Tag: religion

“The God who made the world and all things in it”

faithfulomnivoreLeave a comment
photo credit: jdboggs.blogspot.com

For quite some time now, I’ve been trying to find God.

It’s not that I feel I’m lacking something without being a member of a religion, I just find it fascinating how people feel so empowered by so many different faiths.

In some ways I’m jealous of those people, the ones who know whole-heartedly that there is some higher power out there to guide them.

I know a lot of people who are skeptical of religion and, in some ways, I am too.

But, I’ve come to the conclusion that good people don’t use the Bible or anything else to justify hate or harm. The people who make excuses in the name of God are hypocrites in the truest sense and are ignorant by thinking that just by adhering to a faith will guarantee a better life or afterlife.

I think there is so much we can learn from religious texts. Even if you don’t interpret them in a spiritual sense, I think that anyone of any faith or background can gain something from the lessons in them.

From my perspective, the main purpose of a religion is to give people a sense of purpose or fulfillment and to help them live the best life possible.

So if this is true, then I’ve found my god.

I find my religion in the wilderness. I find god in the trees and in rivers and mountains and the sunshine.

My god makes up everything that is natural and wild. It teaches me to live the best, most fulfilled, and positive life that I can.

And that’s all I could really ask for.

 

Religion is a Diminishing Variable

moderatesnotfoundLeave a comment

Imagine a world with no religion, no set of laws and morals set by a religious sect, set in place to give people a path in life to help themselves or others, and to achieve happiness.

Would the world burn without this path?

Probably not. In fact, religious influence may be diminishing across the western world, including the surprisingly Christian United States.

Yet many fight this fall in religion, by stating rising statistics of incarceration due to the lack of Christian belief and a strong belief in the “rise of drug use.”

The evidence says otherwise – usage of drugs with the exception of marijuana (due to legalization) has steadily declined since the 1970s. However, the large jump of incarcerated people did have a major and steady increase between 1980s and 2000. That increase suddenly halted, remaining the same until 2010, and then slightly dropping the last six years.

So, is the drop in the number of believers due to the rise of criminals? In a graph, the conclusion would be most definitely not. Other variables had far more influence on the rise of incarceration, such as longer jail time, better criminal investigation, and stricter laws. The infamous drug war also had an effect on drug use, though only for a proportion of the population. Today it’s become a black hole of federal spending which will be touched on in another blog.

Photo Credit: prisonpolicy.org

Actually, it is just a coincidence – just because there’s a drop in religion doesn’t mean it’s directly affecting the safety of the world. Funny enough, nuclear weapons have a far larger statistical influence on world peace.

George Carlin famously said, “More people have been killed in the name of God than for any other reason.” This popular quote used across the world is completely untrue, only 7% of all war has been caused by religion and only 2% of all casualties were because of religion. In fact, religion plays as big of a role in our lives as the average person or government. The lack or abundance of faith has little to no influence – bad people are still bad, and good people stay good, with or without religion.

Statistically, religion is an independent variable with little influence except to the ones who preserve it and try to broaden its influence. So whether god is real or not, should all people of the planet were to lose their faith, there’s little evidence of any possible retaliation from the big man himself. Instead, maybe a few more progressive laws could be passed and there will be a drop in hate crimes. Or maybe numbers be damned, and tomorrow the second coming will happen.

To Each His Own

raining17Leave a comment
Photo Credit: core0.staticworld.net

When it comes to believing in God, the range of emotions and opinions that people have on the subject is enormous. Although it technically depends on one’s religion, opinions tend to have similarities.

Personally, I don’t believe in a tangible God who lives up in the sky or on some mountain and watches everyone intently. At least according to science, it’s inconceivable for a man to live perched in the clouds. Even if he managed to survive up there, he would have to be pretty darn old and quite observant in order to listen to and respond to everyone’s prayers.

Some believe that God represents more of a presence, which is a more comprehensible notion. I am not religious at all, but if I were to affiliate myself with one theory, it would be this: rather than some all-knowing man, God could be everything, or just something that surrounds everyone. Although it may not answer to prayers, it is the prayer itself, as well as the response, and even the words spoken.

As far as the Big Bang Theory is concerned, the world was created naturally. On the other hand, many still believe that a man generated everything there is in the world today. People are entitled to their own beliefs, and should never be discriminated against – it’s simply fascinating to see the motives behind different ways of thinking.

A Holy Bond

frog3Leave a comment

fr

A debate has been raging for centuries.

Since the growing power of the cross.

Since the beginning of the dark ages.

Companionship considered unholy.

Unholy by who?

