well today’s topic is slightly sensitive so i’m not even gonna tag it. hmm quite a bad timing to be blogging about this when the exams are just around the corner (meaning TMR). but i just had to blog this after reading so many people’s blogs after the past few days.
i sincerely believe that people can live just as well without a religion. no doubt we have gone through milleniums of praying, worshipping and idolizing a person or a belief. but even scientists are baffled at the origin and the primitive “use” of a religion (how ironic). it doesn’t satisfy hunger. it doesn’t satisfy a desire. it doesn’t result in reproduction and the passing on of genetic materials (contrary to that in some religions nowadays!). it doesn’t keep one safe. it doesn’t help one “grow”, in the physical sense. but it has been postulated that primitive people might have used this concept of a higher being to help explain all the unexplanable things happening around them.
sounds like a reasonable explanation to me. we have science nowadays to do the job of explaining, hence taking over the primitive role of religion in the world today (of course there are rare exceptions). but religion still persists. why? well i think it’s a way to prove our humanity: the belief that there is a higher being, and that we humans have realised that, is proof of our rationality, of our very presence on this earth. which i think is a load of bullshit of course, but more than half the world’s population would disagree with me.
i believe that there are certain things that are ingrained within our conscience and our minds. the very basic nature of being a human. that we need to eat, we need to breathe, and these are things we fight for. the desire to express ourselves (and hence the creation of this blog). even the desire to kill, to rob, to battle, just for our survival and our mental well-being. but of course throughout the creation of communities and societies, basic society etiquette has also been imprinted upon our minds. morality, integrity, trustworthiness, respect, loyalty. how killing someone for any purpose (other than for self defense perhaps) is absolutely wrong. how we should help that old lady across the road, because it is right to do so. these are our basic instincts.
people don’t need religion to tell them what is right or what is wrong. there are the clear cut stuff that even a kid can tell you that it’s right or wrong (ok depending on the nature of the kid then… and how old he is). i don’t need religion to tell me that kicking a kitten in its face is wrong, that it hurts the kitty, and that i’m compromising its welfare. i don’t need religion to tell me that stealing is wrong, though the purpose behind it might be meaningful. and there are the nitty gritty stuff. all the grey stuff out there that cannot be classified as being absolutely right, or absolutely wrong. and of course, the world is mostly made out of stuff like this.
but i still don’t need religion to help me define these grey areas. i define it according to my own beliefs, brought about by my own upbringing, my family, and the society i live in. good thing about this is, sometimes i can bend these beliefs to suit different situations, and not have to find awkward and unconvincing ways around them to accommodate my religion. take for example our recent quiz. 1 friend failed it. just before the quiz he could feel God’s presence around him, as if helping him, lifting him, blessing him. but he failed. if it was me, i would just take it as either i haven’t worked hard enough for the quiz, or there are some fundamental things i don’t understand about those topics. but no… he had to twist it around so that he can explain what God wanted of his from this failed attempt. “would i believe in Him even in the worst of times? even if things do not go my way? but i can never doubt His presence in my life! this just strengthens my belief in him…” any mention of working harder for the next quiz? no. any mention of it being his own fault? no. just praises for a God that purposely failed him to “teach him a lesson about his belief in Him”.
i do know that religion serves as a soft backing for some should they fall. it serves as a mental support for them, if things should fail. “it didn’t work out this time, but He is always looking out for me”. to me, this is like taking a short cut through life. they can accredit everything that happens in their life to that one person up there. they always think that there is someone up there planning their lives for them, that there is someone helping them along, and that someone will make things better. it’s like people who say, everything is fated, and leave it as that. they don’t actively fight for their “destiny”, since God has already planned it for them. but for me, i don’t have that luxury of leaving my life to someone else. i plan my own life. and when i fall, i pick myself up again. and it is this understanding that has resulted in the me today, knowing that i have no one to fall back on, that i need to work hard for what i want and what i deserve. sometimes i wonder if i’m jealous of these people. but then again, i don’t think i would enjoy having my life revolving around a religion. i would feel trapped.
he says, there is a panic button in us that we ignore during daily life, but when that panic period comes, the presence of a religion in our life helps to tide us through the tough times during which the panic button is switched on. people refer to these ideals and principles that their religion teaches them. they are wise sounding indeed. but for some religions (some more so than others), these religious texts and beliefs are but written by fellow human beings. they might seem a bit more holy than usual, they might seem a bit more wise than most, but they are humans at the end of the day. and i believe that, if we dig deep enough, there is that wise soul inside every one of us. i don’t need a religious text to teach me that we have been too misled by our senses. i don’t need a religious text to teach me to appreciate my surroundings, to appreciate what i have, to give thanks for my senses.
i guess you can see that i get pretty fired up about religion. i treasure my free status, and would do whatever i can do defend this stance. i know that you’re extremely contented with your religion and the joys it has brought you. but stop trying to force that on others. some joys don’t need to be shared.
i’m tired of conforming myself to you… we exist on 2 totally different levels. and unless either one of us is willing to bridge this gap, then it’s gonna be quite impossible between us. i can’t go back to being childish, and you can’t grow up huh. grow up, cos i’m not gonna grow down.
have i been so blinded by my expectations of myself that i’m failing to see the expectations others have of me? please stop making me feel guilty.
stop feeling guilty over this. i’m warning you. stop blaming yourself for everything that has happened. stop feeling bad. stop stop stop. time to start lovin’ yourself sista. peace out.
