Would Jesus Really Do That?

My husband and I are both agnostic.  My husband was raised Catholic and never recalls a time when he actually believed in God, and is pretty militant about being agnostic - he doesn’t know and neither do you- as he likes to say.

I was raised as a Christian, a Baptist to be precise, and do remember a time when I believed in a God up in the clouds.  And it was a hell of a lot more comforting and easy that my current state of not knowing.  It was a lot easier when I could just say God is responsible for this or that, and it was quite pleasant to ‘know’ that I would see all my old pets and my dead family members up in heaven when I died.  I think the ‘unknown’ is easier for my husband to deal with because he’s always felt that way, but with me it’s a little scarier because there was a time when I did believe in a Christian God.. and now that I’m not so sure I feel a little nervous.  I liked it better when God was around.

As I got older though, and learned a thing or two, I began to question my religion, and after much thought and searching, I decided I really didn’t know what existed beyond what I experience on this planet.  I really hope there is some kind of higher power, but am human enough to admit that I don’t know for sure.  The Bible isn’t the same text it was 2000 years ago, and if there is an all powerful God he sure does sleep on the job a lot, and while I often feel an inner voice guiding me throughout my days- I don’t think it’s God anymore, I now think it’s the onset of my inevitable nervous breakdown- which seems much more logical.

But while I don’t go to church, read the Bible, believe fully in the Christian god- or any god for that matter, I still TRY and live by the Golden Rule, which I always thought pretty much covered everything anyway.  Why bother with thousands of pages of boring stories about old farts burning down cities and visions of flying hands writing on walls when you could just have that one rule nicely printed on a decorative plaque?

 We always forget the simple task of treating people how we want to be treated… myself included, of course, as you can see in many of my hateful rants previously posted.  Instead we often focus on who is wrong and who is right, my god is better than your god, and other lovely dismissive behaviors of our most religious members of society.  It’s one thing to judge someone on your own, but when it’s backed by religion it’s an even more dangerous behavior- because you can’t reason with religion.

I often get frustrated with the massive Christian movement occurring in the United States.  I feel sickened when I see anti-gay signs, mega-churches, televangelists, Christian Rock (the most sickening of all), hatred towards Muslims, creationism in schools, and the Ten Commandments posted in government institutions.

Whenever my husband makes mean remarks about Christians I defend them, saying it’s their right if they want to believe in God and Heaven and angels playing trumpets.  But then when I’m alone, reading blogs about praying and articles about churches raking in $69 million dollars in one year and having purity balls for virginal daughters and I feel angry too- it’s just my nature to disagree with everything my husband says.  But seriously, I think there is way too much power within these churches, and I see it flooding into our secular laws and institutions- and that’s what bothers me.  It bothers me because I see the masses of Christians who are completely forgetting Jesus’ message.  Jesus didn’t live an extravagent life, didn’t preach in a stadium, didn’t hate or judge, and embraced all people- not just the ones who agreed with him.  He was humble, non-judgmental, and non-violent; he didn’t hold signs saying gays are going to hell, didn’t consider himself a ‘warrior’, and didn’t support religious war- and I don’t see those values being practiced by the majority of Christians today.

Treating others how you want to be treated does not mean forcing your religion on others, condemning a lifestyle different from your own, and forcing a story of bright lights and Sunday resting into a school science class, and assuming that God punishes people and rewards others.  Let’s stop focusing on what flavor of religion you choose at the spiritual ice cream parlor and just enjoy our time on earth together as people.  Let people do what they want and believe what they want, but let’s tone it down a bit and use religion as something to aspire to- not as some kind of weapon.

And please, if there is a God, please end Christian Rock music.

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