And this is why blindly being religious is for the impressively stupid....

Perfectly valid on all counts. But if a tenant of someone's beliefs are illegal, then they either have to adhere to the law or run the risk of breaking it for their faith. Render unto Caesar, y'know? (this also bothers me about my professing Christian brothers and sisters who act as though they're the unique victims of unprecedented persecution when in fact they're having a case of acute butthurt because they aren't getting their way over something fairly small in the big picture, and nowhere near the shit that the Apostles dealt with then or modern-day churches in state athiest countries deal with now, but that's another rant for another day)

 

I've always wondered about nutjobs like this. After so many days, don't they start getting pissed?

On say, day 56, did they go in the bathroom and say, "Son of a bitch! God still hasn't shown up yet. I mean, I've got the faith and all, but this shit is getting out of hand. I'm tired of trying to piss around the rigor mortis."

 

People this crazy, if it hadn't been religion, it would have been something else. Religion does provide a convenient framework and excuse for the crazy, but people who do shit like this would have found another reason.

 

See, this is why I like to clarify. I think organized religion is stupid. I believe that having faith and beliefs, however, is a perfectly natural and valid part of life.

What I don't like is the way organizations ruin the fundamental concepts of a person's belief structure. For example, wars fought over religion and suicide bombers are extremists, but at one point or another, they were just like you and me.

I believe in a higher power. Heck, to me, if there isn't a higher power, then it's actually a little dissappointed.

I also believe in the right of anyone to believe whatever the hell they want. I just despise when one group or one person thinks their beliefs are more important than someone else's and/or attempts to forcibly change people that aren't like them.

I'm not trying to come across as an atheist or an anarchist. For 97.6 percent of people, religious beliefs are terrific. I'm just saying that the bigger organizations that turn everything into an "Us vs. them" way of viewing the world can go fuck themselves.

 

I agree. I take offense when modern Christians (outside of certain areas of the world where they actually do kill people for their beliefs) use the term "persecution."
The apostles and the early church were persecuted. Since then, it's been us Christians doing the vast majority of it.
And for the record, I'd gladly face the legal consequences if I had to choose between my faith and the local law. It hasn't happened yet and I doubt it will in this country in my lifetime, but for me, that's a no-brainer.

 

So Granny died like Elvis? Dayum.

And I had such a differing concept of worshipping the porcelain god in college.