Daily Rant #3 (My Christian Experience)

For: You phony self-proclaimed Christians and those wondering about the basis for my Agnosticism.

I admit, I'm not entirely sure whether accepting Jesus as your savior while continually sinning still brings you to Heaven, is how it works. If so, it seems as if this whole rant will have no merit. But also, that would this make one stupid religion if you ask me. Well, let's pretend that's not how it works, for now.

It's hard to believe that these self-proclaimed Christians actually, well...believe. A religion calls for a lifetime devotion to its practices and beliefs, and some people can't give up something as small as, let's say, cursing for something they're supposed to live for? They say "oh I'll just be forgiven" or "I'll repent later on in life". Oh, and when people who find it so hard to change into a better person over petty things. Seriously? If there's no dedication or a sense of importance on your part, you don't really believe. Your religion is merely a label. You throw on a cross necklace without knowing a lick of the religion's ideologies. Your church is a ground for social gathering. Your praise is a desire for group harmony, a sense of obligation, and a pursuit of an emotional high. You don't seek for reasons to believe, you believe what you hear since all pastors and such are supposed to be revered as authority figures; supreme messengers of God and also because church carries a veil of trust, truth, and safety. My God, you pitiful drones. You let stories (mostly false) move you and this emotion seeps over to an embrace of the religion. Religion is an emotional and social crutch for you. You embrace it for a sense of fulfillment and a sense of identity. You want to please your fellow Christian family members and peers. Millions of people, millions, believe the same thing, why shouldn't you? Why break tradition? Everything's so assuring and persuasive. It's the perfect safeguard for your life. You're in a comfort zone and you don't want to get out. You want to avoid any questioning for it could compromise your precious comfort of a belief you've held for all this time. You would only research to discredit other religions and not yours. You don't want it to turn into waste. You assess your sins to be uncontrollable and forgivable later to live the life you REALLY want to live. You don't live according to your religion. Of course, this does not apply to everyone, but you will know if it does. Ask yourself, why do you believe? Can you back up what you believe in? Do you even care to? Throughout my life, I've seen plenty of "Christians" who firmly believe in the concept of Karma, who support homosexual marriage, abortion, etc. To support an opposing view of your religion blatantly means that you are not a part of said religion, wouldn't you say that makes sense? You can't agree with some parts and not agree with others. There's really no way around it. Embrace it as a whole or don't embrace it all. I've also witnessed plenty of these "Christians" who put down non-believers and view/treat them in an unwelcoming manner. What happened to this spread the gospel and love one another for everyone is a child of God thing you have going on? Now, you wouldn't even believe how many times I've seen someone curse in the name and in defense of their God, whether it be in text or in person. Just a few weeks ago, I questioned this kid wearing a cross necklace and a NOTW hat on why he was using "fuck" every other sentence despite the look of Christian devotion he portrayed. In response, he said something along the lines of "shut the hell up" or "don't talk shit about God." Need I go on? You are the biggest kind of hypocrites.

"The most ironic thing that these people fail to realize is that the lack of hospitality that they greet someone like me with is very un-Christian and I think that's the biggest paradox of all."

-Marilyn Manson

I've been down this deceiving path, for all my life. Until I realized that I had the ability and choice to think. I've chosen to open my mind and not let nice guys in suits dictate my life through an outdated book. All of my questions have been twisted into irrelevant, predetermined answers which do nothing but further support my opposition. But to be frank, am I 100% firm with my beliefs? No, I'm afraid I'm not. You could say 99%. It's like those obvious, ridiculous, belligerent lies a friend tells you that has the slightest, least likely, but possible chance of being true with no way of knowing. And for those curious, I label myself as an Agnostic. I'd say this ever-lingering chance of its validity is fueled by the horrifying concept of Hell, the ultimate deus ex machina used to retain all of these followers. You smart, smart fucks. But then I think, what if this "fiery hell" is just another one of those metaphors, and these people are just interpreting scripture in accordance to their own liking? While on the subject, the fear of Hell, coupled with moral security and collective gratification seem to be the main motivators for being a Christian. It's just pretty hard to believe that there's this all-knowing, all-seeing guy who made all of us. Despite not proving his existence, he wants everybody to believe in him through this thing called faith. If you don't believe in and love him, he'll send you to this place where you get tortured for eternity. He also made this vague, confusing, metaphorically-flexible story book that nobody could fully understand, telling you how to live life, written through a couple of crazy old guys. Some of these rules seem a bit absurd too. I mean, to openly covet is one thing, but to control your feelings? Really? There's that elephant in the room that everybody seems to be so immune to seeing: how the hell does this all make any sense? Oh, but no, sense, science, logic, opposing philosophies, and other religions were created as a test of faith. And who can forget those dinosaur bones... Everything is a definite sign from God, it can't be just a coincidence or a psychological/physiological condition, those were just created as a test of faith too. Screw it, all possible doubts were placed in our heads to test faith. Very clever.

Here are 15-year-old Steve's views on religion:

By definition, faith is a belief characteristically held without proof. Believing something that can not be proven, according to the world’s standards, then must have been stemmed from conformity and/or “emotional highs.” They say faith is obtained through a supernatural experience, however perhaps a mental short circuit may have attributed to this false sensation of supernatural encounter. And what gives one such a great desire to receive faith to believe in something that they don’t believe…yet?

