Lately there has been a rash of attacks on religion by non-believers, attacks on non-believers by those who claim to be religious, and on and on and on. Today it spilled over into the last refuge for those of us who need humor to get through the day, Cheers & Jeers.
God or god or Goddess, by any name, or nothing, bless my dear mother, she always told me never to discuss religion in public. Sorry again to disappoint you mom, that is what I want to do after the flip.
Religion, for all of its good, has been and is still being used to create strife and suffering all over. Can you honestly look at the war that is engulfing an entire region and say that at its root cause is not based in religion? Religions that have been perverted by a tiny minority of its believers to thrust the rest into chaos Dominionists who are hoping to end the world and rapture away. Those who believe God gave them a specific piece of land and no one else. Those who do not believe what others believe and are infidels who deserve to be killed. A certain president who has an God on `Speed Dial". Spare me. Well guess what George, so do I. Today God and me were talking about what is wrong with the White Sox and he/she/it wanted me to let you know that he/she/it has blocked your number.
Look, if you do not believe in anything, why do you feel the need to belittle those who believe differently? Telling people that they are stupid to believe in "Sky Daddy" is not helpful in a civilized society, I hate to burst your bubble, but you do not know that for sure. If you do, prove it as it is called FAITH for a reason. You are entitled to believe what you want, but you do not need to be an offensive individual to those who disagree. I might suggest two things, one if you see a diary by Pastor Dan, it might not be for your taste. Secondly, there are some really great novels full of murder, intrigue, sex, conspiracy, for you to read. They are called the Torah, Bible and Koran.
Look, if you say you are a devout anything, you do not have the right to question the faith of anyone who disagrees with you. Why are your beliefs better than theirs? If someone questions what you believe, does it shake your faith so much that any dissent would ruin it? You may think the way to placate those who have hijacked all the good from religion and use it to have us behave the way they want is good. Well, I do not.
This morning, Bill in his usual snarky goodness, took to task those who use snide comments to belittle the world that does not subscribe to their narrow view of it. Oh my goodness, the sky is falling, we are the unwashed masses. We do not believe in the way that they think we should. We are going to lose elections because we are not religious enough. Well, I am throwing a flag on this play, and calling BULLSHIT on the play. You say it is because of us that, Value voters do not like liberals, HA. I have been here long enough to know that our values are closer to the ones espoused in religious texts than theirs. We just do not shout them down, like they do us. THAT IS WHAT NEEDS TO CHANGE.
We believe in peace, taking care of the poor, and loving our neighbor. We just do not care if our neighbors are of a different color, a different orientation or different religious stripe. We believe the world in which we live is ours for a short time and we should take care of it, so those we bring into it can live and hopefully make it better than we did. If that belief set is not more closely aligned to the heart of most religions than theirs, well I am reading different religious text than they are.
If we allow the narrow minded bigots to lead religious discussions and we are afraid engage, they win. We need more people calling BS on their false moral views from the top of the mountain and send them back to hide under the rock from which they came. I do not care what you worship or do not. The core value of most if not all religions and humanity is the golden rule. To do unto others.
This administration has a different golden rule,
He who has the gold RULES!!
And that my friends is what we need to stop this election cycle