Eternal Sacrifice

A poem written from the perspective of a man struggling with his own religious identity.

I can barely hear the passionate proclamations - my pastor in the back pews;

Tucked away in my corner, bibles surround me,

Mine the only one lathered in a thin film of dust;

Ancient words, from ancient people, with ancient values.

Can you hear them?

Poisoned bigots chanting, their placards held high:

"God hates gays, God hates gays, God hates gays..."

Meanwhile that pastor chants cries of love, awesome power and tolerance.

Somewhere, out there is a scientist,

Furiously jotting down notes,

Research, research, research;

We give no credit to our scientist;

Oh no, that we give to God.

You can sit there Mr Pastor, on your patronizing pedestal, procrastinating,

While millions overseas suffer, starve and shout similar cries of anguish,

While God somehow values our prayers over theirs.

And I could leave, Mr Pastor;

I could abandon a cruel indoctrination, leave all this behind;

I could go on my way, taking what little self-worth I still have;

But I won't - I gave all that to God.

So I sit here, absorbing nothing,

Your monotonous murmur enough to drive me mad;

Skeptically, I ponder - To God I gave my life,

To me, I gave nothing but strife.

Reviews

[AaronFreitas]

Awesome work. I too at times find myself struggling with my religious identity. I think a lot of times society wants us to put a label on our beliefs. For me, I am comfortable with my relationship with my Lord and my faith. In the same breath I say I am not a fan of churches. Some see it as hipocritical but for me, and in my opinion, it is about your belief, your faith and your personal relationship with God. I feel he loves all regardless of gay or straight, male or female, ethnicity and or religion. The issues with religion and faith are created by humans and God allows us to make our choices for in the end he will love us regardless. Wow, I can't believe I wrote that much haha great work, great topic.

[Daniel Botha]

Thanks Aaron. I appreciate the read. Have to admit, as my first piece of poetry, it's a topic that means quite a lot to me. I originally thought this poem would be somewhat controversial among religious readers as it does have an atheist lens and could come across as quite cynical. Interestingly, the response from religious readers has generally been positive and encouraging. I'm beginning to learn from my own writing; maybe this issue isn't something that Atheists are exclusively aware of. Thanks for the read. Let me know if you have anything you'd like me to read :)

[AaronFreitas]

If you get a chance read Heaven and He'll by me... I wrote it last night kind of similar topic. Thanks

[Leviathus Fortes]

Denomination matters not.

One must only keep of faith.