GT40FIED
06-14-2005, 05:43 AM
As per usual, this is not meant to be a debate. It is merely a thought I've been contemplating (especially whilst intoxicated) that I can't come to terms with. Insight is welcome, but if this turns into another debate you have my word I'll lock and/or delete this thread faster than a hooker leaves Salt Lake.
So after conversations with some extended family recently, I've come to a conclusion...mankind got it all wrong about "God". Said extended family is fairly religious, especially since my father was a priest before he left and got married. They can't come to terms with the fact that I don't believe in their version of "god". They offer arguments to this and that which ultimately solidify my disbelief. What's my beef? Read on.
I think my main problem is the ideology that worship automatically equals love. I mean...if you were in a relationship and your girlfriend/wife (or, for the ladies, your boyfriend/husband) decided that to be their significant other you would have to prove your love by worshipping them, you'd probably kick them to the curb like it was trash day. So why do people accept this kind of blind faith when it comes to god(s)? Such topics are the subject of countless guests on Maury Povich (sp?), Montell, and Ricki Lake shows (i.e. "My husband makes me worship him because I'm a dumb cunt who can't see that he's full of shit" or something to that effect). Questions of faith are not talk show fodder...but I contend that unquestioned worship can easily be viewed as such. When does it not become ok for me to say "hey...god...you're pretty cool...let's hang out" rather than say "oh my lord, I worship you and forsake all others"? Bullshit. I think that if your god is so accepting then he (or she) would accept your gratitude and leave it at that. Monotheistic worship is pretty universal amongst religions (with the exception of buddhism and hinduism)...but why? Why would worshipping one and only one god make you special in said god's eyes? If you could reach heaven, and the idea that heaven is a paradise is still intact, would you have to continue to worship a deity? Most people worship out of attrition, not pleasure. Kierkegaard used to find religion's main problem was that it too often proclaimed to know the mind of god. But if through worship you can't possibly know the mind of god (or if you think you do to fulfill your own self serving needs), what's the fucking point?
So after conversations with some extended family recently, I've come to a conclusion...mankind got it all wrong about "God". Said extended family is fairly religious, especially since my father was a priest before he left and got married. They can't come to terms with the fact that I don't believe in their version of "god". They offer arguments to this and that which ultimately solidify my disbelief. What's my beef? Read on.
I think my main problem is the ideology that worship automatically equals love. I mean...if you were in a relationship and your girlfriend/wife (or, for the ladies, your boyfriend/husband) decided that to be their significant other you would have to prove your love by worshipping them, you'd probably kick them to the curb like it was trash day. So why do people accept this kind of blind faith when it comes to god(s)? Such topics are the subject of countless guests on Maury Povich (sp?), Montell, and Ricki Lake shows (i.e. "My husband makes me worship him because I'm a dumb cunt who can't see that he's full of shit" or something to that effect). Questions of faith are not talk show fodder...but I contend that unquestioned worship can easily be viewed as such. When does it not become ok for me to say "hey...god...you're pretty cool...let's hang out" rather than say "oh my lord, I worship you and forsake all others"? Bullshit. I think that if your god is so accepting then he (or she) would accept your gratitude and leave it at that. Monotheistic worship is pretty universal amongst religions (with the exception of buddhism and hinduism)...but why? Why would worshipping one and only one god make you special in said god's eyes? If you could reach heaven, and the idea that heaven is a paradise is still intact, would you have to continue to worship a deity? Most people worship out of attrition, not pleasure. Kierkegaard used to find religion's main problem was that it too often proclaimed to know the mind of god. But if through worship you can't possibly know the mind of god (or if you think you do to fulfill your own self serving needs), what's the fucking point?