Godless

I had a completely inappropriate conversation with one of my employees recently. We were talking about religion and he asked me if I thought the Bible was real, or just a collection of stories. Before I can stop myself I tell him that they are just nice stories.

He gives me two thumbs up and says "so you don't believe in god."

Yesterday, another employee walks through my office and we start talking about scientologist's. She was commenting on how fanatical and crazy they are. I said that the same could be said of people like her -- I consider her pretty religious.

I'm just amazed about how free I am lately with the fact that I'm atheist. That isn't to say that I have no faith. I just do not believe in a supernatural spirit that lords over people.

I'm sure this causes some people to think I'm some sort of freak or something and I used to worry about this. No more. I figure that if I have to listen to all the religious rhetoric all over the place, I can share my thoughts as well.

No Duh

So I'm driving home from work this evening and I see this bumper sticker, it says "The ten commandments aren't multiple choice."

Well, no duh. In order for something to be multiple choice, don't we need a question? I can't think of a commandment that is stated as a question, and if they were, wouldn't they be the ten queries or ten questions about life or something like that?

So here they are, 10 multiple choice commandment questions:

1. With whom do you have a monogamous worshiping relationship?
   a. god
   b. Zeus
   c. Buddha
   d. None of the above
2. Graven images are okay
   a. True
   b. False
3. Which of the following are acceptable ways to use the lord thy god's name in vain?
   a. oh god!
   b. goddammit!
   c. jesus h christ!
   d. none of the above
   
4. Which day should be kept holy and remembered?
   a. Monday
   b. Friday
   c. Wednesday
   d. the sabboth
5. Should thee honor thy parents?
   a. True
   b. False
6. Under which circumstances is it okay to kill?
   a. a kill or be killed situation
   b. your daughter has been raped and you have the perpetrator in your hands
   c. some sonofabitch just cut you off getting on the expressway
   d. none of the above
7. Adultery is okay when...
   a. when your spouse does it first
   b. as long as your spouse doesn't know
   c. when you have agreed ahead of time that it is okay
   d. never
8. It is okay to steal when you are really hungry
   a. True
   b. False
9. You should bear false witness against your neighbor when...
   a. you think he is a member of a terrorist group, but have no hard evidence
   b. his dog crapped in your yard and he didn't clean it uo
   c. his trying to sell his house and you don't like the look of the couple currently checking out the house during his open house
   d. never
10. Which of the following are acceptable things to covet?
    a. your brothers wife
    b. your best friends car
    c. your neighbors home
    d. you shouldn't covet at all
    

Faith

So quickly it comes up. If you missed it yesterday, Natalia over at the cheese pad had this to say regarding the film Jesus Camp.

Her rant got me thinking about religion and faith and my own beliefs.  So for those who are interested, here goes:

Religion

Wikipedia says of religion (http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Religion):

A religion is a set of beliefs and practices generally held by a community, involving adherence to codified beliefs and rituals and study of ancestral or cultural traditions, writings, history, and mythology, as well as personal faith and mystic experience. The term "religion" refers to both the personal practices related to communal faith and to group rituals and communication stemming from shared conviction.

So religion is important, on a cultural level, as it provides sets of beliefs, rituals, and traditions. All of these elements are crucial to the stability of society. That isn't to say that these things should be forever fixed, indeed they should be forever changing and evolving to suit the needs of society, and not make society subservient to them. This is where religion today, fundamentalism in particular, has gone wrong.

This then begs the question: Am I religious? Well yes and no. I wholeheartedly participate in many of the rituals and traditions ascribed by the religion of my parents - Christianity - because I believe in their value to my small society. Weddings, for instance, are an important ritual affirming the commitment of two people, and the beginning of family. Funerals are another important ritual as they facilitate the mourning process for those of us who have yet to move on to whatever comes next.

Religion has also been the impetus for many important works through out history. There is so much important music, literature and art that is inspired by religion that to loose it would surely be a setback for humanity.

Faith

To Believe without reason. There are things that I believe without reason. Still, they may not be those things that the rest of society believes as a group. Do I believe in God? Not since I was a child. Do I believe in Karma, absolutely. I also believe that things always, always happen for a reason and that life will never hand me anything I am not strong enough to handle. The list goes on.

Faith in something is what keeps most of us going. Whether it is faith God, or faith in science, it give us our reason d' etre.

This clip got me most worked up. Rachel has faith that God is the only one who will judge her, yet she is being taught to judge others -- and to make sure they know it. She mocks my faith.