Thursday, October 23, 2008

Are you there God? It's me, Dick.

Atheists in Great Britain have united for a unique cause; spreading the message that God, unicorns and Iraqi WMDs have a lot in common. I like this for a couple of reasons. First off, the message says "relax." Too often when people are wound up or motivated by fear, they make rash decisions (or allow rash decisions to be made for them). It tells people not to take things so seriously and to take advantage of the time they have, because, in all likelihood, this is all the time they'll ever have. The other thing I like about this message is that it saves lives. Gods (under any religion and in any form) have been responsible for more killing, oppression, discrimination and outright hate than any other issue or entity. From the Crusades to Muslims who hijack their religion to justify jihad against all those who think differently than they do. From the Holocaust to the Christian terrorism of the IRA. People latch on to the beliefs of a religion or God to save them from their mundane or unsatisfactory lives. Whenever people involve themselves with organized religion, there is the risk that they will encounter one of the countless predatory clerics and ministers who live high on the hog by duping the deperate and weak-minded. That includes anyone who adores a Pope as God's anointed. Popes have been the greatest abusers of this "executive privilege" since way back. Religion, or more importantly Faith, should not be all together discredited as it does lay the foundation for morals which so very many Americans truly lack. There is a Truth out there which is universal and flows throughout all cultures. But religion has become synonymous with Control. If you practice a faith rooted in the King James Bible, you're living life with a redacted perspective and you probably think Jesus was white.

(Did that come off as too Marxist?)

7 comments:

puddy said...

looks like we're in the same boat on this one dick... but i just can't help feeling that those who can no longer have any faith in their governments (ie katrina victims) have to have faith in something... and on that level i feel lucky to have never needed faith in my life.

puddy said...

furthermore... i just ate (partially, that is) a completely tasteless plum. if that doesn't disprove all religions, then i don't know what does.

alzaido alzaido said...

The best thing about faith is that it is a great song by Wham legend George Michael. Beyond that, bleh. Imagine, if you can, a world where people take responsibility for their own actions. Imagine people of different faiths getting along over the simple realization that nobody knows the truth in regards to so many things. Imagine if the average plumber Joe respected facts.

And Puddy what do you mean by the tasteless plum disproves religion?

Kup said...

I only know that I don’t know anything- Socrates

puddy said...

alz - aw shit... now i wish i had a better reason for my plum statement other than the fact that i was just pissed about that crappy plum. but for whatever its worth: i had faith that it was going to be a good plum... but in fact it wasn't.

alzaido alzaido said...

I agree Puddy. Tasteless plums suck. And I can't stand when fruit has that mealy texture from improper transport and storage temperatures.

All I know is that I don't know nothing - Operation Ivy

Randal Graves said...

Know means know. Jesus wasn't white, he was velvet, like Elvis.