Okay, so touchy subject today that I would like to breach and not talk about so touchily.
The church/synagogue/temple.
Now, I'm just going to refer to them as "the church," for brevities' sake but I mean all of the above as a social institution.
It's no secret that I'm an atheist. I, as a general rule, do not hate religious people individually but more hate the institution of organized religion. I don't care what your personal beliefs are. I hate the church, what it stands for, how it acts, the way it handles serious legal and moral decisions.
But while I believe the church is God-awful--no pun, of course, intended--I recognize it's not the only catalyst to global problems. Sure, the church has been a driving agent in many wars and terrorist activity but I have to say, when people fully blame it, they are wrong.
Sure, Hitler was a Christian and felt he was doing God's work but he was abused as a child in the Austrian camp he lived in. He was constantly told that he wasn't good enough. He wanted to be an artist but the--I believe--Vienna Academy of Fine Arts rejected him. Why does no one blame that institution? Do you really think that Hitler would have followed the path he did if he had instead become a painter? I highly doubt it. Obviously, religion is not the only thing that drove him to be a psychotic lunatic who murdered people simply because of their religion.
So, basically, what I'm trying to say is that, as much as I despise the institution of organized religion, to push blame for every godforsaken thing that has happened or still happens today on it is ridiculous. You just look like a generalizing asshole when you say that.
No comments:
Post a Comment