religion is a fickle thing...

i'm agnostic so i do believe in god, just not the one that's epitomized through most religions. i don't need a set of rules, or an ancient book, to know how to live my life, love others, or have spirituality. blindly following what others say is the true ignorance. unless you question the beliefs and mantra of those around you and yourself, then you are the closed minded one. i have met some extremely intelligent christian people and are actually quite good friends with many of them. however, all these people went through periods where they seriously questioned their beliefs and religion as well as what they'd been raised to think. it's not easy to scrutinize everything you've been taught to believe, and i find that to be the facet in most, not all, devote evangelicals that bothers me most. if you truly believe we were "made in god's image", then we were given the brains to think for ourselves, not just follow the extremists who seem to put themselves in power by stirring everyone up and saying things they want to hear. that's how Hitler got in power after all and we all know how HE ended up.
      i'm not just exclusively criticizing Christians, or religion for that matter. rather, everyone who simply takes what is fed to them without question. this applies to politics, religion, schooling, the media, parents, literature, and everything that defines us as HUMAN. even before Christianity there was Judaism and before that there were stories of gods and creation in all different manors. just because the story the bible tells is currently popular because of western influence, does not mean its story is the only one, or the TRUE one? think about it. 3,000 years ago they didin't understand the fossil record, biology, the genetic record, gene splicing or tracking, or cell cultures. how the hell were the writers of the first testament supposed to question the lore they were transposing? also, how did they KNOW exactly what really happened? did someone record it in writing during the very moment god waved his magic twanger and popped eve out of a rib? i think not!
      also, i'm not trying to say one "side" is right. people do have different opinions, which is also something you need to respect. it doesnt matter if your athiest, agnostic, christian, Hindu, Buddhist, Muslum, or a satin worshiper for that matter; BELIEF AND SPIRITUALITY SHOULD NEVER BE USED TO HARM ANOTHER LIVING THING! Life is precious, and once lost can never be re-obtained in the same form as before, if you believe in the afterlife or reincarnation that is. Christianity was and still is being used a a way to kill millions, probably billions of people, not to mention ruin the lives of countless others. think of the Salem witch trials, the holocaust, the klu klux klan, slavery, the obliteration of so many cultures, and the pain caused by the mantra used to justify it all. THAT'S what i don't believe in. i can't stand many of the morals behind Muslum religion or Judaism for the same reasons; all the killing and punishment doesn't uphold the claim of a "loving" god. the same with the Hindu cast system and the Buddhist mandates on how to live your life. but, most of all, why is it any ones place to judge another so harshly and then use that judgement to make their life a living hell? (excuse the metaphor)
what kind of sick pleasure do you take in degrading others this way? its immoral and, as a matter of fact, very unchristian.