Here's The Problem with YOUR Beliefs.

D.West
Head Writer


I have a beef with religion. Well not so much religion, rather what people do with religion. I also have a beef with atheism. Well not so much atheism rather than what people do with atheism. Religious folk can be loud, arrogant, boisterous, and close minded. Atheist folk can be loud, arrogant, boisterous--do you see where this is going?
Recently I have noticed a lot of religion bashing on Facebook, and I'm not sure I understand it. I am under the firm belief that everyone is entitled to their own opinions, and should be able to live how they would like, but where does voicing your opinion end and becoming offensive and abrasive begin? I've have more than a few good friends who consider themselves either agnostic, or atheist. And I have more than a few friends who belong to some form of organized religion OR at the very least have some spiritual concept of God. And BOTH sides can be just as close minded and ridiculous as the other.

A few months ago I was contacted on Facebook by a girl I went to high school with. I never knew her very well, but shed always seemed nice so I added her. Turns out she was what I would consider a christian fanatic. It's not that I have a problem reading posts about Jesus, or the bible, or whatever, however I do have a problem when a person essentially says that everything that doesn't fall in with their opinion is wrong. That's always been my problem with most religions and by association most religious people; if it doesn't fit in with their doctrine, they tend to write it off, or say its incorrect.


Then I have more then a few atheist friends who for some reason make it their mission to make it an accepted fact that God does not exist. Theyll post condescending photoshopped pictures, and smug message boards on Facebook about how science says its impossible for there to be a God. They'll complain about how closed minded religious folks can be, all while making it known that nothing short of a burning bush or a parted sea could make them believe in God...and even then they'd of course have a scientific explanation. In turn it would appear that by definition, they come off as closed minded.

Here's the end game: each side wastes so much time bashing the other that they both come out looking like abrasive jerks. Religion has been a part of society before there even was society, and for almost just as long there have been those that would question it.
If you're religious, great! That's good for you but don't just trash everything else because it doesn't fit into your belief system, I mean the basic foundation of ALL religion is the classic golden rule: Treat everyone the way you'd like to be treated.

And if you're an atheist, awesome! Just dont go bashing religions as though they're part of a theological game of "wack-a-mole". Just because it seems crazy to you doesn't give you the right to tell someone else that they're wrong because their belief system doesn't jive with yours.

We get it, you don't believe in God. We get it, you do believe in God. We just don't necessarily need either one of you constantly jamming your feelings on the subject down our throats. What I've learned about  both sides is that they believe what they perceive as truth. I have a very close friend who happens to be Mormon. He was raised Mormon, fell away from the church, and eventually came back to it. I used to argue with him that had he been born into a different family, in a different part of the world, he may be telling me that Buddha is the truth rather than Jesus. And his response was always "you may be right, but I believe in what I believe and that is my truth" and as his friend I respect that. As his friend that is good enough for me.

Who cares how other people see things? Thats what makes the world  beautiful. The fact that we all see it differently. There's enough REAL problems in the world without creating fake ones and bashing each other over whether or not we go to church on Sunday morning. When everything lands, religion helps people deal with life and get through their weeks, and by my count there is nothing wrong with that. Athiests find happen to find comfort in other things and there's  nothing wrong with that either. And let's be honest at the end of the day, no religion is ANY crazier or outlandish than any other, and we all know it....except Scientology. Scientology is just bat shit crazy.

Follow me on twitter @FindingDerek

The Street Evol is Street Love