All religions assert that they are the one and only true religion. This paradox of conflicting, self-proclaimed “facts,” therefore proves that conditioning from upbringing, investment in conformity, a sense of belonging, one’s persuasive declarations, and so on, defines one’s “religion.” Also, the “threat” of eternal damnation of any sort, may lead one to divest their hesitations, and join the religion in fear of a possible form of eternal torture. Perhaps this is the motivation for such a strong desire of “faith.”

Lying is prevalent today in our world, and has been for centuries. Would it be so dubious to say that all of the authors of the Holy Bible, and the ones who have “been told by God” to arrange the Holy Bible, were just delusional liars? Or any other religious document dealing with a supreme entity, in that sense? It is told that we are not capable of being on the same level of understanding and logic with God. However, this can also be a lie, a mere cop-out trying to make you “ask no questions,” as that assertion can be used a reasonable counter.

Although the Christian religion states that all people created by God have the opportunity to become saved, what about those who have never heard of the religion or those who never had the chance to become preached to? Yes, there are missionaries traveling to all sides of the world, however, in this world of billions of people, with the missionary:non-believer:time proportions, it would be nearly impossible to reach everyone. In fact, I have read an article of a newly found civilization that has never been in contact with the outside world. So, what about the generations before them that have perished with no knowledge of Jesus Christ, where was their opportunity?

Based on God’s system of predestination, what is the point of building something that you know will inevitably fail you? Why tell them what to do, when you know the eventual outcome and response? On a side note, so far from what I have heard, God seems pretty damn narcissistic and vain; forcing people to love him or burn in hell. Also, the Bible states that in a way, all sins are equal. Well, I don’t know, but people generally don’t equate murder to cursing, and it is also shown the government feels the same way. You murder, you become incarcerated and possibly executed. On the contrary, you curse, you may go as far to receive a misdemeanor. I have been told that the Bible states it is sinful to disobey the government, the powers that be. Well what happens when the government supports abortion and stem-cell research, which do not complement or correlate with Christian values?

Here ends 15 year old Steve's viewpoints on religion. I deleted the conclusion because it proved to be irrelevant.
 

While on the subject, here's a little something for amusement. These videos are just for fun, but they still do present valid arguments. So if you are religious, don't shelter yourself from opposing viewpoints. I mean, I've been listening to your ideas for over a decade and even now I watch sermons from time to time to see what they have to say. Do religions not encourage you to "know your enemy”? If you fear a change in your viewpoints, that means you're unsure, which means your ass would be going to Hell...

 

Daily Rant #2 (Conceptualizing Originality)

For: those who purposely try to be different all in an effort to be original and just that. In which the originality would inevitably lack substance.

If you follow trends and fit in, you're unoriginal.

If you don't follow trends, you still fit in somewhere, therefore, unoriginal.

If you go beyond subterranean to not follow the dress of any type of culture whatsoever, congratulations, you're original, at the expense of being weird. But this contradicts your entire motive of expressing indifference to what others think about you because you have gone out of your way to do exactly that. And wait, tons of people (think they) do this, so your originality is revoked; essentially, unoriginal. Wear what you want, do what you will, and behave how you wish for whatever reason, because in the end, it's all geared towards having others creating an impression about you.

This is only for those with a fear of being labeled on an odd quest to be strictly original, with that being the sole motive. No matter how artsy you get, you are helplessly pigeonholed into the artsy category. Being original is a category in itself. So if your goal is to end up in an exclusive, but yet another category, then so be it. Don't be afraid to be categorized, for it is inevitable.

I am questioning your motives, yes you, the aforementioned "those who purposely try to be different all in an effort to be original and just that. In which the originality would inevitably lack substance." Are you being original just to be so, or to express something new you crafted out of genuine interest? Unless you are blissfully blind with self-satisfaction, you will find no resolve with your attempt to be this "original" person. Through the wise words of Western philosopher Dwayne Carter, "do you."

Daily Rant #1 (Unreasonable Modesty)

I always find my head filled with complaints everyday so I figured I'd do something like this (almost) everyday.

Unreasonable modesty is one of the most annoying traits a person could have. Such as, when an objectively attractive girl always seems to disagree with "you're pretty" compliments all in an effort to keep the compliments coming. Don't give me that "but it's gonna make me seem conceited" bullshit. Those who call you conceited for merely accepting such a compliment are clearly jealous and are narrow-mindedly clawing for subtle, potential negative traits about you to which they will attempt to blow out of proportion to fulfill their envy-fueled vendetta against you... So if you look good, you look good, don't be a cunt and deny a clearly reasonable compliment. Thankfully accept it with modesty (yes, you can still fulfill your self-rewarding aim to be modest, because obviously, there is no such thing as internal, genuine modesty. For if you truly aren't aware of the extent of what you are being praised on, that is just textbook ignorance, not modesty. But then again, being externally modest is redundant in itself and is basically included in the general definition. I'm not sure if a parentheses is allowed to hold this much text) and move on with your life filled with more compliments. However as the whole concept of "objective attractiveness" (oxymoron, or is it? Apparently there's some method where symmetry, bust size, body fat, etc. is taken into consideration and determines one's beauty. Anyway...) is clearly debatable, size, not so much. I say this because I've seen girls, who are clearly skinny, deny compliments of being skinny in front of a larger girl. If what you are isn't skinny, how do you think your fatass friend must feel, asshole? Well, I went over my initial 4-5 sentence expectation of this post, but I guess rants are never really meant to be quantified.