Religion - A Loaded Question - To believe or not to believe. That is the question.

I have decided I am a Unitarian Universalist Humanist. Why? Because I can't possibly believe in a God who treats its followers like shit. If all good comes from God then all evil must as well. I really don't have time for this wishy washy God who randomly dumps tragedy on its followers for no reason at all. The day I finally gave up trying to believe in the Christian God was a day of such profound relief, I can't even explain it. All the guilt, all the fear, all the manipulation, all the hypocrisy, all the shame, all the male-chauvinist pigism, the coercion, stealing my hard earned money I could have used to provide for my family, my ass feels better not having to sit in a church and listen to some holier than thou moron telling me what a sinner I am, it was all gone. What was left? Freedom, positivity, openness, happiness, are just the beginning of the list. So how did I come to this conclusion? I list my beliefs below:

NOTE: Some are blatently stolen from the Mountain Humanist and the Disiderata. Citations at the end.

1. I believe that something created everything. I don't know what it is but I believe it has nothing to do with us. I believe we are here and on our own. I know there is little compelling evidence that the Christian God exists.

2. I know that all that is, is impermanent. Change is constant.

3. I would like to believe in Reincarnation but I know that there is no empirical proof that it exists. I believe that all energy is never ending and hope that includes me living on and on, coming back to improve myself over and over. I believe that Reincarnation is real in the naturalistic sense that all matter reforms over a long period of time, thus molecules that once made former, discrete living beings now make up my body.

4. No one really knows what happens when we die. I do know that my body disintegrates if I am buried or turns to ashes when I am burned. There is no evidence to suggest we simply die or we go on. I simply know that I am right now.

5. I know there are things in life and on earth that I cannot explain. I don't know for sure what they are or where they came from. I know that one day we will discover ways to explain the unknown and when discovered — it will explain the many mysteries of our phenomenal world.

6. I know that laughter is the language of life, death and everything in between.

7. I know that everything is interconnected — that is a scientific statement rather than religious. All energy connects us.

8. My basic premises some lovingly stolen from the Desiderata are:

As far as possible, without surrender, be on good terms with all persons.
Speak your truth quietly and clearly; and listen to others, even to the dull and the ignorant; they too have their story.
Avoid loud and aggressive persons; they are vexatious to the spirit.
If you compare yourself with others, you may become vain or bitter, for always there will be greater and lesser persons than yourself.
Enjoy your achievements as well as your plans. Keep interested in your own career, however humble; it is a real possession in the changing fortunes of time.
Exercise caution in your business affairs, for the world is full of trickery. But let this not blind you to what virtue there is; many persons strive for high ideals, and everywhere life is full of heroism.
Be yourself.
Especially do not feign affection. Neither be cynical about love, for in the face of all aridity and disenchantment, it is as perennial as the grass.
Take kindly the counsel of the years, gracefully surrendering the things of youth.
Nurture strength of spirit to shield you in sudden misfortune. But do not distress yourself with dark imaginings. Many fears are born of fatigue and loneliness.
Beyond a wholesome discipline, be gentle with yourself. You are a child of the universe no less than the trees and the stars; you have a right to be here. And whether or not it is clear to you, no doubt the universe is unfolding as it should.
And whatever your labors and aspirations, in the noisy confusion of life, keep peace in your soul.
With all its sham, drudgery, and broken dreams, it is still a beautiful world. Be cheerful. Strive to be happy.
Live as harmlessly as possible. Be kind to all. See the many in the one. Love all, but love some toughly.
Remember we are only borrowing this home and must care for it diligently.

9. I know that ten people can't stand in a line and utter a sentence and have it come out right at the end of the line so, keep your beliefs in your heart and know what is right for you only.

10. I believe most all of the major religious figures had some basis in historical facts but their biographies as now presented are likely exaggerated.

11. I know that dogs know more than we think they know.

12. Meditation, divorced from most ritual and religion, can be a powerful method of personal growth and perception.

13. Evolution is the best current explanation for how life has developed over the past few billion years. Nobody knows how life arose at present.

14. Most of my beliefs about The Big Questions end with “I don’t know” and "are we supposed to know?"

15. The universe is very old and I don’t know how it began although the Big Bang model seems to be most consistent with current data.

16. Meaning can be found from the very nature of life itself. The meaning of life must be determined by the one living it.

17. Morality comes from “common sense,” not an outside force.

18. You don't need religion or God to be a good person.


The Mountain Humanist http://mtnhumanist.wordpress.com/
The Desiderata which may or may not be copywrited
http://www.fleurdelis.com/desidera.htm

Pat Robertson is the Devil

I've never liked Pat Robertson in the first place but I'm a live and let live type person so I just don't listen to him, however, after his comments about the Haitian people being punished for their "pact with the devil" I practically shouted out loud to whomever was listening, "This is beyond absurd."

Don't his followers see him for what he really is. This your wakeup call folks. WAKE UP! This man is the devil. Apparently I'm not alone in this belief since 81% of the persons polled in the New York Daily News agree with me.

Well all I have to say is I'm glad I'm not worshipping the same God Pat Robertson is.