Thursday, March 5, 2009

God and Religion - there is a difference

Let me start by being completely outrageously biased, and say that people who follow religion, do not believe in or worship God. Before you explode, mumbling expletives as your steaming head rattles on the desk in front of you, mull on that for a minute and think about what it means.

Done? Right – organized religion, and the strict following of beliefs and values that are based on scripture – is completely stupid, and an offense to God. That’s right. You, Christian fool, are offending God. That is my belief, and shortly I’ll explain how I came up with that idea. First, let me tell you where these thoughts originated (intelligent design, or evolution of ideas?).

A person asked me whether I was following the run-up to the elections in South Africa, and if I was going to vote, and for whom. I said yes, and that I was definitely going to vote, and that I was going to vote for the DA. I asked if said person was going to vote, and they said that no, it was against their religion. I took this to be a humorous stance on the subject, but not wanting to appear offensive asked why. Apparently, the only kingdom is God’s kingdom, and therefore voting for any ruling party is like voting “against God” because no-one can rule our kingdom except for God.

This angered me beyond reason – it’s my opinion that if you don’t vote, then you don’t have the right to complain about the problems in our country (and they’re numerous, if you take time to count them – corruption in parliament, the judiciary, public service and just about everywhere, crime, poverty, homelessness, unemployment, the list goes on) because you have not made any attempt whatsoever to take a stand.

And, don’t tell me that voting is not going to make a difference – because if enough people vote for the right (or wrong) people, then it will make a difference. There is corruption everywhere – but the ANC is a closed circle of power hungry fools who serve only themselves. The DA proposes an open government sans cadre deployment – so members would no longer be able to gather their friends around them to protect and enrichen. They would actually have to do their jobs, and perhaps a little more would get done.

What made me especially angry is that these people who won’t be voting – they are taking votes away from the opposition. Every vote counts, and every vote that the DA doesn’t have, is essentially a vote in the ANC's favour. I don’t want to live in a country ruled by a corrupt criminal who thinks he is the equivalent of Jesus Christ, and I don’t see how certain Christians can sit back and allow that to happen. By inaction, they are condemning the lives of millions to a rule of injustice, and surely this country will turn into another Zimbabwe.

It takes nothing to vote except time – and that tiny amount of effort can help good people with decent ambitions try and turn this country around before it’s too late. Why sit and watch a beautiful thing die because of your God? And this is what brings me to my first outrageous statement (and I apologize for the length of this post, but I do feel strongly).

I read a news24 article this morning which got me to thinking: Cardinal: Atheist theories absurd. Now, I’m of the opinion that science does in no way disprove God. Evolution, the big bang, all of these are not theories that disprove God – they simply explain the method that God used.

The bible is a book written by men. Its stories are old and outdated (perhaps not the lessons therein, but nobody sees it that way) and unless people are intelligent enough to see their meaning, then it is a useless tool of misinformation. God has created, through evolution or otherwise, a supreme race of intelligent beings. We are able to do whatever we want and can possibly dream of, because we have intelligence, courage, desire and ambition.

Not voting because of scripture is an extreme example, but it is a stupid, stupid interpretation of something that applies to idol worship – not voting for a party that will provide a better life for all. To believe that God does not want you to vote is an insult to him, and to the gift of intelligence that he has (or maybe hasn’t) given you. So. Stop offending God. Get up off your arse and live your life, because He has given it to you, and you are wasting it by reading that Book as if it were a text book full of answers.

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