I don’t have any facts to back that up, I just used it as a pretty graphic illustration of how much people can’t stand to openly talk about religion. Sorry for getting your hopes up if you were expecting facts about people pooping in public.

Something like 80% of people in this country consider themselves to be Christian, and yet by my own estimation, I’d say about 2% of this segment (yes, I’m saying only one out of 50 Christians) will actually openly discuss their religious beliefs.

I get the sense that most people don’t think that’s odd in the least.

I just think about what a country would be like if 80% of the country were football fans, or even sports fans in general, how easily people would talk about their favorite sports with anyone and everyone that shared an interest in it, even if it was to discuss how much your team stunk. In fact, that’s the beauty of sport: You can openly discuss how much each of you hate each others’ teams while you finish off pitcher after pitcher of beer, and at least most of the time, no one gets hurt.

Why is religion so guarded?

I recognize the difference between religion and sports, but religion is basically a set of beliefs that someone holds to be the truth. I would think religious people also believe that gravity is real and would have no problem discussing why they believe it to be truth. Many religious people also believe that it takes water to make a plant grow, and I couldn’t imagine anyone that wouldn’t jump at the opportunity to tell someone how nuts they are for even questioning it.

Why then, if their belief in god is so real and true, would there be such an aversion to discuss this very real truth? Why would you not entertain a discussion regarding someone’s objections to the veracity of god the same way you might entertain someone’s ridiculous objections to plants needing water to survive?

I look at it the way I do someone that doesn’t want to talk about their loved one’s shortcomings, since that’s exactly what Jesus is to a lot of people: a loved one. There are so many people that “love them some Jesus” that they wouldn’t stand for anyone to talk bad about him. I understand that. However, that doesn’t mean that Jesus and this entire belief system doesn’t need to be talked about. It only means your emotions won’t allow you to deal with this situation clearly.

Here’s the thing: I realize that my time on earth here is limited, and I have decided that while I’m here, I should use that time wisely and make it worth something. I could easily sit back and coast through life and simply ‘exist’ like most people do, or I could stand up and act when I see something about this world that isn’t right.

I’m not trying to place myself on the same level as the many people that came before me that fought for what they believed in, but I see certain things about the world I live in, and at the very least, I’d like to discuss these things with others in hopes of a change. If people stayed silent about genocide, slavery, and even their views on the shape of the earth, we would probably live on a Jewless, massa-havin’, flat earth right now.

How can we ever know what we’re doing is right if we never entertain the notion that we may be wrong? How are we allowing ourselves to be the best we can be if we are shutting the door to any other possibilities?

My way to finding out the truth of this matter is to engage as much of the opposition as possible. I welcome people to pick apart my beliefs and ideas because that’s the only way I’ll know if they’re bullshit. Only cowards claim to know the truth and turn anyone away that might disagree. If you hold the truth, what’s up with the automatic hostility toward anyone that claims you’re wrong? If your shit is in order, you shouldn’t have to worry about what someone else is going to bring to the table.

Not openly discussing religion stunts our growth as humans. Luckily there are some of us who weren’t satisfied with the answers given in the Bible about our universe, or we wouldn’t know any of the things we do about other stars and galaxies. It’s because someone decided to question the ‘truth’ of the Bible that we know these things. We know how to kill certain bacteria and cure certain diseases because someone was tired of trusting the Bible (Acts 28:8-9) when it says prayer can heal the sick.

Who knows, maybe if I had a ton of money and I could relax on an island for the rest of my life, I probably wouldn’t care about talking about these things…although I doubt it. I just see communication as the bridge to continue to move forward. When communication breaks down, we cease to move, and in most cases we actually move backward. Religion just happens to be a massive area that is nearly 100% cut off from any real discussion.

If religion is true and at all useful, then we would find that out through our discussion and we could lay it to rest for a while. It’s not as if people continue to debate plants needing water everyday since we’ve come to a consensus that that makes sense. If god is real, then it would follow the same route. How are we to know if we are never permitted and willing to talk about it?

If I had the truth, I would no doubt want to share it with the world, especially to those folks that I knew and cared for that needed ’saving’. Not trying your damndest to save someone else from eternal damnation is like watching someone get hit by a bus when you could have pushed them out of the way. It’s actually worse than that, since apparently hell is like getting hit by a bus over and over in one endless loop. To me, it says a lot about someone that believes in heaven and hell and does nothing to save other people from that hell. What kind of selfish person do you have to be to have the power lead someone to be ’saved’ but you choose to sit back and do nothing?

It just comes down to whether your only concern is your own comfort while you’re on this earth, or if you have any interest in the state of the world after you’re gone. It may be hard to convince me that Christians are more concerned about the latter when they believe that this life is merely a stepping stone to a more glorious one that actually has more significance. To them, this earth is like a holding cell where you wait and put on your best behavior while the people in charge decide to set you free or throw you in a real jail.

I wouldn’t care much about future generations either if I believed in god. I would just do what was asked of me so I made sure my ass was taken care of.

Instead, I have a little more respect for what goes on in the world around me and feel I need to take a more active role in it since I don’t believe in an invisible person that takes care of everything for everyone. Call me crazy. If I feel like gays are being treated unfairly, I think it’s best that as many of us as possible speak out against it to make sure we correct that avenue of our society ASAP. Same goes with non-believers. If I live in a country where nearly half of its citizens wouldn’t vote for a person just because he doesn’t believe in god, how do you think that makes me feel as a non-believer? Should I just use my time here on earth being a good ‘house nigger’ and play the game, or should I do something about it?

Wrong is wrong, and for someone to convince me that what I am doing is wrong by engaging people in discussion about a topic that has been 2,000 years overdue for one is lunacy. If you’re content with the world you live in, sit back and watch your American Idol and Soaps until it’s your time to go. If not, grow a pair and do something, anything about it. My mild attempt is this site. If anyone wants to join me, you’re more than welcome.

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