Well, I guess my brain must have fallen out somewhere along the way, here. At least, that is the impression I get from what I've been reading on the Internet. Usually I have enough common sense to avoid reading comments on articles when I'm surfing, but sometimes I just slip. Lately I've noticed that the comments fit a pattern of sorts. Whatever the problem is, the source of the problem is President Obama, or it's ex-President Bush's doing. Occasionally it is Clinton, either Hillary or Bill. When the problem turns on religious or ethical matters, the problem is invariably resting on the shoulders of anyone of any religion who is stupid enough to believe that nonsense.
"Stupid enough to believe that nonsense?" Yup, that's what they say. If you'd just give up all that religion, those myths and legends meant just to control people for the benefit of the clergy and the church then there would be peace in the world and all our problems would just go away. Hmmm...I guess I just don't have what it takes to see any of those benefits I'm supposed to be getting as one of the evil clergy. I want to know where all that money is going, because it is certainly not in MY bank account. As a matter of fact, last time I looked I was working as a bivocational pastor for the equivalent of about $4 an hour! I could make alot more money with a lot less hassle and trouble if I worked at a fast-food joint. "Do you want fries with that?"
It annoys me when people lump other people into any sort of stereotype. "Always" and "Never" are two bad words when it comes to describing classes of people, and most times individuals as well. And the other thing that annoys me is when people base their opinions on bad history. "Christians are just stupid people who don't know how to think for themselves, and they have been responsible for more deaths than anyone else throughout history". Yeah, right. The entire Spanish Inquisition accounted for about 3,000 deaths over a 200 year time span, while the atheistic Stalin killed 20 million people in about 20 years. Sure, there have been some people who have done bad things in the name of Christ, and there are some people (maybe alot) who are Christian and who don't think more than your average houseplant, but some of the most brilliant minds in history have been Christian. And there are plenty of examples of non-religious people doing bad things in the name of selfishness and who don't want to think.
The short and long of it, cut out the stereotypes and start using your head for more than a hat rack. I'll do the same, and I'll stop reading the comments on internet articles for good measure.
"Don't have anything to do with foolish and stupid arguments, because you know they produce quarrels." 2 Tim 2:23 (NIV)
