Let Me Get This Straight.....If I'm Religious or Believe in God, I'm Ignorant?

Originally this morning, I was going to take advantage of my mood and rant about 3 or 4 things, but I wanted to take some time to let all these topics rattle around in my head for a bit and sort of masticate and then digest my thoughts before spewing them back up out here, for all the world to see.

But then I went out and read something, just a small sentence, that when taken into context, pissed me off to no end. So, me being me, well I had to vomit it all back up and get it out before it festered into something really bad. And sometimes folks, I just don't have time to chew my food thoroughly before swallowing.

Yes my dears, if you are sensing a theme here, you would be correct. I’ll just mention briefly (before going headfirst into my rant) that my 3 Hour GTT has been scheduled for Monday. How apropos is that? I won’t have to dress up for Halloween, that’s for certain….not when [after the test] I’m going to look and feel like death itself!

Ok so, where was I? Oh yeah, my rant.

Being that this has to do with religion, let me just start by stating that I respect those of all religions, regardless. And my respect extends to those who hold no particular faith, as well as those who don’t believe either way, whether they are agnostic or atheist. Period.

I do however expect that same respect that I extend towards others, to be extended back to me. Meaning that, if I choose to hold certain spiritual beliefs and have faith, I expect you to leave it at that and not label me ignorant, deceived, blind, a sheep, or anything else clever you can think to call those who choose to exercise their freedom of religion. I don’t shove what I believe and hold precious down your throat and don’t call you backwards or blind, nor do I choose to tell you that you’re going to go to hell because you don’t believe the way I do. That’s not up to me anyhow. Good thing too, because the way I’m feeling right now, I’d probably not extend too much good will towards you if it were the end of your life and the decision were left to me as to where you’d end up.

This whole rant got started out of something I read on a message board. The thread that started it was little more than to say, "this is what I believe and why". Those who participated, up until a certain point, kept things pretty civil and levelheaded and were able to express their opinions and feelings in a (for the most part) mature manner….up until when someone mentioned that they don’t believe. Now that would have been ok. Just leave it at that and everyone is fine. But no, she didn’t leave it at that. She decided to add onto her feelings that she chooses not to live in ignorance, meaning that those of us who do hold certain beliefs and faiths, live in ignorance.

That’s what made me so angry.

Her statements somehow infer that those of us who believe in God are not only ignorant but that we use religion as a crutch to get by, that we seemingly can't cope on a day-to-day basis without religion, or God, that this "crutch" negates any faith that we might have because in the end, it's a crutch, it's not actual faith. In this person's eyes, we seem to be unable to deal with real life without the blinders that believing in God, or religion provides us.

This isn’t the first time she’s made really blatantly stupid comments. She’s one of these people that believes you can’t possibly live a normal life if you are spiritual – but she really aims it towards Christians, and she’s also one of these people who loves to villanize those on the right, regardless as to whether they support the President or not. If you lean to the right, are conservative, or one of these so-called neo-cons, she believes you’re evil, deceived, willing to deceive others in order to meet your own needs, etc. Add to this she believes that the President and his cronies underhandedly masterminded and orchestrated 9/11 and brought down the two towers intentionally. According to her, it was all one huge conspiracy. Of course her “evidence” that she brings forth to support her position on this matter holds no weight.

Anyhow, her conspiracy theories are neither here nor there.

What bothers me is that she had to go so far as to call those with faith, ignorant. It’s ok to not believe. I’m not saying you must have one faith or another. What is not ok is to label someone ignorant if they choose to believe. While you’re sitting there trying to look superior and intelligent, you do yourself a huge disservice by attempting to make those who disagree with you look like they are lesser beings.

In the end, it’s you who appears ignorant.

I’d have had much more respect for her had she just left her ramblings at how she began, with a quote from Carl Sagan; “I don’t want to believe, I want to know.” But then again, what’s even more intriguing about this, is her misuse of this quote…for Carl Sagan wasn’t talking about religion, he was talking about the universe.