With Open Arms

I have contemplated creating a blog for a while now.  I guess what was holding me back was my belief that I would be judged harshly for what I write here.  But then in the same moment I thought, “well that doesn’t sound like me at all!”  I have a voice and I have an opinion.  In this country, at least for the time being, I have the right to voice my opinions.  And as this task gets harder and harder every day; I was left with the options of either becoming the next radical public speaker (which, by the way, does sound like fun) or writing a blog.  So I went with the option that allowed me to sit on my lazy butt and still anger my family and friends with my skewed opinions.

            As I said before, I am writing this as an outlet to voice my opinions and beliefs.  Whether others agree with me or not, I do not care.  Everyone is entitled to say what they please, and I shall not hinder my own rights.  What makes someone else’s opinion any more important than my own?  What entitles someone else to tell me that I am wrong?  So for my first entry, I thought I would come out, guns blazing and just make everyone mad.  Enjoy!

            A friend of mine introduced me to a website some time ago that really summed up my religious beliefs to the letter.  It showed pictures of what was to be God and a message above and below his (excuse me, “His”) picture.  Mainly, the messages were just spouting off ironic or inconsistent parts of the Bible.  And I immediately loved this site.

            For most of my life, I have not been able to decide whether or not I believe in God.  I have come to the realization that I was only holding on to the “yes, I do believe,” because I was scared of the repercussions I may see from family members who do believe.  But now, I am not going to hide behind my fear anymore.  I find that there are too many inconsistencies within religion to firmly believe that there is a god.  I see evidence for evolution, and I see evidence for many things religions discredit.  However, I have never been given evidence to the truths supposedly seen in the Bible.

            I may find it hard to believe in the greatness of Jesus (which, don’t worry, I will get to) or the presence of an almighty god, but I will not attack those who do believe.  And this is where I find a huge difference between believers and non-believers.  Those who do, they find it necessary to tell me, or perhaps warn me, that Hell is the only place a person who does not believe in His greatness will go.  However, I do not go door to door telling people that they are ignorant bigots who still hold fast to ideals kept by people over 2000 years ago.  I do not force my beliefs on anyone because it is their right to believe what they want.  Hell or no, it is every person’s right to believe as he or she so chooses.  With that being said, let me tell you what I think about Jesus Christ.

            I always hear that Jesus died for my sins and is a man I should devote my life to loving.  Well I like to look at the facts.  When we see on a news report of a cult being brainwashed by a crazed fanatic who desperately believes in what he is saying, we all think he is evil.  He told people to do as he said and do as he did.  And what we find most saddening about the whole report is that he actually convinced people to follow his command.  Now I ask you to think back to our friend Jesus.  He told people to do as he did and believe what he said.  In a way, he also brainwashed his early followers to believe his every word.  To me, he was just one of the first cult leaders.  Now I know that sounds harsh and evil, but if you do not even stop to think about it for a moment, you only further prove this to me.  For if you are so consumed by his story, perhaps you are no better off than the cult followers we just felt bad for on that news report.

            With that out of the way, I hope I haven’t lost too many readers after this first post.  I am a realist.  I believe what can be proven to me and what I can see in front of my own two eyes.  My opinions everywhere from political world to food and I also like to poke fun at a few up and coming pop stars, such as Justin Bieber (wow, do I hate her!).  Anyway, I would like to say I hope you enjoyed my first entry, but I feel that won’t be the case with many of you.  So if you take anything away from my first entry as a blogger, just learn to accept the beliefs of others.  I know it is not always an easy task and is often easier said than done (believe me, I know! I still can’t wrap my head around some of the ideas of the republicans!), but if we can do this, we can prevent a few conflicts, or possibly even another war based upon this same intolerance for beliefs.