Unholy by religion?

Unholy by those who cling to the past.

What is right and what is wrong is decided by society.

Not by an institution or a country.

The masses have spoken.

They wish freedom for all people of their land.

God was not a factor in the founding of this nation.

Wise men believed country and God did not mix.

Their plan succeeded.

Eventually however their work was undone.

Undone by misguided “holy” men.

I was Wrong!!!

backinphillyLeave a comment

I am an incredibly superstitious person. I freak out whenever I see a black cat, I refuse to walk under ladders, I don’t break mirrors and I hold salt shakers hostage during dinner so that no one spills it.

Therefore, I also believe in certain “signs” if you will, meaning that since one thing occurred, it must mean that I need to do something.

In this instance, I got sick this morning because I was meant to watch the Pro Bowl, even after swearing I wouldn’t.

So here I am, laying in my bed, meds taken, tissue box in hand, watching the Pro Bowl on NBC.com. I’m probably in for a garbage, throw away game full of blown tackles and crappy effort.

Um, what is this I’m watching? Is this…a good game?!

I have actually enjoyed watching the Pro Bowl this year. Watching some of my favorite players in the league just explode for yardage play after player. Yes, the defense is still a little bit lax but I am enjoying myself right now.

Of course, a game including the best in the business usually has a few highlights.

For starters, Russell Wilson looks like the second coming of Jesus.

For the religious nuts out there, get over it. I’m not insulting religion. I’m a proud Roman Catholic, but I’m not about to get insulted by this nonsense. Jesus was a perfect being, so say the teachings. Today, Wilson was quite perfect indeed.

He threw some great passes, ran a few times, commanded an offense and made me wish he was the QB for the Eagles. I’ve said it countless times. I believe in the mobile quarterback. I don’t mean the running back that can throw like Mike Vick. I mean the quarterback that can run, like RG3 and Wilson.

Another highlight was seeing Jeff Saturday, the center for the NFC, come over to the AFC side and snap the ball to Peyton Manning. For those that live under a rock, Manning and Saturday were teammates in Indianapolis a few years back for a long time. They built a chemistry that was unmatched in the modern day NFL. Jeff has decided to retire following the now concluded Pro Bowl game.

There were a ton of highlights, and I encourage any of you guys to check out some clips. However, my personal favorite highlight from the day was when Ed Hochuli, the referee for the game, dished out the first flag of the day. The game had gone almost a full half before a penalty was called. So, he took that fact and decided to make some comedy out of it. He turned on his mic and said the following to the crowd,

“Yes, there are still penalties in the Pro Bowl.”

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Does Creationism Have a Place in Public School?

smackyjackjack1 Comment

No.

Tsk tsk

And when I saw that headline on the LATimes here, I was very befuddled. Since I don’t feel like writing a several page long essay trying to tap into the small brains of creationists, I’ll try to do so in a few short paragraphs.

Let’s begin with a couple of little things called facts. Facts are what you teach children in school. Children do not need their heads filled with hearsay or so called “faith-based facts” that rely on gut instincts. Children need to know what is actually true, because information is power, and the more knowledge you have, the better your short time on Earth here is going to be.

And secondly, let’s remember how you are supposed to make logical conclusions. You are supposed to form a hypothesis (well done religion, you make it this far), and then gather as much proof and evidence (this is where ol’ God loses it) to back up your hypothesis. This is how the great scientists and thinkers of time have always done it, and how it should be taught. Scientists, atheists, anti-theists and evolutionists understand that to understand the world you must have proofs for your beliefs. It is the creationists who need to supply proof for what they believe. Science has been doing this for years and years. It baffles me how something so blatantly false and fabricated as religion and creationism can be even thought about for curriculum in schools.  Once some proof other than some burnt toast comes forth for religious beliefs, I’ll stick with the side that supplies the logic.

Boom.

Another War in the Name of God

smackyjackjack2 Comments

Let’s say

That I belonged to a social club that met each week.

Let’s say

That the people in the club believed that it was founded by a guy named, I don’t know, Chuck.

Let’s say

Chuck was a homophobic, misogynistic, genocidal old man who lived in a cloud and had the power to make everything happen.

Lastly, let’s say

That because I belonged to this club, I inherited a hatred of all other social clubs in the area.

Okay, now of course no one would ever join this club. It’s ridiculous. However, if this was your religion, you’d be perfectly fine with it.

The Old Testament, for instance, a book held believed to be true by both Christians and Jews, is one of the most outrageous pieces of literature in Western Culture.

