A moment for blasphemy
It makes me laugh how much importance people devote to religion in their lives.
Many times this week have I was brought to think about religious stuff: not praying, not worshiping, but thinking about how dogmas affect people in general. Why should it matter if someone you barely know believes in a deity or follows a religious movement whatsoever?
On a side note, I was brought up believing in the christian catholic god, my dad being Italian I got baptized (at the Vatican, mind you) and my parents made me attend catechism (church class?) for about a year when I was 8. I was going to the mass every Sunday and such, doing volunteer work with my mother until she started having issues with the other church-goers, and the priest himself was kind of a dick. But hey this is no blasphemy there, he really was a dick in person. I started losing a bit of faith in the whole religious thing and began to realize how subjective and non-compromising the Bible was. I was 10 when this "criticizing spirit" was born and The X Files were being aired on TV with its good old motto: TRUSTNO1
Since then I've started to consider myself agnostic by contrast towards Christianity. Studying medieval history on my own (I was 12) I learned about the Inquisition and watched TV documentaries around the burning and torturing of "heretics". By that time I either believed that god was a mean motherfucker that made the devil look like the random punk on the streets, or men were actually the devil. What kind of religion would make you lose faith in your own species?
So I explored other kinds of dogmas to only notice the similarities between all of them and I just don't see the point in choosing one. The very fact that I look at religions as communities instead of beliefs places me as an outside observer that won't get involved with faith and all that self-absorbed bullshit.
Here's what I like about religion, though: people show some respect towards common values and give consideration to those outside their circle. It's a biased approach and they come off as conceited pricks trying to impose their beliefs on others but it's an approach nonetheless. Oh, notice how I'm utilizing terms here. I won't place a judgment on people using their religious convictions to become better souls, your motives don't matter as long as you reach your goal and not spend your life just trying. There has to be a point where you are satisfied with what you're doing and how you're doing it, but striving to become better is a never ending quest and religion sadly offers a fake reward that tells everyone: "you'll be alright, as long as you believe." Life is much more than just one belief, and they don't all give you guarantee that you're doing - or saying - what's right.
So to all of the people who have judged me by my "religious beliefs": your convictions make you look like a dick because you share them with a couple dozen millions of people who have beaten this dead horse a long time before you.
Many times this week have I was brought to think about religious stuff: not praying, not worshiping, but thinking about how dogmas affect people in general. Why should it matter if someone you barely know believes in a deity or follows a religious movement whatsoever?
On a side note, I was brought up believing in the christian catholic god, my dad being Italian I got baptized (at the Vatican, mind you) and my parents made me attend catechism (church class?) for about a year when I was 8. I was going to the mass every Sunday and such, doing volunteer work with my mother until she started having issues with the other church-goers, and the priest himself was kind of a dick. But hey this is no blasphemy there, he really was a dick in person. I started losing a bit of faith in the whole religious thing and began to realize how subjective and non-compromising the Bible was. I was 10 when this "criticizing spirit" was born and The X Files were being aired on TV with its good old motto: TRUSTNO1
Since then I've started to consider myself agnostic by contrast towards Christianity. Studying medieval history on my own (I was 12) I learned about the Inquisition and watched TV documentaries around the burning and torturing of "heretics". By that time I either believed that god was a mean motherfucker that made the devil look like the random punk on the streets, or men were actually the devil. What kind of religion would make you lose faith in your own species?
So I explored other kinds of dogmas to only notice the similarities between all of them and I just don't see the point in choosing one. The very fact that I look at religions as communities instead of beliefs places me as an outside observer that won't get involved with faith and all that self-absorbed bullshit.
Here's what I like about religion, though: people show some respect towards common values and give consideration to those outside their circle. It's a biased approach and they come off as conceited pricks trying to impose their beliefs on others but it's an approach nonetheless. Oh, notice how I'm utilizing terms here. I won't place a judgment on people using their religious convictions to become better souls, your motives don't matter as long as you reach your goal and not spend your life just trying. There has to be a point where you are satisfied with what you're doing and how you're doing it, but striving to become better is a never ending quest and religion sadly offers a fake reward that tells everyone: "you'll be alright, as long as you believe." Life is much more than just one belief, and they don't all give you guarantee that you're doing - or saying - what's right.
So to all of the people who have judged me by my "religious beliefs": your convictions make you look like a dick because you share them with a couple dozen millions of people who have beaten this dead horse a long time before you.