Theologians, they don’t know nothing about my soul

Ok, well I wasn’t gonna post this blog but due to popular demand (well Mini and Harry) here it is. This one may come out as a bit of a rant but we’ll see how it goes. It’s about a subject very close to my heart (or at least the tattered remains of it) and that is religion. The pretext you need to know for this is that I was recently turned down by a girl because, and I quote, I’m “not a Christian”. I could go into the emotional side of this but really it’s not worth it, all you need to know is that I’m fine - strangely upbeat actually. Anyway: religion.

To start off with, I’d better try and make it clear that I don’t want to offend anyone. You can believe whatever the hell you want as far as I’m concerned. I might disagree with you, but as long as you’re a decent person I really don’t care what you think. You can have as many gods, prophets and holy teapots as you want. You can believe the universe was sneezed out of the nose of a being called the Great Green Arkleseizure (Hitch Hikers Guide) or that we do in fact live in the matrix. I don’t give a damn as long as you’ve got a decent set of morals and are as willing to tolerate my beliefs as I am yours. I only get angry when people change their behaviour to accommodate some irrational dogma from an institution whose main aim is to promote itself.

Last time I went into a church, the vicar told me (well the congregation) that atheists (like me) live in sin. What does that mean exactly? Does that mean we are morally inferior? Just because my morals aren’t dictated to me by some ancient book doesn’t mean they’re any less valid. If anything they’re more so because they’re based on life experience and rationality. It’s this ‘holier-than-thou’ attitude that frustrates me. I’m not saying I think I’m a better person than this vicar. I’m sure he’s a nice guy and does lots of good work in the community – which is more than anything I do. I’m just saying that he shouldn’t think that he’s a better person than me just because he believes in a god.

But it’s not just the moral values. Religion creates artificial boundaries and divisions in society. This girl (unnamed but relevant people will know) didn’t turn me down because I was a bad person. She didn’t turn me down because she wasn’t attracted to me, or because she thought it just wouldn’t work out. She turned me down because I’m not a Christian. I never thought this sort of thing would be a problem. I figured I’d get to university and I’d meet a load of clever, open minded people who’d accept me for what I am, and vica versa. But apparently not.

So yeah. I would write a conclusion but it’s 3am and I’m quite drunk. Here’s a song by Wilco (who are awesome) that may or may not be relevant.