Religion...

Yeah I said it. I'm tackling the big one today. Religion.

But I'm not tackling the typical "I believe/don't believe this or that, and here's why..." blah blah blah. Because I feel like my faith, or potential lack there of, is a personal choice and journey.

I'm more or less making note that people are SO quick to explain the unexplainable by using religion. More specifically, when they are trying to explain a less than pleasant occurrence. It's been bugging me since Heather's squabbles with Matt and subsequent break-up. In the beginning, people were quick to point the finger at her. "You're texting too much" or "You guys need to communicate better", but as the relationship progressed, or rather it began to further deteriorate, people immediately jumped to "God has a plan" or "God only gives you what He thinks you can handle", blah!

Really? God decided to make Heather's relationship fall apart? God wanted Heather to be miserable for a while? Sorry, hunny, but I can't quite take that at face value. Whether I believe in God or not is irrelevant. Relationships are a human condition, and sometimes humanity sucks. Let's be honest; break-ups suck. Relationships and dating can suck. People are not good to each other and I don't think any kind of deity has anything to with it.

If that were the case, then why wasn't God telling Heather to stop texting? Because that was the problem in the beginning, right? WRONG! The problem was that the relationship wasn't working. Neither of them knew it yet, and it spun into a situation that caused them both a great deal of pain. So is that all God's work or not? Or does your God get to pick & choose when to claim responsibility? Does free will not exist to you people?

Pardon me for my accusatory banter, but it really irritates me that people rely on God as a way to reassure someone. They only pull the "God" card when there is just no explanation. He either does it all, or he does nothing. Period.

And again, I'm not saying that I do or do not believe. But what I can tell you is that my belief or non-belief is not conditional. I don't pull it out when I have a losing hand and hope for the best. Religions are generally based on faith. Complete faith. You don't get to choose when it's convenient. So take it, or leave it. But whatever your choice, STOP trying to use it to make others feel better. Especially when you don't know squat about them or their beliefs.

***end rant***

ps, feel free to re-post this for your "commenters". I take full responsibility and will deal with any/all snarky bullshit!