Am I better than you?

The question is rhetorical. I honestly do not believe I am better than anyone.

I may be better at some things than someone else, does that make me better overall? No, different, not better.

My train of thought goes to this due to some of the comments I have received here; am I upset or irritated by them? No.

Do they warrant a response? Yes, I think they do.

1. - Do I think Atheists are better than Theists? No, I don't. Do I think that they are different and that there are differences? Yes I do.

2. - Do I think that religious folks are a bit sensitive when I point out obvious flaws in their logic? YES I do! It's funny how when I point out something simple and they fly off the handle accusing me of attacking them when all I did was point out something obvious to everyone BUT them.

3. - Do I find the contradiction in a 'christians' behavior entertaining and hypocritical? Yes, I do. A prime example is some of the comments I have received where someone who purports to be "christian" attacks with curse words and insults rather than simply defending their position. Everyone is welcome to defend their position of course I have only run into a couple people that are actually literate and intelligent enough to attempt a debate. Most of the "defenders of Christianity" or religion that have commented here are of the illiterate variety and resort to throwing insults rather than arguing their point. That probably has more to do with the FACT that their position is untenable and cannot be defended so they resort to playground tactics.

4. - Will I stop voicing my opinion? Nope, sorry all you illiterate morons that throw insults. I won't. I do welcome intelligent debate, sadly you are few and far between.

5. - Do I see anonymous posters as weak? Not necessarily, the only weaklings I see are the anonymous posters that attack and throw insults. Very weak in my book.

6. - Is religion a scam and cult like? Yes, I think it is. Correct me if I'm wrong, and I don't think I am; Religion has done nothing to promote the well being of the human mind. Only efforts to retard our growth and intellect.

7. - Does religion have some validity? From the standpoint of teaching good values like being kind to each other, yes it does. Does that mean that I think religion is good? No, I don't think it's good. Religion closes minds to exploration and thought. That is NEVER a good thing.

All in all, I am all about INTELLIGENT discussion and debate. Insults and whining while entertaining don't endear you to me in any way. It only VALIDATES my point that religion breeds hate, closed-mindedness, bigotry and intolerance. Not the qualities I want my child to learn.

Until religion and religious folks in general can see it and themselves for what they are, my opinion won't change.

There is nothing, I repeat, nothing redeeming about a group of people that hate and teach their children to be intolerant of others. Nothing at all.

Should you leave your church?

A recent comment got me thinking about this;

Should you leave your religion?

Honestly, I don't know if you should or shouldn't. It's not really my call to tell you to leave, it would be extremely arrogant of me to presume that I can tell you what you should or shouldn't do.

Did I leave the LDS faith? Yes I did. Why did I leave? I left simply due to the fact that I could no longer reconcile the contradictions and falsehoods perpetuated by the faith. These falsehoods and the corresponding hypocrisy was more than I could take. I couldn't see how I can call myself a believer in something that I found patently fraudulent.

Am I saying that religion doesn't have it's place? Yes, I am. It is an outdated, set of beliefs founded on the premise that there is a magical being in the sky that created the universe yet refuses to leave any PROOF whatsoever of said beings existence. The only 'proof' that anyone can offer is the ramblings of cave dwelling folks that we would have called lunatics writing in a mystical fashion about current events of their time.

Is that a valid reason to follow the words of the worlds first broadly circulated work of fiction? I didn't think so, so I walked away from religion. I didn't just stop believing in the Mormon way of looking at things, I investigated and researched every religion that I could, Hinduism, Islam, Satanism, Paganism, Mormonism, Christianity, Judaism every 'ism I could find. What did I learn? I learned that they were ALL THE SAME. Same stories, same philosophies, same everything! The only differences? The names and dates and sometimes the locations changed, the stories? They essentially for all intents and purposes were the same, leading me to the logical conclusion that they all come from the same place. That place is IMAGINATION.

Since I don't follow the Gingerbread man, I can't in all logical justification follow another fantastic individual like Jesus, Mohamed or Krishna. I just can't do it. I like fantasy stories as much as the next person. I read fiction all the time, I don't follow the philosophies of a fictional character. I don't belong to the First Church of Harry Potter or any other such drivel.

