"Thank God, I'm an atheist" The title, perhaps not too original, is a quote from Luis Buñuel or Woody Allen, according to the source that you find around. Of course, I have said that Buñuel more precisely "I, thank God, I've always been an atheist" , whereas the best known would be attributable to Woody, which would have mentioned the concept in a more concise (and incisive, in my opinion), but be a little 'you. In any case, Hamlet doubt there will ruin the reading of the following.
Here and there I have often inserted references to my relationship with religion - or non-relationship, to be more correct - but do not think I've ever addressed the topic in a specific post. Well, since I'm trying to crawl out from a stage where I will not even write a grocery list, let's see if this issue can shake enough to finish at least one post.
I have never been Christian, although my family has tried, or at least acceded to social convention, and then: baptism, communion, confirmation ... all done, but without faith or desire. The catechism was torture, the only times that I was interested in the subject when it came to Genesis and Revelation. The Bible and the Gospel will also best sellers, but I tell you ... except the beginning and the end, these books have very few amenities. Or at least when you're a child, a boy and then forced to recite a creed without meaning or value, especially for you that you have to bear a part in the pantomime of a religious path that does not belong to you (but then, at that age, how could it?). It is just a big bore.
But yes, I said that Genesis and Revelation interested me, and this was due to the presence of the Devil (well, I can already hear a clamor to do so), even if on purpose, which is the most interesting and complex character of history. I mean, the Archangel brighter than the Paradise that rebels against God and plunges into the underworld with his fellow ... how do you not? Then, after a series of slides on the drop that made up the lesson concerned that other useless "progress" that could not be his.
dramaturgically speaking, of course.
"Teacher, can we still speak of the devil?"
"No, not in the program. Study the Commandments, "
And okay, cerchiamoci a new idol. Arriva
Cain kills his brother but that Mr. trade mark only God, saying that Hands Off Cain who are dicks. Interesting policy: Adam and Eve eat an apple and get the eviction, he works with great sweat and she gives birth with great pain, Cain kills his brother and invents the wandering backpacker, but no one can twist even a hair. God abuses of Prozac, is unclear. When he arrived in Canaan (or maybe it was somewhere else, sorry but I can not remember), Cain found his wife and marries.
"Master, who created the Cain's wife? It's your sister? Teacher, why is green? "
" Hush! "
Okay, even with Cain went wrong.
Then came the Gospels there is this, Judas, that looks interesting. I do not say nice, Why do not you tell him so, but still is the most intriguing, because instead of staying there to be a chorus line to Jesus, has a role. In fact, kisses him and has him arrested. Here, he is so nice to me. Because Jesus is a character too much for her going to be credible, or even just interesting how Judas or Thomas, who is to say, at least Jesus puts his finger on the problem to see if he jokes. And then, if there had been no Judas, no job and no cross, even Jesus did not have to queue and instead of Christianity we get no more than a reformed sect of Jews.
Now that I think, a little 'Judas is me on the ass. But
here, the economy of the matter seemed to me that Judas was the engine, more than a thorn in the side. The Christians were angry with Judah, but it is he who created them, maybe even more than Jesus would have wanted and more.
Yes okay, I thought this is not the child, then I'm stirring thoughts and considerations that have come after, because it is a bit 'hard to make the history of everything I thought or I thought as a child Up to today, and then I tend to change their minds and develop from time to time, so mind you.
to say, once I believed in God, and certainly not thanks to Christianity.
was
The Great Book of Prehistory (oh, there was a better picture of my edition) to enlighten me, love at first sight for evolution. I seemed to have much more sense, he answered my questions instead of asking me to believe in something that smelled too much of mythology. Here, and here is how this was possible ... anyway, because a kid who tell fantastic tales (females created by the ribs, men walking on water and raise the dead, fallen angels and monsters that rise from the sea and earth at the end of time) should not believe it? Well, because he read of the most beautiful and knew they were bales (which almost rhymes).
In principle, it was
The Great Book of Mythology (this however I have not just found, urca if I'm old), where I read about Zeus and his ingroppate nubile nymphs and queens married Herculean labors, Argonaut and Homeric cruises , monsters and gods, handsome princes and princesses of rats significantly dumplings. In short, when landing from classical mythology to Christianity is like leaving a party and end up in a rosary.
short, I was already jaded and faith (or rather, indoctrination) has done the miracle that was proposed . No Jesus for me. No saint or Madonna saving in vogue at the time. But God - somehow - was a cool (and indeed, found that the other figures were unnecessary and distracts from the one just worship God), and somehow made sense in the context that I was forming. He stood there, watching over his creation and playing a role of referee, but without violating free will, a pun on words which is also what then seemed the policy of God I am what I believe, at least. He / she / it was - for me - the Soul of the Universe, as mine was in my body. Yes, because in the end I got what I thought made sense, reorganizing my way. Like many others I had a cocktail
of god and science, I told myself that the poignant beauty Universe was the spark of the divine that no religious text could explain or show (bla bla bla), but only with dirty words pretentiously empty and out of time (re-bla bla bla). Okay, maybe start at the beginning I said I did not exactly in those terms, but that's where I went then to parry.
Over time, however, came more questions, and faith has not been adequate. Citing
Dogma (Kevin Smith, 1999), Liz said:
'[...] Faith is like a glass of water. When you're young, the glass is small, and it's easy to fill up. But the older you get, the bigger the glass gets, and the amount of liquid Same Does not fill it anymore. Periodically, the glass has to be Refill.
Here, my glass has become bigger when they come new questions.
because I feel that is so, or because I was taught to believe it? Is there really a god, or is an illusion which reassures us as Santa Claus? If we accept the free will, it still makes sense to believe in a god that does not have a say? If the only thing that certifies the existence and religion - that, well, coming from a suspect - while the rest did not show track is not that simply does not exist?
So I said that god or no god, it did not matter. I filled the glass with more doubts and arguments. For a while 'I was agnostic and let everyone believe as they like but I remain convinced that the existence of God was irrelevant to mine. Free will, self-determination, we are there, and God Almighty does not need any to tell you how to live your life.
Certain rules have evolved with us, not hurt your like, looking after your children, protect the land and helps the community. So do animals, not dogma, it is nature. And I do not think that God has written in our genes, as many advocates would like to believe in intelligent design and similar theories.
Today, God does not make sense.
I miss? No. There is even some relief in not having to depend on how deaf omnipotent entity that may or may not wake up there. Has anything changed in my way of being and behaving? Again, absolutely not. Right or wrong does not depend on God but from the cause-effect relationship (well behaved and the other will behave the same way with you - okay, there are assholes, but those replying in kind, other than turn the other cheek ), also did not become a degenerate deviated from morality because I stopped believing, and even more fun because I found the little devil of Jesus is normal - especially children - focus on the characters that have more "color", and Satan had a long (red, above), but in the end it was like all the other characters from classical mythology or fairy tales, but fun two-dimensional.
Today even God is in the back pages. His was a character who helped me to grow, pushing me to think about certain things from an angle which has since changed, causing you to see from multiple perspectives, and understand that the world, you have faith or not, is the same , and that if one plant obsessed only with a single point of view, life goes better.
Here, we say that one is wearing a bandage across his life and believes that that is the color of the world, then if one takes and sees that there are many more, until you note that many others wear bandages of different colors and all are convinced that that is the color of the world, that everyone should see it and whoever says otherwise is wrong. Well, better not wear it at all and see things as they are, good or bad.
Perhaps those who have to deal with these problems or has reached an impasse with their faith, should reflect on another quote: "Respect the delicate ecology of your delusions" (Mr. Lies, "Angels in America", 2003), so comes the day when you come to terms.