A Rant on Religion - A Response to Zealots

By: Gus Victoria

(Several weeks ago there was a debate involving homosexual marriage. I argued that it should not matter who you can marry so long as love is the determining factor. That debate then devolved into a digital shouting match where the so-called religious shouted loudest. One man in particular was so full of hate that the fact he was preaching from the words of a prophet of love and justice was irony in its purest sense. Of course I will write about that particular incident in detail soon, but first I thought it best to put forth my thoughts on those zealots. Anyone that would preach to me ANY message with hate in their heart gets the same response. Some of my friends have probably wondered  why I have ventured away from a religious life I was so close to in the past. This response I hope sets the foundation and sheds some light on my journey to answer that question)

I have read studies that have shown that invariably demons are responsible for all the evil in this world. I have read accounts that all point to the same conclusion; that we are living in the endtimes and that this world will soon descend into a fiery chaos before it slips into a final eternal night. I have seen men and women cry and shed tears as they shout and yell at me and others that we are sinful and will never enter the kingdom of heaven unless we repent. I have known many people that attest absolutely to the brokenness of man. I have seen such conviction move organizations, societies, and even nations. I am here to tell them all in a voice that wells deep within my being and that is anchored in a conviction no less real and no less unwavering than theirs to simply and utterly…fuck off!

This world I have to share with you. It is a reality I have to live with. You are not personally responsible for keeping me here on this planet when I could be exploring the red sand beaches of a terra-formed Mars. No more than I can be blamed for not inventing that technology. However the regressive state that arises from the dogmatic proclamations of the religious is the momentum that makes a sprint to the future a crawl through the molasses of superstition and fear. For every step we take forward in our evolution as a species and a culture we have to take two back to consult with the ghosts of our past instead of fulfilling the promise of the future.

You argue and bicker with each other as well as with me. You hate as you extend the hand of friendship. You embrace me as a brother, but exclude me from your family. I am a statistic. I am but one more soul, one more mind, one more voice to add to your song of conquest. 

It ends tonight. I will never sing for you. I won’t ever be deceived by your friendship for to you even the best friend is worthy of the fires of your hell. Nor do I embrace your God. I hope for the sake of this world and the universe that He is but a figment of your imagination. If He is as you portray him, then the Devil might know more of Justice than that God. I disagree and you may be surprised to know I believe in a deity and pray daily. I love the traditions and the legacies all faiths have left in this world. Every faith that is adhered to by any man or woman is capable of the same good or evil that person is capable of. No demon ever forced a person’s hand, only ever another person. We have freedom to choose and a duty to choose right as reason, good-will, and justice impel us to; three things that all faiths teach and that no faith owns exclusive patents to.

Love is the force that bind us all. To me that is God. Justice is what we know must be done to restore that love. Injustice is a lack of love. All faiths teach this. Tell me then, why is yours right? Why is mine wrong? Put them aside and take my hand and together we will take possession of our future. We can begin to heal this world the moment we learn how to stop hating.