I want to clear up my view on things as
watching a Beyond Belief 2006 session raised a good point about where
people could have a confusion about what I'm against concerning
religion.
I am in no way against someone in pursuit of answers. I just don't like it when people think they've found their answers and now its their job to inform the rest of us just how wrong we really are. We are all in the dark when it comes to a lot of things. One thing that makes you feel warm at night doesn't become justified simply because it does that for you. Personally I probably feel more and more "lost" the more and more I realize how much there is to think about. This attests to my disbelief more than any speculations you could make about my pride.
It bothered me to hear about my friend praying for someone who was gay and then flirt with her, jokingly, in class. I was really confused on what she actually thought about this girl. Was her immortal soul in danger and about to burn if she didn't change and so by praying for her it was the ultimate act of humanity and humility? Perhaps it was just going through the motions. "O ya, gay is supposed to be bad so gimme a minute while I show God i did my h/w, (proceeds to kneel)." (please don't get angry of u read this girly lol)
It stems from childhood the need to feel like the center of the universe. All the attention is constantly showered on you every time you cry or get hurt. Your parents may be by your crib when you wake up in the morning. Then you grow up and move out into the world and you learn that not only are you small in relation to the world, but then science comes in and tells you your almost, if not, infinitely insignificant in relation to the cosmos. Obviously not the most agreeable idea. This is what I think people should feel their genuine sense of humility about though. Any time you implement fear, which almost all religions do, you take away from that very real feeling you get by contemplating these uncomfortably humbling ideas.
From what I surmise people believe in anything as long as they feel it pertains to the well being and proliferation of their lives. That seems like an obvious point, but I think it needs to be noted that getting to that status of feeling good about your actions is dramatically different for different types of people. I just watched a neuroscientist talk about his studies done with split brain patients who's right side believes in God and left side is an atheist. When I try to explain to people that the power to feel what you want literally exists in their own mind I'm not trying to be philosophical or talk from a pious and egotistical opinion. It literally is and is being proven.
You could take two hours of your life to watch some documentaries or read a book entitled "Misquoting Jesus" to open so many questions. Again, its not about me converting you, it is about questioning. I could beat you over the head with a dictionary, but if you didn't care to learn English..... Its not the inability to "feel god's love" that makes me angry, its the squandering of opportunity. I hate when I do it, but especially hate when its done after the all the resources are handed to you and are still easily, more haphazardly, ignored in the name of faith.
When people ask about the existence of God my first impulse is to say "Who cares?" If Jesus wasn't born of a virgin you'd still love your family. Whether God stopped you from being hit by a car or not you'd know it was a good thing to feed starving kids. Who really cares? Let's think, if God did exist and embodies all the things people try to attribute to him now lets organize it.
God creates man to be striking close genetically to different animals. He wrote a book, ehem, inspired a book, with mistranslations, horrific depictions of human injustice, historical inaccuracies, and plain animalistic human behavior. He is everything and nothing to someone or another at all times. He is coincidentally always a HE. Anytime he wants to provide evidence for his significance its through a miracle that doesn't stand up to investigation, doesn't relate to anybody but person proclaiming it (unless its a universally general issue), and it groups him into a bunch of sayings that people make about Santa. When you've got all that baggage on your name why is it referred to as intelligent, loving, and omniscient?
The difference between me and the religious is I say prove me wrong, compel me to believe you, convince me of something I may never want to accept. I want more than anything for that to happen. No one depressing life story is proof. No ones miracle is proof. No one book, because it says so IN the book, is proof. People need to take their subjective reality way the hell out of their objective one so we can stop arguing whether or not God told you to minister to someone, and instead about what logical, historical, personal, and brainy scientific reasons are behind that "unknowable voice or feeling."
I am in no way against someone in pursuit of answers. I just don't like it when people think they've found their answers and now its their job to inform the rest of us just how wrong we really are. We are all in the dark when it comes to a lot of things. One thing that makes you feel warm at night doesn't become justified simply because it does that for you. Personally I probably feel more and more "lost" the more and more I realize how much there is to think about. This attests to my disbelief more than any speculations you could make about my pride.
It bothered me to hear about my friend praying for someone who was gay and then flirt with her, jokingly, in class. I was really confused on what she actually thought about this girl. Was her immortal soul in danger and about to burn if she didn't change and so by praying for her it was the ultimate act of humanity and humility? Perhaps it was just going through the motions. "O ya, gay is supposed to be bad so gimme a minute while I show God i did my h/w, (proceeds to kneel)." (please don't get angry of u read this girly lol)
It stems from childhood the need to feel like the center of the universe. All the attention is constantly showered on you every time you cry or get hurt. Your parents may be by your crib when you wake up in the morning. Then you grow up and move out into the world and you learn that not only are you small in relation to the world, but then science comes in and tells you your almost, if not, infinitely insignificant in relation to the cosmos. Obviously not the most agreeable idea. This is what I think people should feel their genuine sense of humility about though. Any time you implement fear, which almost all religions do, you take away from that very real feeling you get by contemplating these uncomfortably humbling ideas.
From what I surmise people believe in anything as long as they feel it pertains to the well being and proliferation of their lives. That seems like an obvious point, but I think it needs to be noted that getting to that status of feeling good about your actions is dramatically different for different types of people. I just watched a neuroscientist talk about his studies done with split brain patients who's right side believes in God and left side is an atheist. When I try to explain to people that the power to feel what you want literally exists in their own mind I'm not trying to be philosophical or talk from a pious and egotistical opinion. It literally is and is being proven.
You could take two hours of your life to watch some documentaries or read a book entitled "Misquoting Jesus" to open so many questions. Again, its not about me converting you, it is about questioning. I could beat you over the head with a dictionary, but if you didn't care to learn English..... Its not the inability to "feel god's love" that makes me angry, its the squandering of opportunity. I hate when I do it, but especially hate when its done after the all the resources are handed to you and are still easily, more haphazardly, ignored in the name of faith.
When people ask about the existence of God my first impulse is to say "Who cares?" If Jesus wasn't born of a virgin you'd still love your family. Whether God stopped you from being hit by a car or not you'd know it was a good thing to feed starving kids. Who really cares? Let's think, if God did exist and embodies all the things people try to attribute to him now lets organize it.
God creates man to be striking close genetically to different animals. He wrote a book, ehem, inspired a book, with mistranslations, horrific depictions of human injustice, historical inaccuracies, and plain animalistic human behavior. He is everything and nothing to someone or another at all times. He is coincidentally always a HE. Anytime he wants to provide evidence for his significance its through a miracle that doesn't stand up to investigation, doesn't relate to anybody but person proclaiming it (unless its a universally general issue), and it groups him into a bunch of sayings that people make about Santa. When you've got all that baggage on your name why is it referred to as intelligent, loving, and omniscient?
The difference between me and the religious is I say prove me wrong, compel me to believe you, convince me of something I may never want to accept. I want more than anything for that to happen. No one depressing life story is proof. No ones miracle is proof. No one book, because it says so IN the book, is proof. People need to take their subjective reality way the hell out of their objective one so we can stop arguing whether or not God told you to minister to someone, and instead about what logical, historical, personal, and brainy scientific reasons are behind that "unknowable voice or feeling."
