If you click my name in the top left corner of this page, it will link you to the post, About Your Host. Of the many things I share is this statement:
Where I have a problem is when you want to FORCE your personal myopic beliefs on others, particularly in the public sphere. I don't generally abide by THAT.
If you believe that homosexuality is a sinful abomination before your God...
Though I disagree, I have no problem with THIS. You are free to sit around your house praying for all those "sick gay bastards." You are free not to associate with anyone who even looks slightly "queer." You can get together with others who believe as you do and you all can engage in orgy of self-righteous disapproval.
But when you take it upon yourself to attack or demean others in public based solely on their sexual orientation, I've got a real problem with THAT. Even worse, when you decide to mandate your particular religious beliefs in the form of codified law in your local community or across the entire nation, I'm going to fight against those efforts tooth-and-nail.
If you believe that abortion is a form of premeditated murder against a living human being...
Though I disagree, I have no problem with THIS. If you are a male and you decide that you will have nothing to do with any woman or other person who has anything to do, directly or indirectly, with abortion, that's your call. If you are a female and your faith tells you that under no circumstances will you agree to abort a fetus in your body, do what you think you must do.
However, when you try to force your faith-based beliefs re abortion on others who don't share your beliefs, I've got a real problem with THAT. When you suggest that it would be okay for abortion providers to be put out of business by any means necessary and you legislatively try to remove a woman's right to make decisions concerning her own body, then you've gone several steps too far.
If you believe that the well-to-do are rich because of your God's blessings toward them...
Though I disagree, I have no problem with THIS. You can spend all your time in your ivory tower counting your money and denigrating all those poor saps who, obviously, aren't as devout and pious as you are. You can decide not to allow the poor to touch your person or step an inch upon your property. You can go to all the cotillions you want and sit around with all your fellow rich people congratulating yourselves for your Christian charity.
However, when you publicly attack the working poor by insisting that society owes YOU oodles of tax breaks, subsidies and exemptions, I've got a real problem with THAT. Why do you even need tax breaks in the first place? If your riches are gifts from your God, then won't he heap more riches on you to counteract any tax that is enacted? By demanding that you be provided with special dispensations, it almost sounds like you don't think your God can deliver.
I could list countless more items, but I would hope you get the picture by now. As long as individuals live THEIR lives by their religious or philosophic dictates, I generally have no problem with THIS. For me, the problem comes when such people try to force the ramifications of their personal beliefs onto others, particularly those who believe otherwise.
The worst of it all is that, while such people shove their beliefs down other people's throats, they often don't truly follow those beliefs in their own lives!
They speak out against the so-called evils of homosexuality, while trying to arrange clandestine homosexual encounters.
They rail against the so-called evils of abortion, while secretly trying to convince their mistress to...get an abortion.
And they act as if their wealth is their reward from God, while a good portion of their largess actually comes from stealing from society.
If you spend any amount of time on my blog, you will quickly come to realize that I absolutely DETEST the institution of religion. I personally believe that religion is responsible for much of the woes society and our planet are subject to. While I have no problems with other people's personal beliefs (this statement is only sort of true), the machine of institutional religion seems more concerned with earthly power, control and amassing egregious amounts of wealth than with any other topics.Embedded within that paragraph is a link which takes you to a page that includes:
One of these days I'm going to have to rewrite that portion of the [About Your Host] entry because, on further reflection, I realize that I actually do have problems with other people's personal beliefs, especially those that are religious, in nature.To rephrase this last notion, I believe that YOU can believe whatever you damn want to believe. If you want to live YOUR OWN LIFE by the dictates of your beliefs, THIS is fine with me. More power to ya!
Please don't misunderstand the thrust of what I'm writing. I'm not suggesting that everyone must believe as I do or that any person's perspective must be limited by an external source. What I am suggesting is that no ideation of belief is strictly personal. How each of us perceives the world permeates the way we relate to and with it.
Where I have a problem is when you want to FORCE your personal myopic beliefs on others, particularly in the public sphere. I don't generally abide by THAT.
If you believe that homosexuality is a sinful abomination before your God...
Though I disagree, I have no problem with THIS. You are free to sit around your house praying for all those "sick gay bastards." You are free not to associate with anyone who even looks slightly "queer." You can get together with others who believe as you do and you all can engage in orgy of self-righteous disapproval.
But when you take it upon yourself to attack or demean others in public based solely on their sexual orientation, I've got a real problem with THAT. Even worse, when you decide to mandate your particular religious beliefs in the form of codified law in your local community or across the entire nation, I'm going to fight against those efforts tooth-and-nail.
If you believe that abortion is a form of premeditated murder against a living human being...
Though I disagree, I have no problem with THIS. If you are a male and you decide that you will have nothing to do with any woman or other person who has anything to do, directly or indirectly, with abortion, that's your call. If you are a female and your faith tells you that under no circumstances will you agree to abort a fetus in your body, do what you think you must do.
However, when you try to force your faith-based beliefs re abortion on others who don't share your beliefs, I've got a real problem with THAT. When you suggest that it would be okay for abortion providers to be put out of business by any means necessary and you legislatively try to remove a woman's right to make decisions concerning her own body, then you've gone several steps too far.
If you believe that the well-to-do are rich because of your God's blessings toward them...
Though I disagree, I have no problem with THIS. You can spend all your time in your ivory tower counting your money and denigrating all those poor saps who, obviously, aren't as devout and pious as you are. You can decide not to allow the poor to touch your person or step an inch upon your property. You can go to all the cotillions you want and sit around with all your fellow rich people congratulating yourselves for your Christian charity.
However, when you publicly attack the working poor by insisting that society owes YOU oodles of tax breaks, subsidies and exemptions, I've got a real problem with THAT. Why do you even need tax breaks in the first place? If your riches are gifts from your God, then won't he heap more riches on you to counteract any tax that is enacted? By demanding that you be provided with special dispensations, it almost sounds like you don't think your God can deliver.
I could list countless more items, but I would hope you get the picture by now. As long as individuals live THEIR lives by their religious or philosophic dictates, I generally have no problem with THIS. For me, the problem comes when such people try to force the ramifications of their personal beliefs onto others, particularly those who believe otherwise.
The worst of it all is that, while such people shove their beliefs down other people's throats, they often don't truly follow those beliefs in their own lives!
They speak out against the so-called evils of homosexuality, while trying to arrange clandestine homosexual encounters.
They rail against the so-called evils of abortion, while secretly trying to convince their mistress to...get an abortion.
And they act as if their wealth is their reward from God, while a good portion of their largess actually comes from stealing from society.
Sounds to me that the problems you highlight here have less to do with religion, and more to do with the issues of hypocrisy and corruption, issues which plague the entire spectrum of ideological belief. In this case you just happen to be focusing on the religious hypocrites, people misusing their religions, using them as a justification for their own less than noble agendas. But there are plenty of religious people who do not do such things. And there are also plenty of corrupt hypocrites who are not religious.
ReplyDeleteCould just be a problem with human nature, religious or non-religious, hypocrisy and corruption are problems which have probably plagued human society for as long as humans have walked this earth. An atheistic society would probably be no different in that respect.
While I certainly agree that hypocrites and corrupt individuals do, in fact, come from all walks of life, my beef is with those who believe that an imaginary being has TOLD them it's (wink, wink) part of "his" plan for such people to subjugate others.
ReplyDeleteYou will not find this kind of attitude among atheists or agnostics!