Religion will be what kills us all

It's not really my style to ramble online about the state of the world. I prefer to keep such conversations for wine fuelled evenings in smokey bars or the house of a friend.

So what makes me do it now?

Here is what makes me: I have never been more terrified with the state of the world than I am these days. Either I keep my mouth shut and let the fear fester and eat me little by little, or I write it out, throw it online and let a part of it go.

Of course to me the best decision is the latter.

The title of this entry is kind of explanatory of what I'm going to vent about. Religion and how it's simply not doing what it should do (anymore).

Before any of y'all start shouting that I'm an intolerant cunt or a racist or whatever the fuck derogatory ignorant and vulgar name you can come up with; please hear me out.

I am in no way saying that I am against people who have a religion. As an advocate of free speech I believe it is in each person's right to have faith in whatever higher power they chose. In fact: I admire those who have had the strength to hold on to that faith and live accordingly.

In the world of believers and non-believers, there will always be extremists who find it necessary to shove their morals and ideas in other people's faces. Try and force them to convert or stop believing. They will use any weapon at hand and don't stop until they are certain they have gained whatever it is they're seeking to win.

Those are the men and women that scare me. Those are the ones that will be, in my opinion, the downfall of society if we do not stop them here and now.

As an atheist, I see religion as follows:

To me, religion was once brought into the world (I choose not to use the term 'invented') to bring solace to the masses. History has shown us that dieties were used by governments to explain the things that cannot be explained, to calm societies, to have a base for a code of conduct and so on. Basically: during the entire history of mankind, religion was an inevitable part of life.

Those who did not believe were shunned from society.

A wise friend of mine once asked me during one of those deep discussions about life, if I was able to imagine what would have happened to people in western Europe if the Dark Ages had never happened. If science had evolved in one straight line. What if they had never found scientists to be a threat? How far would technology be today? What could have been achieved? What might not have gone lost forever?

The 20th century was brutal on the Roman Church and every other religion.

Booming technology and scientific discoveries were what colored that bloody century. Two World Wars helped both causes a great deal.

Naturally people lost faith. Not only is nearly everything in life now put in such and such a way that we can look up an answer to almost all of our questions. Academics from all around spend their lifetime to try and help us get rid of the last smidges of mystery.

There is no need for believing anymore.

Besides all of that, which is quite a lot already, there is the fact that in the past couple decades, none of people's religious beliefs have done much good in the world.

Violence is escalating and with each attack on whatever group of people causes a reaction. Often equally gruesome or worse.

There is no forgiveness, no compassion, nothing. Not in the big stuff we see, not in our own city, not even in my own appartment building.

What I like about almost every faith is that it asks of their believers to live as a good person. Be kind to those around you, do what you can for those who are less fortunate. Try to not hate others or yourself. The bible, the Koran, the Torah. All of these books preach a peaceful lifestyle.

I realise there are parts that are much darker and brutal in each one of these works, but the main idea around each story is the same. Live a kind life and you will be spared.

Of course we know that God, Allah and Jahwe, Buddha and his Hindu Homies have nothing to do with what goes on in the world. Not in a direct way at least.

By the way: I only mention Buddha and Hindu Dieties this late in my rant because I have rarely heard of a religious hate crime commited by a Buddhist of a Hindu.

So why the fuck do people keep pulling unforgivable acts of horror in the name of faith?

Is it any wonder that I chose not to believe?

In anything?

When all I see is beliefs being either shoved down our throats, judged, ridiculed or punished?

In today's climate, it is dangerous to give your opinion about anything. Let alone take a stand on religion and the consequences of it.

Neither science, nor faith will ever provide us with all the answers to life's questions. But if we don't watch out it will mean the end of life for human beings.

I don't care if you believe in God, Allah, Jahweh, Jah, Krishna, Shiva or the Holy SpaghettiMonster.

What I care about is how you treat me and everybody else around me. Keep an open mind and have patience for anybody different from yourself. Life is precious so go about it as such. We only have 1 life, 1 planet (for now) and 1 chance to make the best of it so make it count.

Can't we turn those principles into a religion?

#QueenJoke #Queenjoke #ifuckinghatetheworld #religionwhat