My Views on Religion

This is definitely a topic that I thought twice about writing about.  Religion is one of those subjects that sparks a tremendous amount of heated debates and hard feelings between the debaters.  I will start this off by stating that I am not a religious person.  I have not attended a regular church service in about 25 years and have really no intention to unless my children (when we have any) decide that they may or may not want to go.  I will not go as far as saying I do not believe in God or a higher power because I have no proof that there isn't one and somethings in life can't easily be explained away.  The thing that I do have a problem with is the bible and what SOME people use it to preach about.  The Bible used in the right way can be a wonderful tool in guiding a society in the right direction of how to live a peaceful and fulfilling life.  I have friends and family who both are extremely religious and use religion in a positive way..the way it should be used.  The problem is that a considerable amount of people use the Bible and God's "teachings" to advance their own self serving agendas and distort the messages to alienate groups of people.  Religion throughout history has really been a double edged sword in that it gives millions hope and joy in their lives but on the other hand it has been the root of many of this worlds deadliest wars.  My personal choice of not going to church or reading the bible is because I am confident that I can make my own decisions on what the right way to live my life is.  I don't feel that I need the guidance of a book that was translated by man in God's voice thousands of years ago to guide the way I live my life in 2010.  I am not arrogant about my views though, I am completely aware that some people in society need religion and enjoy going to church and being part of a community that lives their life through God's teachings.  I understand that.  I get that.  It's not for me but I respect people who use religion in the right way.  I realize that if I pass a fellow man that is hurt or is in need of assistance that I don't need religion to tell me that i need to help that man.  It's common sense to me...It's the right thing to do.  I think my biggest problem with the Bible is that people don't take into account on when it was written and how the world has evolved since then.  The attacks on races and homosexuality are really just the words of people who lived in a time when those things were hugely associated with being non-god like and the world has changed.  It has changed for the better.  If there really is a God and he is the ultimate creator then he is fully aware that he has created these people who are different and he would love them just as much as any other person he created.  People just fear what they don't understand.  If you grow up in a family that has always hated gay people then more than likely you are going to hate gay people.  Its easy for people to do that.  If you have prejudices against a certain races its probably because your family did.  It amazes me to this day how powerful religion has a hold on the views of most Americans.  Our society is way too easily swayed not just by religious affiliation but by government manipulation of our interpretations of history.  We always praise Christopher Columbus for discovering America but rarely is it talked about how thousands of Native Americans were slaughtered on the way to doing so.  That is swept under the rug because we want to treat this Icon as someone valiant and someone worthy of the accomplishment.  I get angered just watching the televangelists on Television lining their pockets with money from senior citizens who can barely make a living just because they say "with their donations we can keep the word of God spreading throughout the world"  The majority of these Televangelists are driving around in Bentleys and have multiple luxurious homes in God's name.  I just don't understand why people can't just do the right thing without having to have a book to show them the way.  Maybe I am foolish to think this way and perhaps I am wrong and there is a God and he wants us to alienate Jews and Homosexuals.  If that's the case then I want nothing to do with THAT god.  I couldn't recite to you one piece of scripture from the bible but I know not to murder people, not to steal what is not mine, not to cheat on my wife.  Those things to me are common sense and if you have a good heart then you wont participate in such actions.  I don't want to anger my friends and family who do go to church and follow the bible because from what I have noticed is that on a local level the church works well in teaching our children right from wrong.  The extreme hate speech is more of what I am talking about.  The bullying of people to be a certain way or to vote a certain way or you will be sent to hell.  The constant wars that continue to take place because of the different views of what God is.  Religion should have never evolved into this.  It all boils down to what a specific people believe in and we as people should just respect their religious views instead of preaching to them on how their God is wrong.  WHO CARES!  Just live your life by what you think is right.  I know that I have already spoke about this in another blog but if two men or two women want to have a gay marriage then let them.  Marriage is about love and shouldn't have to follow some out of date guidelines of a book that couldn't even comprehend that idea when it was written.  Over half of  the heterosexual christian marriages end up getting divorced so maybe concentrate educating all people in church about the hardships of marriage and don't spend so much time and effort hating on gays for just wanting to be a part of normal life.  They are not ruining anything by getting married, people just don't want to recognize them as equals.  It's the same thing that went on with African Americans when they were considered 2/3 of man and when women didn't have to vote.  Plain and simple..its a society that wants to keep a section of it down so they can feel superior.  That's why we assimilated "savages" in the new world because we couldn't have anyone having a different belief structure that was different than ours.  I think it's hilarious that we make such a big deal about Gay marriages but we have countless priests molesting children on a weekly basis and for the most part the Vatican turns a blind eye to it.  What's the bigger evil here?  Bottom Line: If you and your family go to church and it is a positive experience and God helps you get through your life then I applaud that because that is what it's meant for.  If you use God as a crutch to preach to people on how they should go to church or they will go to hell for not going then I think you should re-evaluate why you go.  I truly believe that if there is a God, then he will be fine with me for not actively going to church because I have lived my life the way I feel a good person should.  I love my family, I love my friends, and I love my fellow man (not a huge fan Glenn Beck though).