Agnosticism
this entry brought to you by electric six, "dance-a-thon 2005"
As I've grown older and pondered my position with religion-- my growing disgust and utter bafflement-- it's become very obvious to me that I'm agnostic, and always have been, ever since I was a child and the things about God that were told to me did not match what I observed with my own two eyes or flat out made no sense.
You couldn't tell me God doesn't exist. It doesn't make any sense to me that there could be no God. Looking at all the similarities between all living things, it baffles the mind. You couldn't tell me there was no guiding hand behind it all. But I don't believe in religion. Religion is man-made. Created to put people in line, to brainwash them into thinking what someone more powerful. Religion was designed with power in mind, and with it has come horrible, horrible atrocities that still go on to this day. But with that said, religion-- all of them-- were created at a time when people needed it. Primitive people who could get wiped out from a simple flu contagion needed that kind of structure, that kind of control. That kind of brainwashing. Or else the entire world would have descended into chaos. As it is, look at how close and how often mankind has been to total chaos since our creation-- and that's with the benefit of a vice-like grip of power of religion over humanity.
I despise religion nevertheless, in all of its forms, because today, I feel like it's an antiquated idea that mankind needs to permanently shake off so we can finally put all of our energy in one forward-moving direction, instead of having the bullshit that comes with religion; you know, wars and hostile territorial disputes, racism, homophobia, and just about every single thing that's wrong in the entire world.
It's not that I don't understand the need certain people have for structure in their lives that religion often fills. But, for some reason, spirituality and religion often get mistaken for being mutually exclusive, yet this is not true. People in the military, in karate, or even just practice yoga will often describe the same kind of spiritual oneness, sense of happiness and purity that religious people claim to exclusively have. Think about it. For every testimonial on PAX where someone claimed they used to do drugs, were unemployed, wanted to commit suicide, but then found Jesus who personally saved their life, there is an athlete on ESPN who will tell you that dedication to basketball saved them from the ghetto. Spirituality does not have to be involved with religion. If the whole world simoultaneously said sucks to religion, the world would still be as spiritual place as ever.
I am agnostic in that while I believe there is a God, I don't focus much effort on him or my relationship with him. I can't believe in a God so full of himself, so egotistical, that it would require complete and total devotion to him. I don't think God cares whether you worship him or not. I don't think God cares if you say Goddammit. What kind of parent would expect that kind of total, irrational devotion? What kind of parent doesn't want their children to live their own lives?
Agnosticism. I feel like I've come to the conclusion that this is what I am through logic and soul searching. I believe in God, I just don't believe anything I'm told about him. And why should I? What makes one person supposedly more intimate with God? What makes one person holier than someone else, and able to teach about God? Certainly people are more qualified to teach the gospels, but God? And since I don't know anything about God, his relevence seems like something I wouldn't know why I would neccesarily go out of my way to bother with. He is what he is. I am what I am. We both exist.
Agnosticism. If I didn't feel the way I do about religion, God, and Jesus Christ, I would be annoyed by the kind of bullshit, non-comittal answer that is agnosticism. At least Atheism has the balls to believe in not believing, but agnosticism wants to have its cake and eat it too. "Well, I'm not crazy enough to be religious, and I'm not cynical and cold like an atheist," it seems to say. Agnostics are the obnoxious fence-sitting "undecided" voters that seem content to wait until the two that have actually made up their minds duke it out, and then choose whichever side that won. The one group that, if the rapture ever does come, even though never having actually believed it would come, could never have been proven wrong, because hey, when did I ever say God couldn't do it?
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with love from CRS @ 8:11 PM
Thursday, February 16, 2006
As I've grown older and pondered my position with religion-- my growing disgust and utter bafflement-- it's become very obvious to me that I'm agnostic, and always have been, ever since I was a child and the things about God that were told to me did not match what I observed with my own two eyes or flat out made no sense.
You couldn't tell me God doesn't exist. It doesn't make any sense to me that there could be no God. Looking at all the similarities between all living things, it baffles the mind. You couldn't tell me there was no guiding hand behind it all. But I don't believe in religion. Religion is man-made. Created to put people in line, to brainwash them into thinking what someone more powerful. Religion was designed with power in mind, and with it has come horrible, horrible atrocities that still go on to this day. But with that said, religion-- all of them-- were created at a time when people needed it. Primitive people who could get wiped out from a simple flu contagion needed that kind of structure, that kind of control. That kind of brainwashing. Or else the entire world would have descended into chaos. As it is, look at how close and how often mankind has been to total chaos since our creation-- and that's with the benefit of a vice-like grip of power of religion over humanity.
I despise religion nevertheless, in all of its forms, because today, I feel like it's an antiquated idea that mankind needs to permanently shake off so we can finally put all of our energy in one forward-moving direction, instead of having the bullshit that comes with religion; you know, wars and hostile territorial disputes, racism, homophobia, and just about every single thing that's wrong in the entire world.
It's not that I don't understand the need certain people have for structure in their lives that religion often fills. But, for some reason, spirituality and religion often get mistaken for being mutually exclusive, yet this is not true. People in the military, in karate, or even just practice yoga will often describe the same kind of spiritual oneness, sense of happiness and purity that religious people claim to exclusively have. Think about it. For every testimonial on PAX where someone claimed they used to do drugs, were unemployed, wanted to commit suicide, but then found Jesus who personally saved their life, there is an athlete on ESPN who will tell you that dedication to basketball saved them from the ghetto. Spirituality does not have to be involved with religion. If the whole world simoultaneously said sucks to religion, the world would still be as spiritual place as ever.
I am agnostic in that while I believe there is a God, I don't focus much effort on him or my relationship with him. I can't believe in a God so full of himself, so egotistical, that it would require complete and total devotion to him. I don't think God cares whether you worship him or not. I don't think God cares if you say Goddammit. What kind of parent would expect that kind of total, irrational devotion? What kind of parent doesn't want their children to live their own lives?
Agnosticism. I feel like I've come to the conclusion that this is what I am through logic and soul searching. I believe in God, I just don't believe anything I'm told about him. And why should I? What makes one person supposedly more intimate with God? What makes one person holier than someone else, and able to teach about God? Certainly people are more qualified to teach the gospels, but God? And since I don't know anything about God, his relevence seems like something I wouldn't know why I would neccesarily go out of my way to bother with. He is what he is. I am what I am. We both exist.
Agnosticism. If I didn't feel the way I do about religion, God, and Jesus Christ, I would be annoyed by the kind of bullshit, non-comittal answer that is agnosticism. At least Atheism has the balls to believe in not believing, but agnosticism wants to have its cake and eat it too. "Well, I'm not crazy enough to be religious, and I'm not cynical and cold like an atheist," it seems to say. Agnostics are the obnoxious fence-sitting "undecided" voters that seem content to wait until the two that have actually made up their minds duke it out, and then choose whichever side that won. The one group that, if the rapture ever does come, even though never having actually believed it would come, could never have been proven wrong, because hey, when did I ever say God couldn't do it?
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