Ultimate_Symphony said:
Of course, i'm not leaving out the fact that a lot of people beleive in religion blindingly, but that doesn't mean that each christian is brainwashed.
Thanks for agreeing with me there mate - glad to see I'm not the only one who thinks religion gets an unfair amount of blame for the sins of man, so to speak.
Although I would say one thing about your post - surely everyone believes in religion blindly? To the best of my knowledge, there is still no evidence that a deity exists, nor has there been any confirmed sighting or solid evidence of a divine presence either on Earth or outside of it - which would suggest to me that all religion, no matter what the denomination, is based entirely on blind faith - or, perhaps more accurately, hope. The
hope that something or someone is out there, looking after us - or maybe that even if they're not looking after us, that there is some reason for our suffering - and the
hope that if we live a good life, when we die, we go to somewhere better.
Therein lies my personal problem with religion. The belief that if we live a pure, sinless life, we
may go somewhere better when life is over. To that, I say - what if we're wrong? What if all that comes after death is a long period where our lifeless corpses are given over to the worms, and all our self-restraint and abstinence and 'purity' results in naught but a lifetime wasted?
If people need religion to help them find a purpose or a meaning in life, then that's fine by me. I respect that and, in fact, encourage it, because lifestyles that encourage peace and goodwill to our fellow people are few and far between in these selfish times. However, I prefer to live by my own commandments. I live my life the best way I can, treasuring every moment, never forgetting that my very existence is the result of a happy chance. I experience life to the fullest of my ability, but always within boundaries I have set for myself (I smoke cigarettes and weed and drink but will never, ever do coke, heroin or anything like that, for instance). I try as best as I can to enrich the lives of my friends and acquaintances, an do my best not to harm others. Obviously, being human, sometimes I fail in those pursuits, but I accept failure, take it as experience, and carry on wiser than before.
I expect nothing more at the end of my days than to become food for the worms, but I hope that when that day comes, as my last breath passes my lips, I will be able to retreat into the darkness from whence I came reflecting upon a life enjoyed to its fullest while its time lasted.
However, I could be talking utter bollocks, as I am now posting under the influence of four pints of Scrumpy Jack cider.... but that's my whole, unadulterated take on the religion debate.
