The High Cost of Faith: Why Religious Dogma is the Enemy of Rational Progress

Many people ask me about my religious beliefs, and I am undoubtedly atheist, and perhaps a little bit anti-religious (like Thomas Jefferson). I have been going over in my head about whether or not to express my ideas and beliefs and share them; And, I have come to the conclusion that I would be doing a disservice if I with-held my incite about the country and world we live in. 

Don’t mistake my forth comings as me saying “I am right," rather, I realize I hold a very different opinion of the world then most and I believe that as a human, as an American, as a student (of the world and culture) striving for education through discussion and confrontation; it is part of my duty to share “the other side." If you haven’t stopped reading by now, I thank you for your understanding and open-mindedness. I will try to explain religion as a product of society and try to address some common reasons for belief. 

I’m not going to lie, I feel very different from most people in society. I live in one the most, if not the most religious nation in the world; and being partially anti-religious does not help my cause. For the most part, I dispise religion. Don’t misunderstand me in this context. I despise religion for what it does to society, how it perpetuates discrimination, inequality, and oppression by the wealthiest class of society and gives wrongful justification(s). I do not love or hate God, however, that would be non-sensible, for one cannot love or hate something that does not exist. However, I believe that the idea of God is alive and relevant in today’s world. 

The things believers hold as dear… morals, ethical principles, are very positive in there nature. These things that we value are projected as a “God." God is love, peace, truth, justice. Are these not values we can all strive for? However, the counter diction is that society has turned this idea, this god, into a means of justification for action. A few examples would be the blessing of the bombs dropped on Hiroshima and Nagasaki by Christianity. Also blessed was the oppressive acts of slavery. Christianity, as its literature, and not supernatural explanations, gives wonderful incite of morals and ethics. In its original form Christianity was a tool for peace, a religion of revolution (not religious but societal), “drop what your are doing and come follow me." This is not the religion of today. We have turned a religion of peace into a religion of hate, oppression, and destruction. 

George Bush is a great example of what we have turned religion into. There was that story in the news about a women who killed her children in a brutal beating because she said god told her to do it. She was aquitted and put into a mental health clinic. However, at least 500,000 innocent Iraq’s have died in a the Iraq War and George Bush said that he was told to strike by God. 

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How are these two individuals different? Both have committed murder, one at a much larger scale, and given justification through god yet we praise one and condemn the other. Giving justification to our societies actions through God. Bush said that the reason he struck Iraq was because god told him too. How is he any different from one of the (what we consider to be) worst tyrants of all time; Hitler. Hitler claimed god told him to kill the Jews. How is Bush’s justification any different from Hitler’s? By saying God condones these actions we have changed the idea of God. God is now injustice, murder, and destruction. 

The reason most people beleive in religion is because of the question: What about death? What about salvation, about an afterlife, about eternal happiness and bliss? For me, the harsh reality (that I have joyfully excepted) is that it does not exist. I live as I am in my heaven. I am leaving nothing to chance, nothing to loose. This life is the greatest and most beautiful because it is the only one I have. 

Many believe in God because of fear about death and the notion of without god there is no salvation. Fear is not a reason or justification for any action. It is an excuse. This is going to sound harsh, but I believe it needs to be said. The problem with believing in God is that you can pray to this being for change and good in this world. But, what is the problem with this notion? What if your wrong, and God really doesn’t exist... nothing ever gets done. You live in this constant bubble where “it will be okay, I have found salvation, (or need too)." Your focus is not on this life at all, but on the afterlife. You never question for fear you may not be saved. You live in a world of fantasy that everything is okay because God is good and he won’t let anything happen, and even if it does... I am "saved." If you ask me, that is selfish and ignorant. By living for God you don’t materialize or see what is really wrong with the whole system you have bought into; and that’s why nothing ever changes, and I why I will always despise religion. It encourages self-importance, enables people to be lethargic (and feel good about themselves with-out actually doing anything), and justifies absurd atrocities. 

I have a lot of riteous indignation, and if some things come out wrong… I’m not sorry. The problem is you have to open your mind to see it. You have to want to realize what may really be going on. If you never explore the why, the what for, because it is just better to believe, and have "faith;" if you never look and see the other side of the story or try to understand why; you are not educating or bettering yourself or society at all. What you call faith, is what I call ignorance and I am not going to lie, it truly is bliss. But, if you want to do something for America, something for humanity…question! I am not saying I have all the answers, I am just saying you should stop being a sheep that blindly follows. The problem I see is nobody really wants to know. Understanding is right in front of you, but you can’t find it if you don’t look for it.

Thanks for reading! Please comment!

Other Related blog(s): Sociology of Love, Lyceum Recordz