Mostly because it's what my mind is doing right now, I decided to make a clear cut summation of my position on religious beliefs, or what could be known as my religious beliefs; It's nice to have a concrete example to explain my position on religion, also, I'm not sure entirely what my position is. You see, it's like this:
At the time of writing this, there was much in the news (the reported media) about islam being a bad religion, a lot of terrorism was caused, supposedly, by islamic fundamentalists. For those disagreed with islam, or just foreigners, it gave them a ticket to be generally hateful. But this is unjust. And I wish to explain why, because I also don't support religion.
Firstly, we are shown that in the recent years, Islam is being blamed for much terrorism. Yet there are members of the upstanding society who are Muslim, just as there are extremists who are Christian and even Non-Religious ( not that many buddhist extremists... yet.) We just don't see them blowing things up very often. So we can't state that Islam is the only evil religious affiliation; That would be improper. What we can state, is that there is a correlation between Islam and terrorism.
It could also be said though, that there is a correlation between people who object to the western world and terrorism, and that Islam is a contributing factor. Or even, we could go as far to state that there is a correlation between targeted calamity and places of large population, with western society being a contributing factor, Islam being a variable, and the media being the means by which this information is collected and recorded (as in, we don't see the rest of the world, only that which the media deems as important to us/ what will sell the most papers or get the most viewers) So with that in mind, for this instance, I will use the form which most correlates with religious affiliation and connection to the tragedies.
If Islam is the causality, with terrorism being the effect, why is it just a minority that are involved? Why is exploding Muslim not a pandemic being treated in hospitals? The problem we are facing with these cases, is that once they've done it, we can't interrogate them. So we can't work out their mindset, which means the actions are, for the most part, cloaked in only what they leave behind. So I can't state that Islam is a violent and dangerous religion, because it's a minority who cause these problems. It could well be that psychotic and dangerous people are attracted to Islam, which poses a problem: How do we stop those people from being attracted to it? It's gaining media coverage, so the dangerous people are being exposed to it. In my opinion (I'm getting back to the topic at hand) we need better focus on psychiatry in the world, so that we can address the problems quicker, and treat them and care for the people who cause them, instead of the selfish attitude we have towards 'problem people' currently. That's not to say that only psychopathic people are the cause; psychopathy is but one of the many ingredients that could be in this big bowl for the actually-this-isn't-the-time-for-a-funny-metaphor-people-die pie. When you look at a lot of the cases, there's a real sense of injustice behind their motives: "I did this because you're corrupt, and/or I disagree with your motives." So what of those? That's more difficult. But this is neither the time, nor the place (and I have no answer right) so I shall save that question for another blog*
If it is a minority, does that mean that the majority are absolved? Is Islam then just a misinterpreted religion? This is precisely the problem. Yes, it is misinterpreted: It's perceived as fact. We have already established the high possibility of the culprits being mentally unstable, which would add to their interpretations of the Qur'an to lead them to unrighteous action, but if it were so that their interpretations were correct, then that would leave all the others as 'insufficient devotees', as I do not doubt would be the terrorist mindset; which would likely stoke the fires for their actions. Interpretation is dangerous and considering the belief of the Qur'an is based solely upon the argument that it is the perfect book, written through divine inspiration containing not a single error, interpretation is folly. I have made this argument about the bible also, and it fits better still into the Qur'an: If it is the word of God, it must be taken literally; There can be no space for interpretation, scholarly study or any such reading into of it's content. The moment we begin to interpret, we have crossed the book from God's word, to our word. And if it is our word, it comes from our individual mind; we all know that the mind is personal, as shown in the case for why Islam is not a violent terrorist religion, and so interpreting through a personal mind makes the religion a religion of oneself.
So what does this mean? In short, Islam is just another religion, the same as Christianity, and all it's hundreds of denominations (I'm aware the number could be in the thousands, but such a vast number terrifies me beyond consolement: that such flagrant stupidity can amount to so much is possible, I chose to ignore it), The same as Judaism, and I'm sure if I were to put more study into it, the same as Hinduism. It is a mechanism designed by the mind frightened by all that it does not know, and all that it wishes to control. As we've 'matured', we've come to terms with most of the world, and become more content with our surroundings. We can now start to look at Holy Scriptures with a lighter mind - no more is the dark trying to kill us; we barely see the stars for light pollution! - and our interpretations (as seen in the distinction between Old Testament and New Testament) have become more about togetherness and caring, and less about 'God wants to kill us for breathing in the non-prescribed manner.
But if we are to allow for a moment the argument that "We are not all violent, some of us preach peace and love" and excusing for the time being this argument means they as individuals are peaceful people, we are faced still with the premise that others of their religion are not. We must ask the question: What are you doing about it? You preach peace to the non-believers, but you don't do the same to your brethren. Instead, you allow them to run amok and kill innocent people, turning a blind eye, and complaining that everyone looks at you as bad people. If you ignore the problem, you are bad people. The same I say for Christians who preach peace, while the Westboro Baptist Church preach hatred, and picket funerals. If you do nothing about it, you are part of the problem. Of course, I'm faced with the fact that all I do is type these blogs sporadically at best, and every now and again I share a funny picture on facebook that has a point, but for the most part, I'm in the business of sharing information, and raising awareness. It's my job to show you where to look. It's your job to do the stuff. Unless you fancy joining me, in which case, you need to comment more often. (Mhmm? *finger snap*)
With all this having been stated, I can clear it up and make a more concise and succinct position for where I stand in regards to religion: I do not agree with it. And not only do I not agree with it, I think it should be stopped entirely. We are beyond the point of needing religion. Religion should be stripped entirely of it's protective status. So long as there are people with minds to make religion what they wish, we are in trouble. No more should there be an article in the Universal Declaration of Human Rights that states:
Everyone has the right to freedom of thought, conscience and religion; this right includes freedom to change his religion or belief, and freedom, either alone or in community with others and in public or private, to manifest his religion or belief in teaching, practice, worship and observance.
And have this position twisted so that one may think we cannot question and disrupt this, should our thought, conscience and religion decree so. We do not need to change the rules. We need to understand them better. Complete separation of Church and State (or Synagogue, or Mosque) is required, and fast. We are in too dangerous a position to be toying with things we don't need, when we have weapons that can destroy us all. And further more, if you do chose to be religious, you are religious with the entire planet. It is not a selfish act, you do it not for your salvation, but for the entire planet's salvation. If your religion is of peace, you preach peace to all persons of all denominations, including your own.
If you are a religious person, and this in any way offends you, I extend to you my most humblest welcome, as it is your right to be offended. None of what I have said is unjust, I have shown all my 'working' as it were. As always, I encourage debate and discussion, so make your thoughts known. But I don't see how there can be any place for discussion, as what I've said is right and true.
And finally, as always, share and share alike! I want as many people to see these as possible, and if you enjoy it, I want you to have as many people see it as possible also.
