He’s making a list…

I feel like I’m surrounded by religious idiots.

The Bible belt has gotten fatter and extended its grasp into Ohio. The number of bumper stickers, radio programs, television shows, legislative actions, crazy Alabama judges, books, and billboards has reached a level of saturation which I am beginning to find intolerable.

It wouldn’t be as bad if the people saturating the space were not hypocrites.

(Before I proceed any further a caveat. Terms such as “Christian.” “Christianity,” “religions believers,” etc. are inherently vague. Given my desire for clarity and brevity (not to mention the time of day I’m writing this) I will forego any semantical heavy lifting. I believe my meanings will become clear.)

Jesus stated “love your neighbor” All I see is a lot of self centered, borderline violent behavior. How can people professing to follow this ideal but who then are rude, engage in homophobia and bigotry, and other just plain inconsiderate acts?

Perhaps this is because of the sin concept. Which in my estimation works more along the lines that you screwed up then apologize for it. Doesn’t it make more sense to try not to sin in the first place?

Given that religion is faulty in this regard because it is reactive and not proactive. I’m really not surprised that we’ve had an ethical and moral dilemma building in this country.

But given the aforementioned flaws of religion should we solely push religion as the panacea?

I agree with The Dali Lama in this regard. He states in Ethics for the New Millennium that “…I have come to the conclusion that whether or not a person is a religious believer does not matter much. Far more important is that they be a good human being.” (p. 19)

Given all this people should ultimately focus on being a good human being, god (if he exists) will not care if you practice a religion and are not a good human being.

If we all make a point of being good humans and respect each other, we will be more likely to be able to live in harmony. And who doesn’t want that?