I don't hate god... Why? Because I don't
believe in him. Yes, I believe in some sort of
higher power out there, some sort of
governing force, but I just don't believe in "God" in the typical
Christian sense of the word.
What I
do hate is their
idealized,
stylized version of "him". I hate the fact that if you don't believe in THIS God, THIS version, people will tell you that you're going to
hell, that you're a
sinner, and that you absolutely
must accept him into your heart or else you will meet
dark impending doom. I once was at a
pregnancy-testing clinic, and on walking in, I had no idea that the people there were
ultra-Catholic. Before I was allowed to take the test (
"Just give me the goddamned test, I want to be sure it's negative once and for all, the sooner the better!!"), I had to sit in a room and talk with them about what options I would choose ASIDE from
abortion, being as that's just not allowed, and what my feelings on
God were. I told them flat-out that I didn't believe in him. They told me that they really wanted to hear my
opinions of why I didn't, that they promised they wouldn't be offended by anything I said, and that they would
listen with an
open mind. Promptly, I launched into my reasons on why I think that the
bible is merely
a political work of fiction, and that Christianity was merely something used to destroy the Roman Empire, but caught on a little too well. I told them that I didn't respect the fact that most Christians will not accept any
other viewpoints except their own,
even though one of the main concepts in their
religion is that
God loves and accepts
everybody. When I was finally done, they looked at me and said,
"We respect your opinions, BUT when you die, you will find out just how wrong you are for not accepting God into your heart, and we're very sorry that a nice girl like you will have to suffer for eternity in hell".
I don't hate God. How can I hate something I don't believe in? I just hate all those
bible-thumping fanatics, all those brainwashed people who can't even hear others' views and actually
listen to them, all those people who insist that it's their way or the
highway, and that everyone else is wrong, no matter what.
I don't hate God.
I hate religion.