Thursday, March 12, 2009

I've Lost My Religion - Have You Seen It Anywhere?

Today I continued a debate on the ACDP wall. One guy claimed that "Government was created by God" and followed it up with a load of unintelligible rhetoric that made me think he was some kind of pulpit-pilot who was at 80 000 feet and still climbing (possibly suffering the effects of asphyxia). Now to begin with, I find statements like that to be utterly astounding. Which god was that exactly? Ok, I understand he and those like him are religious and they think their religion has everything right. This train of thought however, can be derailed by two simple words: "PROVE IT".

Far be it for me to try to dissuade them - but their religion dates back only a few thousand years - somewhere between 3 and 4 thousand. Before that there were already other older civilizations with their own governments - and incidentally,  their own religions.

Now I suppose next he will try to convince me that uttering such statements - and actually believing them - is a matter of faith. Indeed. However, he can't be old enough to have been around to witness evolution - or the christian version of the same process - "Creationism" - he can't have heard this god's voice, or seen him/her or it. All he has ever known of this deity is what other people (with the same striking lack of personal experience) have told him, based on records which are 3000 years old and have been edited, changed, omitted and embellished in all that time. 

The truth is, that neither the people who wrote those records, nor the people who read them have any idea whether or not any of it is in fact true at all as none of it can be verified. And since quite a few of them have been dead even longer than Elvis, we can't ask them either. Darn it. And yet they believe it anyway - and try to force others to believe it - and they persecute others based on - what? Theory? Conjecture? A warm fuzzy feeling they get in church every other Sunday? Other people's fantasies? They call gay people in loving, permanent relationships who seek affirmation by using the word "marriage" people who "choose to sin", an "abomination", a threat to "the traditional family", their God and civilization - and then pass around the collection plate, saying 'thank you, you were a wonderful audience'. 

I wonder, do these people listening to this sort of nonsense - or those saying it - ever stop to actually think about any of it?

Now I have yet to meet any mortal entity that could ever pose a threat to a God powerful enough to speak the universe into being, or a civilization that collapsed because gay people fell in love and got married. And as a footnote - what the hell is this "traditional family" they talk so convincingly about anyway? They claim same gender marriage will increase the heterosexual divorce rate. LOL. Straight people get divorced a hell of a lot more than gay people do, so there are a great many people out there raising kids as single parents, so where is this "traditional family" - and how do they see same gender marriage as a threat to it? How does one marriage "threaten" another anyway? Do they gang up on each other and try to anul each others marriages? What do they mean? Do they even KNOW? That is like saying if Mike and Jill get married they pose a threat to the marriage between Mark and Susan. That is just stupid! Utter bollocks to be exact. It makes about as much sense to me as affirmative action.

They cannot possibly be sure of the ground on which they stand, but they are nevertheless intent on jumping up and down, screaming "Thou shalt not!" and waving fingers in other people's faces like temperamental spoiled brats throwing a fit because they can't get their way. Some elements in religious parties today complain that the "christian viewpoint is ridiculed". Hmm. Perhaps these clever people should ask themselves why instead of pointing fingers at others and open their eyes to see their own faults instead.

Simon Sez 'be straight'. No thanks, I'm through playing 'Simon Sez', I'm in the mood for some 'show and tell' now. Maybe I'll follow it up with a little 'pin the tail on the donkey'.

While I don't have any objection to people praying, singing or talking about their brand of religion (to people who actually want to listen), finding comfort in it, using it as a crutch etc - what I object to is the unreasonable, irrational and utterly infuriating tendency of SOME (NOT ALL) Christians to try to force their beliefs on others, to feel justified to step over everybody so that they can look down on everybody else and place themselves in a position to judge them as if they themselves have no blemishes or faults of their own, the "full right" to do so - and to claim that some god supposedly told them to. Yeah, right. 

People who claim to be Christians should then live like Christ and not make hypocrites of themselves and their god by persecuting others for things which a) are immutable, b) threaten no-one in any way and c) in the process violate whatever of their own gods commands it currently suits them to do so.

These fundamentalists at the ACDP and CDA etcetera may want a 'christian' government running SA, forcing their conservative fascist beliefs down on everybody else, playing god with our lives, committing human rights atrocities and calling it "gods will' - but I don't, thank you very much. 

The ACDP's policy attacks equality of people based on sexual orientation and gender identity. It associates with people and organizations that would advocate the death penalty and other harsh punishments for them for simply existing. Their own manifesto brags of their intent to revoke gay civil equality and their leaders have unjustifiably and unprovoked, vilified GLBT publicly for years. 

