Anonymous Tells Westboro Baptist Church to Cease and Desist
Without further ado.-
1. A religion, cult or system of beliefs should serve men, not the other way around. If a religion teaches that the belief itself is more important than any human being's life (or any other being for that matter), that religion is then broken. WikiPedia's article definition:
In religious studies, religion has been described as a cultural system that creates powerful and long-lasting meaning, by establishing symbols that relate humanity to beliefs and values
A religion should embrace love towards other and not only to those who share the same religion. I would DEFINITELY appreciate if at least 1 priest would dedicate some minutes to all the men who died raising those magnificent Cathedrals, who are forgotten as rodents since they died "for the greater good".
Quoting Saint Francis of Asisi: "Love, then live".
2. People aren't lost if they lack the conception of a God or a conceptual force greater than their beings and comprehension. The sheer idea of believing in someone greater than our selves prompt us for a more humble and better persona, but the absence of that idea doesn't make them horrible people. They are DEFINITELY NOT LOST if they don't believe specifically in Jesus Christ, the Holy Spirit, Yoda, Scott Pilgrim, Santa or any other religious figure. The teachings of Jesus prompt us to love others for who they are, not for who they believe in.
This comes after a video I saw on YouTube were some Catholics bash on a Muslim praying in front of the white house throwing crucifixes at him and shouting JEEESUUUUUUS JEEEEESUUUUS JEEEEESUUUUUUS!
Their display of fear and hatred for what exceeds their spiritual system crosses a line that could even require the intervention of state to put them away for a while. No wonder in Canada they have a "No Preaching in public Law".
It comes to my mind the Letter from ANONYMOUS to Westboro Baptist Church:
Your demonstrations and your unrelenting cascade of disparaging slurs, unfounded judgments, and prejudicial innuendos, which apparently apply to every individual numbered amongst the race of Man – except for yourselves – has frequently crossed the line which separates Freedom of Speech from deliberately utilizing the same tactics and methods of intimidation and mental & emotional abuse that have been previously exploited and employed by tyrants and dictators, fascists and terrorist organizations throughout history.
3. If Catholic church doesn't want the State of U.S. Government forcing them to marry HomoSexual people (we'll get into that later), they definitely shouldn't force their so called "Intelligent Design". Schools teaches Science, and churches teach spirituality... PERIOD! Sure it's far from perfect and we are constantly changing the program and the contents of it as science develops further and further, but Science is the statement on what's Humanity progress figuring out all the wonders that God have created. If anything Science is the purist of the languages a man can speak God to, since it's the one that acknowledges his deeds.
4. It's not what you believe in what makes one a better person, but it's what that knowledge aids you to transform your reality. I've heard TONS of people bragging on how great persons they are and how they petty other people who COULD be as great as them if only they would believe in the same things. Have you noticed that Alcaeda and Christianity are the only ones who pursue others that think differently than them? Some Catholics could learn from Pope Saint Paul the 2nd who actually apologized for the Holy Inquisition and met with the Dalai Lama and acknowledged him as another way to get to God. But how do all those beliefs finally workout when actually bringing a stranger to dinner or aiding directly the needed is too much to ask? I rather having as a friend an Atheist who aids people when asked than a super religious people who just stands by and prays in the loneliness of his bedroom. Praying is not what helps people, HELPING PEOPLE is what helps people.
5. Giving money to Church is not the same as giving money to the poor. In Catholic realm, one is required to give 10% of what they earn. My input on this, take it like when buying merchandise of your favorite artist: If you want to support THAT Church, because maybe you want to support THAT Priest because maybe you like the style of this Preachings... Fine, go ahead and support as much as you want.
However, Catholic Ecclesia is no different than any other organization, and funds flow as they usually do in great tycoon companies: They go all the way up and then they decide how will it go down. Certainly from that money they payup resources for all the infrastructure needed: Clothing, Transportation, Campaigns, processes of Sanctification, etc. So if you wish to support a certain community... GO AND SUPPORT THAT CERTAIN COMMUNITY!!!
6. Let State deal with State matters, and the State will let them deal with Religious matters. I understand A religious system can be as rigid and closed minded as they wish to, since "Apparently by the powers that being" they have the right to. But If HomoSexual people wish to protect everything they have worked to build by defining their open-condition through a State-certified contract, Let Them BE! I can understand they are not going to be blessed by a Priest anytime soon, and Catholic church is entitled to their posture on that, thus that does not give the right to block legals derived directly from reinforcing Human Rights. Ow and one friendly reminder to African American Priests: Once your people was questioned onto having or not a soul... consider this before disregarding HomoSexual people from your mass.
