God Hates Us All (Part 10)

     "I have a question." Helen said as she settled back down in the shade under their tree. "What have you got against the church?"

     "A simpler question could be what does the church have against everyone else?" Devon retorted with a question of his own.

     "Can you be serious for just a moment?" Helen asked.

     "I am being serious." Devon replied with a look that confirmed how serious he really was. "When was the last time someone was stoned to death by an Atheist?"

     "I suppose that was never." Helen guessed.

     "That would be correct." Devon answered, "Also... when was the last time you heard about Atheists putting a three million dollar bounty on someone's head for simply writing a fictional book they found offensive?"

     "Never." Helen answered, "I get your point. It does appear that religion seems to have a serious problem with a lot of people here."

     "Religions." Devon corrected, "They all have a problem with a lot of people just for being different. Do you think homosexuals are evil?"

     "Of course not." Helen immediately replied.

     "There are people out there fighting over land." Devon continued, "Not because it's good soil to feed people but because the land is alleged to be holy. More than one religion lays claim to the same part of the world and have been fighting for over half a century, with no end to the bloodshed in sight. It's downright revolting and yet they only reason why people are dying is because someone told them what they were fighting for was holy."

     "Is that why you hate religion?" Helen asked, "because of the things it makes people do?"

     "It's not that." Devon replied, trying not to sound offended. "It's the people who take something that can be good and use it to serve their own purposes. That is where religion goes wrong. It's not the book that projects evil; it's the people who use it to project evil. Some people look at the very same book and instead choose to be good. It's fair to say there was evil and good in that person long before the book came into their lives. It just gave them the excuse they were looking for to do what they'd been dying to do."

     "So the Bible doesn't kill people, people kill people." Helen said as she couldn't believe the point he was trying to make. "Seriously?"

     "All right, I guess that sounded better in my head." Devon admitted.

     "So what is the solution?" Helen then asked. "Banning religion?"

     "Not really." Devon replied, "How well is that working in China?"

     "Fair enough." Helen conceded.

     "Banning anything isn't the answer." Devon continued, "Banning books only makes people want to read it. Banning television shows or records only makes people want to download them to see what the fuss was all about. If you tell someone not to do something, they'll look into it more than if you never said a thing about it in the first place. Humans are a curious species and very much like the cat, it gets us into a lot of trouble."

     "So you don't want to do away with religion at all?" Helen asked.

     "I know a lot of atheists who want that. To outlaw religion, but that's counter productive in my opinion." Devon said as he sat up. "Religion doesn't need to be banned. Many people who are religious are not evil doers using the book to hate and discriminate against who they think are sinners. They mind their pees and cues and don't harm anyone. Why should we punish them just because a handful of nuts can't control themselves?"

     "Not the response I expected." Helen admitted.

     "Also, it cheapens my Atheism." Devon added.

     "Excuse me?" Helen asked. "How so?"

     "I choose to be an Atheist, it's not sanctioned by government." Devon tried to explain. "What gives my choice meaning are the options that are available to me. The more options I have, the more value my choice has. I can convert tomorrow but I choose not to. That is my value."

     "I think I get it." Helen replied.

     "It's the same for whatever your choice is." Devon continued, "If you choose to be religious, regardless of what creed that is, the fact that you have the freedom to depart and convert to something else or drop it all and go Atheist adds value to your choice. We choose to be who we are and that is what makes up who we are as individuals. If the government forced us all to convert to one creed or banned a specific religion, taking away that choice cheapens the path we've chosen to take. More freedom, not less is what adds value to the choices we make."

     "Wow," Helen said as she thought about it. "That is pretty interesting."

     "Mind blowing, I know." Devon responded, "I cringe every time I hear a prominent atheist talk about outlawing all creeds. It's a fight no one will ever win because as long as people have free will, they will have the option to be religious and some will choose that path. We have to respect that decision, even if we don't agree with it. That is the only way we'll be able to all live in peace."

     "It's a very nice thought." Helen admitted, "But what about your kids. Will they get that same choice?"

     "They will." Devon answered, "But I prefer they learn how to think, how to question things and how to make decisions for themselves before having religion shoved into their faces. If a five year old came to me and declared themselves to a specific religion, I'd say he, or she, was too young to understand what he's getting himself into and disregard it. Now if that same kid came to me and said the same thing when he or she was eighteen or twenty something, then I would respect that choice a bit more knowing the decision was made on their own without any interference from the outside world. If it's their decision, and theirs alone, then I would respect it even if I disagreed with it."

     Helen paused for a second. "Isn't it a tad early in the conversation to talk about how to raise children?"

     Devon smiled back at her. "Who said we're having any kids?"

     Surprised by his bashfulness, Helen chuckled. "Well, thank you for helping me avoid what might have been a very awkward conversation."

 

     "Not a problem."