BrianJarrett.com

If you’ve spent any time on this site you’ll be well aware that I’m very critical of religion.  From a personal standpoint I can find no compelling reason to join any religion, particularly since we’re all already born with morals and a conscience.  To believe that one gets one’s morals from the Bible or any other “holy book” is absurd; one only has to read these texts to experience more violence, killing, hatred, bigotry, and depravity than one could muster in a lifetime.  Besides, when we already have the Golden Rule to live by I just don’t find the need to complicate it with silly rituals and superstitions.  I’d love to believe in eternal life but unfortunately no religion I’ve encountered has had the ability to convince me it knows more about what happens after we die than I do.

Despite this I do understand that religion can be an enriching and rewarding part of one’s life.  Most people are religious, at least to a certain degree, so there must be something to it.  I can’t pretend to share that same enthusiasm but I do have an interest in understanding it.  To do this, however, we must be open to discussing it freely, and that includes thinking critically about it.  I actually heard a pastor once say that if one’s faith cannot stand some criticism then perhaps it’s not worth having.  Criticism is a two way street though, and that’s why all my posts are open to comments.  If I can criticize then I can take criticism just as well.  Through this open discourse we can better understand each other’s viewpoints and learn to live together as harmoniously as possible.

Some, however, would like to silence this discourse.  These people are fundamentalists, true believers, absolutely convinced their version of God and their “truth” is true for everyone.  These are the people who, for hundreds of years, violently suppressed freedom of speech and ideas, denied and gagged science, and burned some of our best minds at the stake-all for their version of God.  They would have us believe that the world is flat, that the Earth is the center of the universe, that the Earth is only 6000 years old, and that evolution is a myth.  These are the same people now who are fervently working to circumvent the first amendment of our constitution, the amendment-as Jefferson put it-explicitly erecting a wall between church and state.  These are the people to whom credulity is a virtue and reason a vice.

This is where the real danger lies.  I have no problem with someone talking to their very own invisible friend; I do have a very serious problem with their invisible friend dictating federal law.  Our constitution has not a single mention of God or Jesus; it’s a completely secular document and it was the first of its kind.  Our laws are secular and belong to no one’s deity.  My goal as an American is to keep it that way, to preserve the concept of the America our Founding Fathers intended. I might personally disagree with religion, as you’ll see throughout this site, but everyone must be free to practice their own version-or to practice none at all.

I live by the Golden Rule which I believe to be the universal human truth.  There are a few other truths I believe as well:

• My disbelief is every bit as important and valid as anyone else’s belief.
• No one’s religious beliefs are excluded from criticism nor are they inherently sacred.
• Religion is not required for morality. The “conscience” is inherit in virtually all of us already.
• Religion and government must always remain separate.
• Religion is a personal matter and should be kept to oneself.
• Children should never be indoctrinated; only when a child is able to think critically for him or herself can he or she truly make a reasonable and logical decision about religion.
• The burden of proof is on the person making a claim that defies the laws of nature as we know them. If it can’t be proven, I am under no obligation to believe it.
• Credulity is not a virtue; reason is.
• Virtually anything taught by religion other than the Golden Rule is superfluous.
• Any “fact” predicated solely on the Bible being the literal and irrefutable word of God is not a fact and holds no authority or credibility.

As mature adults we should all be able to examine and question our own belief systems, as well as the belief systems of others.  No subject should be out of bounds; only open, honest, and unrestricted discussion will lead us to enlightenment.  If you’re offended by the material on this site feel free to leave a comment.  The discussion is always in the open.  You’re also free to leave at any time.  I’d invite you to stay a while though; just maybe you’ll come away thinking a little differently than you did before.