7. Please please PLEASE Catholic Church drop the idea that Humans have the right over all animals to exploit them as desired. We must conceive that Flora and Fauna have the same rights on inhabitance in this planet. I'm no veggeterian, don't get me wrong, but am talking about the respect of life itself. We can learn from some Apache and other African tribes who actually thank the animal itself before eating it. This proves the respect they coat their values with. Even St. Francis of Asisi was (preturbantly) fond of Animals, hanging all sorts of Steaks of Meat to draw Animals neat the Chappel. Japanese's Shinto displays great respect and love towards all living creatures including landscapes (Lakes and Montains themselves), I quote some paragraph I snatched from ReligionFacts (HIGHLY recommended!!)
"The kami began as the mysterious forces of nature associated primarily with permanent features in the landscape, such as unusual mountains, rocky cliffs, caves, springs, trees and stones. Many folk tales evolved around these holy places, which often refer to animal possession and chiefly involve foxes, badgers, dogs and cats betwitching people. Celestial bodies play only incidental roles as Shinto kami."
Finally I leave you with some questions I always ask people around me:
If Jesus was only a man, would his teachings have a different meaning? Could the son of God be a mere mortal like any other?
If God would be proven not existent beyond all reasonable doubt... would you be the same person? why?
Religion is always a very delicate topic to discuss due to the fact that at least when it comes to philosophical believes about who we are and what is our purpose in life, we happen to be more faithful to that idea, that to our family friends or spouse. I couldn't agree more with the points you've exposed in this article, specially in the science fields. Sadly, important areas of the most important religions in the world are either corrupted by greed, power or are far away from their true purpose, and there are very few options for them to straightened: Either wait them to be enlighten by an epiphany, be forced into reason by the people, or just wait for them to crash and burn and hopefully learn from their mistakes without losing their followers. Because faith in something superior sometimes is the strength needed to go that extra mile and overcome the challenges in your life.
ResponderEliminarThat was truly touching... thx n,n
ResponderEliminarTristemente mis conocimientos de ingles se limitan a poder entender gran parte de lo que escribiste, pero a la hora de escribirlo pues no te lo manejo mi lic!!!! xD. Pero bueno.
ResponderEliminarSiempre he dicho que la religión, así como otro tipo de creencias y demás, son temas delicados. La gente se casa muy cañón con este tipo de pensamientos. y pelean a morir por defender en lo que creen, muchas veces a sabiendas de que están mal o que no tiene fundamentos.
Muchos creen que con el solo hecho de ser católicos/bautistas/mormones/etc. Pueden hablar por toda su congregación. Pero eso no es verdad.
A la mera hora, uno tiene que ver mas por uno mismo, su familia y amigos. Como dice el morielo. Seguir en lo que crees no por que te lo hayan inculcado o por presiones. Si no por que en verdad te ha dejado algo en lo que llevas de vida o aprecias las enseñanzas que la misma te deja.
Como siempre lo he dicho, yo creo en algo. No en un dios, Jehova o en Jesús. Pero creo que hay algo superior a nuestra comprensión. A lo mejor nos juzga, a lo mejor no. Nos ve o a lo mejor ni nos hace en su existencia.
Pero de algo si estoy seguro, que si estamos aquí, es pro algo. y yo creo que si yo estoy acá es, para honrar a mi madre, familia, amigos que siempre me han apoyado, salir adelante y pues dejar vivir a los demás.
Debo confesar que si me cansó leer el texto, no por la barrera del idioma, si no por lo intrínseco del tema.
ResponderEliminarMuy acertado y objetivo... de esos textos que se agradece al leer y sentir que no perdiste neuronas al hacerlo.
¿Mi opinion? Reza a quien quieras y ayuda a quien puedas... thats all
I agree with most of what you state here Juan, I have also believed for some time now that some religions have come to be, solely for the purpose of controlling the masses and strengthening the rulers of ancient (and modern) societies. I think that you may also include Buddhism in this entry, and how it preaches that heaven and hell are a state of mind and our correlation with others, and that whatever kind of energy and actions you send to the world, will be the same kind that returns to you (karma). Being a child of Catholics and educated in a catholic school, I myself have laughed at the hypocrisy of catholic "believers" and preachers.
ResponderEliminarCongratulations on your first post, I just think that you could use some spelling check before you post the next one.
Truth is that, dear brother... I was using FireFox's spell checking but will take another look to "cleanse it up".
ResponderEliminarCertainly I neglected to include China's bashing over the Tibet people... I'm doing some research and appended directly here
I agree with all the point you have discussed here, I specially like number 4. As yourself I too grew up going to religious schools, Mormons for elementary, middle and part of high school and a Catholic high school for my junior and senior years. There's always this common denominator, religions and churches are institutions and work as enterprises. They all want you monetary support in exchange for "salvation" and their leaders are always trying to "save" you and show you the righteous path... They pray for people instead of actually helping so I too prefer an atheist who actually lives a decent life than a preacher that does unspeakable acts but prays to the lord.
ResponderEliminar