Luck Versus Religion: I'll Take Luck Any Day

One of the truly damaging aspects of religion is that takes away our pride and belittles our accomplishments. God gets all the credit, we get all the blame.

I was contemplating in bed this morning, enjoying a lazy morning, thinking about how I should be in here blogging, but instead watching the sunrise, talking lazily, listening to the birds singing their springtime songs, and enjoying the beautiful lagoon out my window with the beach and ocean in the distance.

A religious person might wake up on a beautiful day like this and say, "God has been good to me," with an undercurrent of, "... even though I'm an undeserving sinner." That's sick. It takes away our pride in our accomplishments. Even on the very best days of our lives, religion (especially Christianity) tries to knock us down, tell us we're flawed sinners, and convince us that in spite of our awfulness, God has begrudged us a nice day.

Elton John: Gay Lover's Suicide was from Christian Guilt

When it comes to homosexuality, Christians (and other conservative religious groups) like to claim that they aren't bigoted, and that their "Hate the sin, love the sinner" teachings are loving and kind. The latest tragic news out of London shows the real truth: this Christian philosophy is cruel and heartless.

Yesterday singer Elton John revealed that a former lover's suicide was caused by guilt over his homosexuality. His lover couldn't reconcile his gay lifestyle with the teachings of the Christian Church, and threw himself under a lorry. This is a story that is tragically repeated, over and over, around the world. And for every suicide, there are probably a thousand tortured men who live depressed lives, and a million angry men who feel needless guilt but manage to reject the Christian's unnatural and unhealthy attitude.

Christians need to face the reality. They hurt people.