It should be no secret to any of you who’ve known me long that I am an atheist. I don’t believe in a God for many reasons but none of them involve ignorance or lack of trying to understand and come to acquire faith.
I was raised a Catholic but never felt like it fit my nature. I’ve never had faith and I’ve never experienced anything of a religious or spiritual nature while sitting in a church.
I’ve also never seriously made fun of or condemned anyone of genuine and moderate faith. On the other hand, I have little use for religious extremists and hypocrites. I’ve read the Bible, the Koran, the Book of Morman, and I studied both comparative religions and the history of religions. I cannot quote very much from the Bible but I can tell you a lot about the history of it. While I don’t accept the Bible as being anything but manmade I have found things in it that have been important to me and I hope have made me a better man.
For decades I have believed that if every person simply adopted but one of the commandments and vowed to never break that one, the world would be immeasurably better. I’ve also been told by a Christian zealot that my saying and believing that would get me an express ticket on Hell’s railway.
I’m saying all of this to give myself the creds to say that what Donald Trump did in front of that Episcopal church last night while waving the Bible above his head was very offensive to me. Offensive because he knows so little about it and he makes claims about his religion that are not true. He proves himself to be guilty of violating the greatest commandment of all, thou shall not commit hypocrisy.
Oh yeah, lest we forget that rule that goes, thou shall treat others as thou would want to be treated. There’s just something golden in that phrase.
Well said cuz. I agree. While not a complete atheist – I am, guess more of an Agnostic. As you – raised a Catholic, cradle Catholic and I will always identify as a Catholic, if for not other reason but to honor my Grandmother. The Bible, sure I have read. But do I believe it is the Word for Word true. NO. Maybe only true in the mind’s of the Apostles who wrote them and the priest who translated. I do believe it is the history of the time it depicted in the words of the people who wrote the words. There are many things we were asked to believe from the Bible and Catholic Catechism that do not logically make sense. And as to the Koran, Aref says there was no way Mohammed supposedly said all the things in the Koran. If he had, he would have lived many years beyond is death. I can tell you this. Aref told me that the Mother of Jesus, Mary, was and is much reverend among the people and Jesus was know as a Prophet in Shia Muslim. Not verse in Sunni except what I have read so do not know if this carries over. I do know one thing: They all have their hand out and if one does not give what is expected, they tell you you will go to hell. And that is the biggest problem I have.