My First Post Regarding Religion

A post from UNIFI member David Wasserman

So, I would like to inquire. My inquiry is in regards to religion. The question is...

Uh, WHAT?

That's my question. Towards religion. What the heff could you possibly be thinking?

Some people would use the phrasing: 'Why do you believe what you do?'

Rather, I would like to ask: HOW do you believe what you do?

I will let you know, right now, that I am unable to believe in a religion. I also cannot understand how anyone can believe in a religion.

Being a person who thinks, I am unable to believe something that does not make sense to me; something that does not seem possible to me. When exposed to something new, I do not store this idea as a fact, if it is not supported by some sort of evidence or logic that allows it to be deemed as such. If the minds of others work in a different manner, I am unfamiliar with said manner.

So. When someone tells me that they believe that there was a man named Jesus, sure, I go with it. I will accept history blindly, because, whether or not there existed a man named Jesus Christ or Julius Caesar or Genghis Kahn does not affect me. Now, when someone then tells me that this Jesus character died and came back to life three days later, my mind lets me know that: "Hey! That does not happen." I know that people do not die for three days and come back to life. If you believe otherwise, you will need to tell me how this occurred. While there was no blood flowing to his brain and other vital organs, how did they remain intact and functional, and what was the cause of this rebirth? Rather than a scientific (legitimate) explanation of this rebirth of a man long after his death, I am informed that it was GOD who did it. Wait. I mean. It was God who died, because he was Jesus, who was God and gave the virgin the pregnancy of himself, something, uh, ya. Whatever. You get it.

So, uh. This GOD guy. I have been told that he is nowhere and everywhere at once, exists outside of time, and is omniscient, omnibenevolent, and omnipotent. Pretty sweet not to have to ever have any evidence for this guy, right? When I say 'evidence,' I mean something legitimate. This legitimacy issue is what a lot of religious people struggle with when trying to support their religion. I have been told that 'a feeling' is evidence for God. What? What does a God feeling feel like? What makes a God feeling a God feeling? How would one determine whether or not their feelings are due to a god or not? I don't even know. Sometimes I have feelings that I cannot explain, but they are usually the result of flatulence, rather than a deity. I feel that many, many people, in an attempt to legitimize their belief in their religion, attribute feelings that they have to a god. I know that that idea is supported within religion. So, if I were trying to convince myself that my religion is true, I would probably attribute positive feelings to my deity. Duh. Win-win... I guess.

The other main bit of 'evidence' for those within a religion is a... book? You know that one called The Bible? Within it lies contradiction, hatred, promotion of violence, and many other wonderful traits. Um, I do not know if you guys know this, but books are written by people and are, therefore, testimony. I also do not know if you guys know this, but a lot of the time, people make things up and write them down. I, for one, do it all the time. So, how, in the holy fucking nutsack, would you be able to base your LIFE on the testimony of another person?! It is honestly painful for me. If I told you that there was an invisible unicorn next to you, I believe, very strongly, that you would be extremely doubtful of me, if not absolutely doubtful of me. I believe that my claim of an invisible unicorn is far more believable, however, than yours of a god and the super powers of Jesus or Muhammed, or whatever. Instead of believe me, though, you do not. Could you please tell me why this is? Testimony of a person is all you need to believe in your god. Why not a unicorn? These things are both very much supernatural. Why do you not believe everything that you have ever been told?

So, yes. I do assert that one who belongs to a religion cannot be a thoughtful person. Now, do not get me wrong: someone who is thoughtful CAN believe in a god. I can see it. Whilst pondering myself and the world around me, I can see how one can arrive at the conclusion of the existence of a god, or deism. However, one could not possibly arrive at the conclusion that any religion is true, Christianity or otherwise. People do not come back to life after days; people are not the children of deities; life is not eternal; there is no such thing as a sin; the world was not created in six days, and so on.

This is my conclusion from observing and experiencing the world around me; reality. Sorry. It would be sick as hell if we could live forever. Unfortunately, we need a brain to think, and when blood stops flowing to it and it dies, we are unable to perform this act, anymore. So, I encourage you to take advantage of the time during which your brain still operates.