*WARNING* This blog will potential piss people off....but I don't care.

Yeah, so the heading says it all.

Why will this blog of mine piss some people off? Well it is because it is on the topic of religion.

 *the masses scream in terror* OH NO SHE OPENED UP THE FORBIDDEN BOX!!!

Damn right I did!

Now I know they say never talk about politics and religion bc all it does is cause fights and breaks in friendship. Well, the way I look at it is this, if you totally dislike me after what you are about to read, then you were never really a friend in the first place. That being said...here goes nothing!

 re·li·gion
 riˈlijən/
 noun 

The belief in and worship of a superhuman controlling power, esp. a personal God or gods. 

 Hmmm, that is very vague. Vague enough for me not to buy into it. I am not religious. I do not *say* I am part of the "so-and-so" religion. I am spiritual if you just HAVE to give me a label. I do believe in God. Yes, my atheist friends I do. I don't judge you if you don't. I still lovers ya! I don't, however, believe in the "savior of us all" aspect of Christianity/Catholicism/etc. (Yeah, that statement will piss off a few of my buddies). I am sorry, I just can't anymore. I can't "buy" into the whole concept of a Messiah, when many religions over the years (centuries) claim to have a Messiah, but all have different names and times that their particular Messiah lived. I was raised in a very strong Christian home...but a very (no offense) messed up church. However, that is not what changed my mind on what I believe. Life experiences changed that.

I have read the Bible more than a dozen times. I see a common thread throughout and that is of love. Ok, cool, love. I can dig that. After a quick Google search I found that the word "love" is mentioned approx. 697 times. What I don't understand that if that seems to be a common denominator in the Bible...then why do some religions act so darn hateful? The word "hate" is in there a meer 60 times. So if the main teaching is that of LOVE why do so many religions preach HATE?

Here is a couple biggies for y'all... I DO NOT HATE PEOPLE OF DIFFERING.... races beliefs sexual orientations anything.... I DO NOT HATE....PERIOD. Do I agree with some things? Nope. However, I do not hate. I hate the ACTIONS, but love the PERSON.

Do I hate my friend  from British decent because I am from Irish? Umm...no.
Do I hate my other friends who don't believe in God? Nope, not at all.They are AWESOME people with GREAT HUGE LOVING hearts.
Do I hate my 2 sisters bc they are gay? Heck no, I love them both to pieces!

See, I wasn't taught to not hate. In fact, it was very confusing what I was taught to be honest. In church I was told to hate this and love that. However, I always question why I should hate someone who was different than me.

As most of you know, I was in a relationship for quite a few years with a woman. Did I think I was this awful person bc I was? No. Did I hate those who told me I was going to Hell? No. Those that treated me no better than a dirt filled wad of gum on the bottom of a shoe, did I hate them? Nope. I hated the action, the words, not the person. I am now engaged to a wonderful man, who I see as my guardian angel. Not because he "saved me from my homosexual lifestyle", but because he showed me true unconditional love and showed me that I was worth every bit of it. See, that is what makes me different than those with the same belief as me.

Now mind you, not all are hateful and whatnot, but the number of people that are astounds me. My best friend in the WORLD is Jewish, yet she got "pooped" on bc she converted from Christianity. Not by those in the Jewish community, they accepted her with open arms, it was those who were in the Christian family. Umm....WTF?! Christianity and Judaism have the same core beliefs!!!! Why would you hate on someone who has the same belief in God as you? Oh...is it bc the Jewish community does not feel Jesus is the Messiah? The Savior? Well, I am sorry...that is a STUPID reason to be hateful. I say to people who say that, stop being self righteous, over zealous people that think it is your way or the highway.

Whoever does not love does not know God, because God is love. 1 John 4:8

...this is from the NEW TESTAMENT. Judaism does not study the New Testament, yet they are more understanding with this concept then the religions that DO study the New Testament.

This being said...I look at the Bible (or any other religious book) as more of a book of instruction. It is the instructions on how to live a life under that particular religion. The Bible is "the written word of God". Now, how do we know for ABSOLUTELY CERTAIN that the man who wrote these words didn't put their own twist on them? Hmm??

"The King James Version (KJV), commonly known as the Authorized Version (AV) or King James Bible (KJB), is an English translation of the Christian Bible for the Church of England begun in 1604 and completed in 1611.[2] First printed by the King's Printer Robert Barker,[3][4]this was the third translation into English to be approved by the English Church authorities." 

Let's look at that one line..."approved by the English Church authorities". So, basically a group of men, who had a set of particular beliefs, approved this version. Does that mean that is was the literal word of God, or the edited version APPROVED by these men? This is why I don't put much stock in the words in the Bible.

Now, I will say the Old Testament of the Bible I find very interesting, simply bc the majority of it has been proven as fact. Which to me is a really cool thing,. :) I am going to end this with a recent article that brought tears to my eyes...

 http://www.dovechristiancounseling.com/MentalIllness.html

This is a "Christian's" view on mental illness. I am sorry but it really fucking (yes I swore) hurt to read this. I have mental illness, I am not ashamed of it. I have OCD, Panic/Anxiety Disorder among other fun things. I am NOT demon possessed. I am NOT this horrible person. I am a person, who by no fault of my own, has issues. I suffer day to day with these issues...but ya know what? The struggles with myself are NOTHING compared to the struggle I have dealing with closed minded people like the person who wrote this article. I have learned to deal with my "issues" (for lack of a better term) without medications, but I know some can't. I use meditation, writing, exercise and yoga. My head has never felt clearer.

I am sorry, but if people just followed the premise behind that one word said almost 700 times, things would not be so effin complicated. I love all my friends. The ones of varying beliefs. The straight, gay, lesbian, bi, trans, whatever ones. The ones with BiPolar, Schizophrenia, BPD, etc. The ones who are sick. The ones who are poor/rich. The ones with disabilities. Those who, in societies eyes, deserve to be hated. The ones who have shown nothing but ill will and hatred towards me, yeah, I love them too. The only thing I hate is the hateful actions and the hateful words people spew towards each other.

I guess what I am trying to say in this long, and slightly winded, post is stop friggin judging and hating on people simple bc they differ from what you do/think/believe/act/whatever....that is just stupid.