God, while silly, was on the whole innocuous. I’ve come now to view religion in a very different way. I see it now as a way to comfort us, to give us answers, and, foremost, as a set of ideals for those who do not wish to come up with their own. In this respect, I do not object to organized religion at all (except for maybe the just-add-prayer morals). However, this set of ideals has been twisted, raped, and mutilated. It’s been rendered down to nothing more than “justification” for senseless slaughter, segregation, and subjugation. Take, for example, the Spanish Inquisition, which was essentially the Salem Witch Hunts on a continental scale. Thousands of Judaists, or suspected Judaists, were tortured either into confession and execution or a slow, painful death. Ever heard of the Knights Templar? They were the most lethal fighting force of the Crusader Army (endorsed by Pope Clement V), which annihilated, pillaged and murdered any “heathen” town or state with total impunity. Even now, people subjugate and kill each other over their beliefs and religions.

As I’ve said before, I disagree with religion’s ideas on a factual and moral basis. In fact, I appreciate the message of camaraderie it tries to send. However, I believe that the incidental set of morals and ideals that come with an organized religion have been insidiously and horribly twisted. No individual, culture, or nation has the right to justify their actions by means of a higher deity, and no one has the right to view or preach the viewing of another individual, culture, or nation based on their belief in that higher deity.

In short, I believe that organized religion, while hugely prevalent in any culture, has been abused.

Any comments at all are quite welcome.