At the end of the day, looking at all this evidence to the contrary, these people actually have the nerve to insult both our intelligence and their own God who said 'love one another as I have loved you' by saying they are his "true" followers and represent Christianity. 

If I were still a christian I would be so very, very ashamed.
______________________________________________________________

If you would like to know more about Christina Engela and her writing, please feel free to browse her website.


If you’d like to send Christina Engela a question about her life as a writer or transactivist, please send an email to christinaengela@gmail.com or use the Contact form.

All material copyright © Christina Engela, 2019.

________________________________________

2 comments:

  1. Hi Christina, firstly you never were a Christian, because you never accepted Christ as your personal Saviour. Secondly, the traditional family is God's invention - faithfull husband and wife, hopefully with children, living Godly lives - simple principle,though not easy to do.
    Yes, all Christians (born-again and saved) should be ashamed for some of their actions (i.e. sins), but definitely not all Christians for all their actions (non-Christians should be ashamed as well of many of their actions, although they are still condemned).
    God has proven Himself through the Creation of the universe. He cannot be reproven by Christians, only reflected (further proof will not change your mind either, it is controlled by satan, although your pre-occupation with God is a very encouraging sign - I trust you will find Him for who He is. I also admire your faith that everything just happened, etc. - it is beyond my comprehension - or is it just blindness).
    Christianity only dates back about 2000 years -but previous societies and governments, whether they want to know or not, were all created by God (we'll may find out how that worked after Jesus's second coming, although it will be trivial in heaven - you may never know).
    You are not forced to believe in the Trinity God, He requires of us to teach you about Him, but He has given you the right to decide for yourself - and face the consequence of hell if you don't accept Him. As far as enforcing God's principles on others - yes, He requires that, but you have the right to choose ("human rights" are a figment of the human imagination).
    The homosexual agenda (you should know this very well, it is not just personal sexual preferences, etc.) and un-Godly matters such as abortion, prostitution, un-Godly governance, etc. are VERY real threats to humanity. (But you won't understand, because you choose not to).
    I pray you'll be saved, but you have to choose.

    ReplyDelete
  2. My, my, my - a bigot graces me with it's presence.

    "Firstly you never were a Christian, because you never accepted Christ as your personal Saviour." - sorry to disappoint you - yes I did. And I believed in a loving Christ up til a year ago when pretenders such as you made me see how much hate you have for innocent people - and I realized what a sick joke your church is globally. And you know nothing about me or my faith or my religious convictions, so just button up and slide back to your greasy pulpit.

    You claim that God created marriage and the traditional family. Prove it. You can't , can you? "The traditional family" is the invention of the religious right fundamentalists - and a complete and utter fallacy - just like the claim that they are in fact followers of a loving Christ.

    Your "argument" offered as proof of your god's existence is weak and infantile, just like the argument against GLBT being born as naturally as you.

    "human rights" are a figment of the human imagination" Interesting comment - can I quote you on that? (Or I could - if you had the courage of your convictions - or guts to post under your real name.) Rather it is your false hateful god which is a figment - if there is a god it isn't one that dropped some book on the floor and ordered such as you to hate other folk and beat them over the head with it. Human rights essentially echoes what your bible says about treating others as you would be treated - and you folks certainly are not adhering to that because it inconveniences you, doesn't it?

    "The homosexual agenda" - oh, do mean something like the Christianist agenda? I doubt anything could be more insidious and anti-Christ than what the religious right has been up to in the name of a loving god. And that so-called item - a favorite with heterosexist bigots and their organizations (which one do you belong to btw?) is almost as fictional and facetious as your lovely and equally corrupt version of the bible.

    It is rich that a person who cannot even tolerate it's (no name) own brothers and sisters "in Christ" - and chooses to spread vicious lies against them, calls itself (no name) a Christian - and not even knowing me, denies that I ever was.

    As for me finding god, or he/she/it me, i have no qualms about that whatever. At least I live my life honorably, defending those whom others would unjustly destroy and speaking as a voice for those whom you would silence. If there is a god, I wonder whom he/she it would destroy. You? Or me?

    Whatever the future holds, be it freedom and equality - or persecution and death, I meet it without fear and with a clear conscience. And regardless of the outcome, when my time comes, I will die free - can you truly say the same?

    This has been a prime example of the false religion, fundamentalism and bigotry out there which I have been talking about in my blog and other articles. Thank you for providing such a clear and vibrant example.

    Your concern for a lowly sexual deviant who threatens the fabric of civilization is deeply touching. Save yourself - you need it more than I.

    ReplyDelete