7 Mar 2012

Defender of faith

I am religious. I know I don't seem religious. If there is one thing I cannot abide, with my British stiff-upper lip, it is evangelical fervour. So you think God has saved you. Good, I'm glad, please stop trying to convert me to something I ALREADY BELIEVE IN.
I think faith is something so intensely personal, that no two people believe in exactly the same thing. Organised worship doesn't really appeal to me. I don't think I will only be allowed into heaven if I go to church every sunday. I think we will be judged on more than our actions for 52 hours a year.


I believe in the Holy Trinity. However, I swear, I blaspheme, technically I commit adultery, I have had sex before marriage, I use contraception, I support the legality and free availability of abortion. I don't believe anyone, least of all a celibate priest, has the right to tell people what they are allowed to do in bed. I believe in marriage for all, regardless of gender or sexuality. I don't believe God cares that much about people's sex lives. I don't take the Bible literally. I don't believe in original sin, I don't believe in hell, I believe science and religion aren't opposite. I don't believe in creationism. I believe schools should teach world religion, affording no significance to one religion over any other. I don't believe religion has any place in politics and this trend in the US for politicians to alienate women to win fundamentalist votes scares me.

All fundamentalism scares me, regardless of belief. Wars have been fought in the name of God that were actually fought over the greed of man. Any man or woman who does something abhorrent in the name of God revolts me. It is an abuse of belief, a dreadful blasphemy. It is to equate oneself with God, to assume that one is more than a mere animal.
It is not Christian to judge, to scorn, to hurt or to hold a grudge, and yet millions of allegedly good Christians do it every day just because someone believes something that they do not.

I will debate religion with anyone, on the understanding that I will never change their mind and they will never change mine, and it is not the purpose of the debate to do so. Respect is the key, and there is so little respect left in such emotive topics.

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