Acerbate

Religion makes sense and so does passion but what matters are feelings. Basic feelings of love, fear and anger take on an extravagant or even an imprudent form which then assigns itself to a specific object. Religion, passion for work, relationships are merely things we concocted to define an extremity of those feelings. A point, which may vary from one person to the other, which is at the right hand of a scale. It is merely an extreme form of that same raw feeling. It demands a sense of saturation. Anger that pops up when our beliefs are questioned. When things we based our lives on, when things we trusted our loved ones with are challenged a raw form of that anger comes up. Anger that defines u as a part of a group. Anger that you have no other thing to hold onto but a reinvigorated concoction invented by someone else. (Below stated are thoughts that go through a person's head when I mention my reasons for not believing in god. I don't question their beliefs but having reasons to disbelieve in god seems to challenge them. Most of the words below have been told to me, some are thoughts that loud enough to be heard as they pause for a moment to come up with a reason for their beliefs.)

Anger that someone (someone would be me) with a lesser sense of realism and barely any sense of achievement dares to question my beliefs. I mean how dare he? At least I am not that arrogant to admit that I don't know half of what happened. But more importantly I am a man of the world. I had things to do, I couldn't be bothered with such things when I had some responsibility on your shoulders. This all stems from having a lot of time on one's hands. That's more likely what it is. I mean what else could it be. Sheer arrogance I tell u. I shall prove him wrong. But that thing about challenging religion made a lil bit of sense. No it didn't, it was stupid. God does exist - imagine the arrogance of a person who defies god himself. I mean I did get his point and it was valid too but that doesn't mean god doesn't exist. Neither does that mean that the religious books are wrong. They preach virtue. When did being virtuous go out of fashion?? Philistine !!! But the books couldn't be wrong could they? So I don't see god but I also don't see air. But air can be measured. This is stupid, why am I even thinking about this? I have to go to work...........

Religulous !!!!

So Bill Maher corners some people, so he doesn't seek to change anyone through it, so he just makes fun of some people - big deal. It really makes one think about their beliefs. I mean when was the last time you bought something of value in a back alley of a shady neighbourhood (that would be dumb, I mean how could you trust the person selling it) but the big guy up there looking over you and killing people who don't believe in him makes sense.

I have recently realised that Atheism makes a lil more sense because it forces you to question what u believe and what u support. And yes I know I am going to get the "you are seeing too much in black and white, where' s the grey area here??" statement from some but maybe, just maybe that's the issue. For example, recently Karan Thapar was interviewed by Arun Jaitley on Devil's Advocate where he described his interviewing technique,

"When John Burt , who used to head London Weekend before he went to the BBC, devised an interview format where he said that at the end of the day there are only four answers, yes, no, don’t know, and can’t say. And don’t know and can’t say have to be collapsible to yes and no. So your first technique is to identify the don’t know and can’t says and push the guy to making clear that it is actually a yes or a no. Then try and locate him within the horns of a dilemma. Chose guests who are so positioned that their predicament is within the horns of dilemma and push them either to the left or to the right."

At the end of the day, that is what should be expected from discussions about religion. But herein lies the problem. When cornered, religious people always revert to one thing that they feel is a justifiable answer : "I dunno but I have faith, followed by I have faith becoz I believe". The same people who laugh at emails sent from Nigeria claiming heirs of a hidden fortune actually expect 'faith' to be a justification of everything that's wrong with religion.

I mean think bout it, Mormons believe America to be at the centre of Mormonism so everything that happened or will happen, happens in America. Doesn't it make sense that everything about Christianity happens in Jesusland, that everything the bible talks bout and even the people it describes is primarily around that particular culture. Their beliefs, their understanding of the world, the customs that were created were all related to that culture, that particular time in history. If thts the case then why is it wrong to look upon it with strangeness? Why is it wrong to question what they did or even find some of the beliefs barbaric and cruel?

Well, the minute you take faith out of it you are in a dilemma as god seems cruel and narcissistic. His passing judgement on one action or letting people kill or die on a whim just to test their faith seems wrong. That people who heard voices in their head weren't prophets, just people who needed help with their illness. Most of all we see fit to feel superior than other people just becoz we were born into a certain religion not realising that we were that close (imagine describing the size of an ant) to be born into another country which would preach another religion.

Maher describes being atheistic as a luxury that comes with having a good life and it makes sense but what about religious people who have a good life and still don't see the need to question religion. Scientists, who believe the world isn't flat and doctors, who don't believe illnesses are caused by bad spirits in your body still believe that there is someone up there who will protect you solely becoz you follow him and any pain he causes you will be for you own good.

I ll end this with a news story I heard on BBC's Global News. When a certain politician took over the Congo recently, his armies attacked civilians there. One woman in particular was with her family when the soldiers came to her house. They killed her husband in front of her. While she was crying they threw her on her husband's corpse and raped her. When she tried to resist, they cut her mouth from the side of her lips to her ears. She is still alive, living with her kid trying to find food and worried bout the future of her child. Imagine yourself or your mother/sister/wife/girlfriend/friend in that predicament. If you can still find one good reason why god thought that someone deserved that, I ll join your religion.

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THINGS YOU SHOULD SEE

1) That's our eleventh president and the architect of India's Nuclear Programme with Sathya Sai Baba whose is a reincarnation (not 'allegedly'), child molester ('allegedly') and miracle faker ('allegedly'). But hey BBC did a documentary on him just to help filter out the 'alleged' and 'non alleged' crimes, check it out.

BBC Documentary - The Secret Swami

2) A list of 10 things that every adult should know.

10 Unfortunate facts of life.

3) The movie itself (may not be on for long).

Religulous