I might be bad for your religious health

any group in power, despite their seemingly noble precepts, will oppress others who are not of the same group.  this is just the nature of humanity.  this pattern is obvious throughout history and will still be in the future.  the ancient peoples in the old testament have been oppressing everyone way before christianity was even conceived of.  they were all pagans/polytheists.  the egyptians were of note as great oppressors for the fact that the most important jewish holiday of passover is observed even to this day.  the romans were very well known for their sporting events where christians and non romans citizens were forced to participate in to battle to the death.  these events happened until the reign of constantine whose mother converted into christianity.  it wasn’t that christianity was appealing to the ruling class of rome, they merely realized that if they are to control their crumbling empire, making a monotheistic religion the national favorite was a good way to prevent the burgeoning christian population from launching a rebellion – based on the persecutions that nero conducted during his reign, it was safe to assume that the persecuted would be wanting some payback.  so in typical roman fashion, everything in was replaced and/or interchanged from the old polytheistic system to the monotheistic one… this explains the numerous ‘saints’ and their specific ‘patronages’ that appear in catholicism.

fast forward to the present… guess who’s in power?  the very marginalized people that the polytheists have been persecuting for thousands of years.  poetic justice?  no… ironic?  definitely, yes!  so now, the world has come full circle, yet again.  the persecuted has become the persecutor and vice versa, and this scenario will reverse itself back and forth until the sun turns into a red giant, thus rendering the earth uninhabitable… but i’m sure it will still happen on other planets that get colonized by humans in the future.  in the grand scheme of the universe where there is no reason but random mathematical luck, it seems fair.  the universe itself is harsh and cruel.  case in point, a black hole or a star, or outer space for that matter, are very unwelcoming places.  

another point to consider:  when it comes to people, there is no such thing as a pure category.  not all christians are pure christians, not all pagans are pure pagans, not all gays are purely gay.  so, having strict lines of categorizations and separations is not a common practice of those who are wise and educated.  

so think back, as you did in the 3rd grade, and question things… however, do not make the mistake of stopping there – just mere questioning.  go seek out the answers as well, and if something is found to be true that doesn’t fit into your pre-concieved mold of the world, take the time to allow it to reshape your mind, because you can’t already be right this whole time.  that would be an impossibility.  but if you’re questioning of things is only motivated to prove others wrong, then all you end up with are a million ways of knowing that someone is wrong.  and like your experience with religion, no one really likes to be told that they are wrong… you sure didn’t.

i’m sure you know that people telling you you’re wrong and then you tell them right back that they’re wrong doesn’t really solve anything.  some examples would be the never ending middle east conflict, or the montagues and the capulets, gargamel and the smurfs, mordor and middle earth, and so on and so forth.  i am sorry for how your father was; i, too, have had similar experiences in life.  but as i get older, i realize that i should not have to carry the burden of my ancestors’ prejudices.  i would like to have my own, thanks.  nor would i burden my daughter with them, but that she can have her own.  it’s hard enough to live one’s own life, let alone other people’s on top of it too.  

to recap:  the universe is not fair.  power corrupts.  people in power will oppress.  nothing is cut and dried.  questioning does not necessarily get you answers.  there is no love in fear.  you don’t know everything.  not knowing everything should concern you.  no one likes to be wrong.  and life is hard.  you can spend a good chunk of your life being angry and feeling wronged and entitled, or realize and understand these truths now and live relatively content and free to pursue your happiness without being held back by the pain of your past.  one last thing… life is not is how you lived as if it were your last day, it is in finishing well.  I for one do not intend to finish in some convalescent home rotting away with bedsores and waiting to die because i have alienated everyone important in my life.  I would like to finish knowing that my life mattered and had positively affected those whom i cared about and maybe to those i didn’t even know.  that would put a smile to my face as i close my eyes for the last time.  i surely don’t want to end up as the guy who was ‘right’ or the guy to told everyone how wrong they were. 

it’s still a work in progress…