The fact you get comfort, solace and inspiration from your religion doesn’t serve as proof of its reality just as it shouldn’t serve as a source of ridicule for a non-believer. It’s a personal choice that gives meaning to your existence. At the same time, the fact it brings you solace doesn’t make my non-belief shallow or narcissistic. Where you get solace and comfort, I get claustrophobia and restriction. I’m not bothered by homosexuality or birth control or women’s right to choose. In fact, I am perplexed by those who are. So what is it exactly I am getting from religious belief other than conflicting signals? Do I think the 10 commandments are a good set of rules? Sure (although after listening to George Carlin, not all that sure). Do Jesus’ proverbs make sense? Actually, yes, they do. But in my mind, after those few examples, there really isn’t too much else to talk about or get worked up about. The Apostles creed is a mess; the pope looks like a cheap prop at a costume party, the concept of a bachelor priest is an outdated caricature of misogyny shattered by sexual scandal.

My problem with religion really isn’t focused on its overall value in the world (i.e.; does the good it provide outweigh the bad) but is entirely personal. Religion, for me, makes the world more confusing, not less. For example, I get confused by the idea of an all knowing God that may or may not know our future or may or may not have a hand in everyday events.

If god is a creator of the universe and he gave us Free Will, it’s something he could just as easily take away. It’s an artifice just like any rule in sports. What is the point of giving people free will if the rate of success in using it is so abysmal? Maybe He should just get rid of it. To me, belief in God makes life less interesting, not more. And if that’s wrong, if my thinking is flawed, then that’s not my fault. It was the faulty wiring I was born and bestowed with by God, the Great Creator. If I’m a dumb, shallow creature and there is no God, then I’m fine with that. But if there is? Now I have a problem. He could have made things different so I didn’t go around fucking things up with my really dumb, shallow ideas.