Am I Religious?

In General | 7 comments | permalink

I had an email yesterday from a reader who asked if I was religious?

I don’t really like talking about religion, but this is not the first time I have been asked, so I will attempt to clear it up once and for all, and then hopefully I will never have to discuss this ever again.

Firstly, I am not religious, nor would I say I am an atheist… the truth is that I couldn’t care less!

Now that is not an attack on anyone who believes in god. I respect other people’s beliefs, and if it enriches their lives then I am genuinely happy for them.

However, since day one I have always challenged beliefs. Whether it was at school, college, on the net, religion, my parents… I always prefer to find out for myself instead of taking things at face value.

My issue is this: even if I am willing to believe in god, despite there being zero evidence that he/she/it actually exists, even if I am willing to put all that to one side and just go for it… WHAT IF???

What if it is all just a mis-interpretation?

What if it all really was designed to help control the masses?

I am sorry, but I just don’t have the time to be going to church, praying, going to mass etc… I have enough real issues in my life to keep me occupied, and I just don’t have the time or patience to dedicate my life to something which may well achieve absolutely nothing.

Don’t get me wrong, if going to church etc helps you get through bad times, helps make you feel stronger, more loved etc… then there is a payoff. But to do it just because other people do it, or just because your parents do it… that I cannot understand.

So in answering your question… no, I am not religious, nor am I against religion or religious people. (Some of my friends are religious, and my girlfriends family are heavily religious), I just prefer to figure things out for myself instead.

Also, I am yet to meet a heavily religious person who’s life is not controlled by guilt. Guilt is used to control people, to get them to do what you want etc… Life is stressful enough without having to feel guilty every 5 minutes. I really would prefer a hot poker up my arse in hell than 70+ years of guilt-filled life on earth.

So this will be the last time I mention religion on DeanHunt.com, I will leave you with this video that a reader sent me this morning, I took it as a little tongue-in-cheek, but he does raise some amusing and interesting points:

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7 COMMENTS

  • Chuck

    Dean the problem with being religious is religion. Religion and denominations have worked hard over the last 2000 years to turn what should be “too good to be true news”(that is the definition of the Gospel) into a controlling society with guilt as the main means of control.

    I agree with a lot of what the guy on the video said. Jesus said to pray for others and especially your enemies. He never condemned the “sinners” of the world—only the religious people using such terms as hypocrites and vipers to describe them. Despite what they say it was the religious folks that killed Jesus and they would do it again today.

    I disagree that there is no evidence of Jesus. One source says there is more evidence of Jesus living than Julius Ceasar. He is mentioned in almost every religion.

    Guilt ridden Christians cause more harm than good. Gandhi read the Bible and was convinced that it was the truth. He was turned away from a religious service due to the color of his skin.He said I would have become a Christian had I not met one.

    So please don’t judge Jesus by religious folks.Read the book and judge for yourself.

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  • http://deanhunt.com Dean Hunt

    Chuck,

    I said there is no evidence that god exists, not Jesus.

    Dean

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  • Joe

    May god have mercy on your soul.

    Only joking like. I’m kinda with ya.

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  • http://www.teresacaldwell.wordpress.com Teresa

    EXACTLY, I couldn’t have said it better.

    You are a very wise young man.

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  • Angus

    Hi Dean

    We have had this kind of conversation about a year ago and you know how I feel:

    Politics & Religion are the biggest causes of War, which obviously leads to hundreds of thousands of unnecessary deaths.

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  • http://www.solidfoundations.co.uk Dionne Jude

    Hi Dean

    Most people don’t know the difference between being religious and being spiriutal.

    Religion is a medium that attempts to explain our spirituality.

    Spirituality is our personal journey that helps us understand who we are and our connection to everything else

    Regards

    Dionne

    http://www.solidfoundations.co.uk

    Getting to the Heart of the Solution

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  • http://deanhunt.com Dean Hunt

    Dionne,

    I can’t argue with that.

    Thanks for your input.

    Dean

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