Before I even get started on this article, I want to make it clear that in no way, shape or form am I attempting to be neutral or kind in my assessment of the validity of religion.

I can’t even promise to make sense of it all because the phenomena has been baffling me for decades now.

And I’m sure after reading this some people will feel offended that I did not use words that make them feel good about their spiritual practices. And to that, I say, that you don’t get extra points because you feel that your membership on “Team Jesus” deserves brownie points.

See, that’s the entire problem with religion, it only exists through self appointed importance.. and that shit ain’t real to me.

Others will read this piece and feel that I am being disrespectful in my criticism of the amount of value society places on the existence of religion. To this, I respond, that it is not disrespectful to question the validity of anything that one prescribes to, especially when that existence affects my life in ways that I am not comfortable with. So fuck you, too.

It is my opinion that the practicing, promoting, and teaching of religion as a viable social construct is pointless, intruding and archaic.

No, disrespect…

It really bothers me that our culture claims to be one of equality and mutual respect but it is not; and yet we know it is not, but we turn our heads or whisper behind closed doors at our frustration rather than speaking out about it and pushing for change.

So it is for this reason that I state my opinion and do so with all the logical clarity I can muster though I may not choose words to ease the blow of my statement.

Oh, frickin’ well…

The problem is that America has a cult mentality, which is the direct result of our values based on a tradition of “rock star” idol worship that has been ingrained in our country’s social system.

When individual property laws came into existence, humans began to live in a world of have’s and have not’s, and its since that time that I believe that humans began to wander around aimlessly seeking ways in which they can obtain power.

Once power and resources were dispersed unequally among humans, the fight began to control the people, and the resources, which are usually one and the same thing.

How else does a singular group of people control the unmet needs of the multiple common man?

They do it by tricking him into thinking he does not deserve to have his needs met (you’re not saved); they trick you into thinking you do not want the things that you desire (its wrong to want power and sex) and they do that by convincing him that he already has what it is that he wants but he’ll just have to wait to receive it (sit at the almighty table upon your death, great!).

Humans are lost and think they need religion because they’ve been conditioned to feel inferior.

It is relevance that we seek, after all, and people use religion to explore the meaning of life, rather, they look for something outside of themselves to satisfy the hole left by the internalized feelings of lack taught to us by society and religion.

Humans practice religion so that they won’t feel so small, so neglected and so worthless in the greater scheme of things. God is sought as an answer to all things feared in man; death, hunger, pain, chaos and confusion. Man seeks to make himself into something worthy of life, food and serenity in death by denying his right to have and obtain that which he wants and needs in life.

God represents the superiority that we seek; heaven is a place where our needs will be met and we will live in abundance.

You see, by nurture, we are taught to reach for that which we cannot obtain, we are all striving to be better than what we are born as. By nature, humans have needs and at some point the needs of the self become more penitent then the needs of others.

There is no downside for the self when the self chooses to be self servant; the only loss to be had is religion’s when humans discover their needs are better met if they assess them and then demand they be addressed by those in power rather than suffering until death so as to not cause discomfort to the ruling class.

Remember…God said you were born f*cked up…so where do you go from there? Even if you are not born Christian and were not taught these things you will still be affected by everyone and their internalized perception as you interact with them throughout life.

Any confidence, or ego or self importance that you as an individual will quickly be checked, and admonished as they attempt to indoctrinate you into the land of ‘equality’ the only thing wrong is that their version of equality means less than, like the rest of them.

“You can never be special, only God is special, but maybe God will think you’re special if you try real hard. You’ll just have to wait and see…” to that I say, nah, thanks, I’m good.

This existence based on inferiority causes humans to attempt to console themselves with things outside of themselves. I do not believe that religion improves the human existence, instead, I believe religion is only appealing in that it reinforces the feelings of worthlessness by danging acceptance just out of reach of the person who is seeking it.

Religion plays the part of a masochistic lover that takes great pride in watching and taking part in the suffering of the one person that claims to love them. And in harmony, the choice and willingness to submit to the idol’s ever lasting list of requirements and subsequent punishment in hopes of obtaining favor is the sole identity, purpose and joy of the sniveling, weak and broken sadist.

Without the pursuit to gain the favor of the one on the pedestal, the worshipper has no reason to live. If the sadist’s needs are met by the out of reach deity then the entire game fails, the sadist no longer has an identity and will then need to do the complicated work of self reflection and self regulating, something I think religious people are unwilling to do.

Indeed, my stance on the usefulness and benefit of debating the existence of a god isn’t even a conversation that I have with my circle of friends. I don’t believe in a magical man in the sky that is looking over my shoulder.

Nor do I believe in a magical man that is going to love me no matter how bad I am. I don’t need a substitute Daddy figure to love me and I don’t think my action mean much further than my realizing some immediate or short term benefit. My actions mean something to the people around me. I have to take them and myself into consideration; this is a burden that religion doesn’t address since you can always say, “oops, my bad”, and all is well.

I would rather not deal with a deity that allows such flippant treatment of humanity but maybe he is looking over your shoulder.

Or maybe you just need to think there is someone to look over your shoulder because you are immature, weak and too fragile to face life along, you’re something like a child. Let’s not pretend like religion isn’t full of references to followers as ‘sheep’, ‘children’ and any other low on the totem pole life form.

Me…I like a life where I’m an adult and I get to make choices and suffer the consequences based on my own actions. Being responsible for myself and riding the wave of the rise and fall of my days and learning to become my own sources of strength has given me superhuman ability.

There is no spoon…

At some point or another most of my friends have turned away from religion in pursuits of philosophical enlightenment that focuses on the well being of humanity and not a special group of people that I have to work my ass off to be a part of.

Just the contrary, we often have spirited conversations surrounding the absurdity of holding ancient laws up to the same standards as logical thought. I’m nice in my assessment, you should hear some of the comments, they’re hilarious but I’ll spare you the details.

My point is, there are plenty of people that don’t take religion seriously, and now that we are moving to what I think is a place of less tolerance for lazy, and mindless nose leading, it could be about time to question what exactly it is that you are afraid of?

You know you don’t REALLY believe in God and you know you have no interest in REALLY following scripture and you don’t REALLY think everything will work out in heaven, because if you did then you’d be well behaved and just wait on the reward, like you were told to.

You see, this article isn’t about upholding your religious belief, because frankly, I could give a damn about your religious beliefs. Their yours so keep them over there far away from me if you don’t want me to grind my pointy stiletto into your ratchet ass beliefs.

Me and my friends……the people who fornicate, have abortions, make judgments and decisions daily and somehow still manage to look themselves in the mirror every day, yeah, we’re laughing at you but you ENJOY being humiliated, right?