I work from fact, science and logic. Those three things have no place in religion since religion discounts them all as non-essential. Therefore; religion has no place in my life.

If you want to belong to a religion, if it fulfills you. If it gives you purpose, feel free and justified in believing it. All I ask is this; let me and others like me be who we are in peace. I propose the following, don't push your faith on me in public places, government offices or public schools and I won't come into your Churches, synagogues or ward houses and push my logic and science on you.

Fair enough? I think so.

I have given my sould to Jesus!

You didn't read the title of this post wrong. No, don't dispair, you too can be saved. After years of fighting against the tide and the sheer overwhelming evidence that God is REAL and Jesus came to earth to save us all, I have come to the conclusion that I was WRONG. There is scientific, empirical evidence that God exists and he is a kind, caring and loving God. Everything happens so that we can learn and grow and become better people for it. It's all about God's great plan for us to one day return to live with him in heaven.

Yes, brothers and sisters I am pontificating. I am witnessing. I have changed my ways. I will no longer find religion a backward, silly and generally comical belief structure where adults talk to imaginary friends and pretend to have magic powers to heal people etc. Moving forward, I no longer believe that it's a fantasy. It's reality! I want you all to know that you too can turn away from the devil spawn taking over this country called Atheism. You too can return to good standing with our Lord Jesus Christ! All you need to do is just throw out the proof, the evidence (lack of evidence) the contradictory nature of the Bible, the council of nicea and let's not forget the fact that all images you see of Christ in modern art etc. are ALL images of Constantine! Throw all that away, just believe and you too can be SAVED!!!

You just need to believe! That's it. Throw logic, common sense, science and intelligent thorough thought OUT THE WINDOW and just believe!

Makes good sense right?

The earth is flat!

Gravity is a myth!

So what if there is NO acheological proof of the Book of Mormon, it's REAL!

Leprechauns are REAL!

Santa Claus really comes down your chimney every Christmas!

The Easter Bunny delivers all the candy and eggs!

The tooth fairy delivers rebates now!

We are the ONLY intelligent life in an infinite universe!

The earth is ONLY 6,000 years old.

Fossils are of the DEVIL!

Believe all this and you too can be SAVED!! Just believe, throw out your IQ and just BELIEVE!!

It's all religion asks of you. That's it. Put your blinders on and you too can be SAVED!

Wait, who am I fooling? I can't do this. I'm sorry Christians, Muslims and every other religion on the planet. I can't do it. You can continue to believe in your fairy tales and fantasy friends.

I will stick to logic and reason.

I will stay an Atheist thanks. My world makes sense and I don't have to talk to invisible people to make my life better. I don't have to live in fear of HELL. I just do good for the sake of being a good person (that and it feels good to be a good person).

You enjoy your fantasies and I will enjoy my reason and logic.

How am I supposed to be 'tolerant' of Islam or any religion?

Christian fundamentalists teach children to kill Atheists and Muslims in "bible camps". No, I'm not making it up, play the video above and you will see what I mean. It's sad and ridiculous at the same time. Not only are they teaching children decidedly un-christian behavior but they are PROUD of it!

The we have Mormon missionaries pushing baptism etc. on little kids and pushing wives to go against their husbands wishes. I have been through it (I won out) and my brother in law (Mormon411) has had the same issues.

The Islamic extremists fly planes into buildings, kidnap and torture then kill film makers for making documentaries they don't like. They declare fatwas on Matt Stone and Trey Parker due to being disrespectful of Mohammad on South Park. Really, South Park deserves a fatwa? The disrespect stems from them depicting Mohammad in a bear suit, Santa suit etc.

I am at a loss here. I am supposed to be tolerant of all this, turn a blind eye to this and just accept everyone's religious views as 'harmless' right? Don't get me wrong, I am a firm 'live and let live' guy. I just refuse to 'tolerate' bad behavior even if it is bad religious behavior.

Hey Christians, Mormons, Muslims. You don't like what I have to say, Say something about it. Tell me what you think. Stop being PUSSIES and say something. I know you read my blog, I see the traffic, It's funny you chickenshits will post all kinds of stuff on YOUR sites but hide from someone that is willing to debate with you.

Prove me wrong!