For most of it, God is killing people. He wipes out everyone but Noah and his family in one part, destroys two cities and its inhabitants in another, forces Lot to offer his own daughters to be raped, etc.

However, when the O.T. is lacking in violence, it makes up for it in sheer whimsicality and stupidity. This is the same with all religious texts. There really is no room for a reasonable person to believe in some of the “facts” of Juedo-Christain beliefs (I’m not leaving other religions like Islam out on purpose, its just that these strike a little closer to home).

Religous “Facts”:

1.   Sadly (spoiler alert), Noah of the O.T. died at the young age of 950. The good die young.

2.   Although also in the New Testament, it is possible (and actually turned out quite well) to be swallowed by a giant fish, live in there for a while, and be spat back out.

3.   The universe was created by…well God. There isn’t much else to say about that because books like the O.T. say about that much in regard to the beginning of time (cough-COP OUT-cough).

However, taking what some would call “cheap shots” like this at religion isn’t fair because these things aren’t meant to be taken literally. They’re simply meant to be ignored and the good bits should be cherry picked out when needed.

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What Tim Tebow and the GOP Candidates Have in Common

therightliberal6 Comments

The reason I first made this connection is because I hate both of them. Let me start out explaining why I hate Tebow because I think people know why I hate the GOP Candidates.

Tim Tebow is a great athlete, there is no hiding from that. And like many athletes, Tim Tebow is religious. But what makes Tebow stand out is his proselytizing that he constantly does.

From his Super Bowl anti-abortion commercial to his constant kneeling, Tebow makes it his goal for everyone to know that he loves God.  It is so obnoxious for him to constantly thank God and Jesus for his successes. He can thank them in his head, he doesn’t need to say it out loud.

Yes, I am both an atheist and a liberal so I am predisposed to dislike these characters. But there are many Christians who hate Tebow and just as many republicans that can’t stand their candidates.

So what do these two have in common besides me hating them? They both are putting on a show.

I’m sure Tebow loves god but he wants the attention for his devotion. The GOP candidates (mainly Romney) are making it seem like they have beliefs far more radical than in actuality, just to gain votes.

Now I realize that in our society we have a tendency to act differently to impress others, it’s part of our nature.

But it is stupid that so many people fall for the obvious ploys of these actors. I guess the reason I hate both of them is because they make me realize how ignorant many of my fellow Americans are.

It disgusts me that so many people listen to words without thinking about the meaning behind them. TIM TEBOW WANTS TO CONVERT YOU! THAT IS HIS GOAL! THE GOP WANTS YOUR VOTES!

Do not believe they are good and righteous people just because they tell you they are. Listen to me, I am the Pope. See what I did there? (I’m not the Pope).

Stop being gullible and ignorant. Stop living up to the stereotypes that the rest of the world make about us. Be smart.

Are You There God?

sennymcflyLeave a comment

Faith is the journey continued in hopes of finding the end

it is the belief that after years of hard work, finger breaking there will come rest

There is faith in mothers that they will nurture us

there is faith in fathers that they will protect us

there is faith in lovers that they will love us

But, what faith have I in someone else’s religion?

What do you believe?

I believe in love

love can’t be taught or preached

it can’t be written or spoken, not published, or broadcasted

I have faith in love

Sick Humor

vabenissimo2 Comments

Osama Bin Laden is dead.

Glorify, celebrate, and embrace this moment of relief says the media. True. He had been the most wanted man in the world. He had put people in an absolute horror and unrecoverable remorse. He had brilliant ideas to cause further worldly destruction. He had killed the lives of millions and planned for even greater number. He had committed, multiple times, the most horrendous sin among mankind, murder. He had maddened the world. Now, he is gone, for good.

Extensive comments and articles about the details and expressions of relief and joy are, thus, understandable. However, people are having a hard time containing themselves as they make sick black humor out of this man’s demise. He, despite of his nearly unforgivable deeds, is a mankind.

A man. A father of six children. A husband of two wife.

His death was performed in front of his 12-year-old daughter. And, his death was confirmed by his children while his wife resulted in death during her “operation” by U.S. force because she would remain faithful to her husband.

Here, I question. “Do you think those children chose to share the disgraceful blood with this sick-minded man hated by the billions alive?”

But, sympathy is not the suitable wording of this case–apparently, those fancy and domineering religions have failed to deliver their grand message, forgiveness.

I am not an American citizen, but have friends, and relatives who suffer from the 9/11 catastrophe and the days since then. Maybe, my nauseating reactions to these comments are abnormal.

However, I know. I know, that some comments displayed online have exceeded the borderline of appropriateness.

An eye for an eye.

Is that it?