See October 28 and October 29

From time to time people try to drag me into religious discussions, and they aren’t satisfied with my standard “I choose not to discuss my religious beliefs” comment.  They’re left unsatisfied, because in my experience those types of people aren’t interested in my beliefs except as a way to either bolster their own, or to make me look stupid by ridiculing what I believe in.  How do I know this?  Because they use the same arguments I used when I was trying to do that.  But since I’ve gone this far here, I guess I might as well go all the way with it.

The Old Testament describes a jealous and vengeful God.  I want nothing to do with such a being.  The New Testament describes a more reasonable being, but there’s still that threat of eternal damnation hanging over my head.  To compound the problem there’s no real proof that either Testament (or any other “sacred” text for that matter) is the actual “Word of God.”  A God who would set me on this Earth without an instruction book and expect me to follow rules that I have no way of determining is a cruel jokester who doesn’t deserve my respect, much less my devotion.  If the only feedback I get is my final score, then I choose not to play the game.  If I had some way to determine the rules, things would be much different.  But until somebody can show me objective proof that God exists and evidence of the rules I’m supposed to follow, I’m quite happy to continue with the kind of life I’ve lead for the last 20 years, hoping to surround myself with others of similar disposition.

I have more to say on the subject, but it’ll have to wait until I sort out my thoughts a little better.