An agnostic point of view

Current mood: Open-minded
Listening to: Youtube

I just watched this very interesting video, which I really liked and found thought-provoking. The video is called 10 questions that every intelligent Christian must answer and has at this moment had 3,376,444 views. Now I'd like to post it, since I found it very intriguing, but also make some comments to it afterwards though.



Now. As stated, I enjoyed the video. But I'm not completely at ease with the narrator describing religious people as delusional.

delusion |diˈloō zh ən|
noun
an idiosyncratic belief or impression that is firmly maintained despite being contradicted by what is generally accepted as reality or rational argument, typically a symptom of mental disorder.

I have some trouble with this, because at the end of the video, the narrator states two things, which bothers me somewhat:

"Your religious beliefs hurt you personally and hurt us as a species because they are delusional."

I can easily see how some religious beliefs might hurt a lot of people world wide. Since I am a lesbian, I have experienced this firsthand. But I think he's generalizing way too much, because even though I'm a firm believer in agnosticism, I know that the notion of a god brings a lot of hope and light into a lot of peoples lives. Because even though religious beliefs are built on an illusion, from this point of view, how could this ever hurt us as a species?
The only thing that hurts us as a species is when religious extremists force their way of thinking on to everyone else. But I don't believe that this is something solely restricted to religion, but in general represents anyone who hold opinions, which they try and impose on everybody else.
I do however see the dilemma with this one.

"The belief in any "god" is complete nonsense."

To proclaim that a persons belief in any god is nonsense, seems so very disrespectful to me. I think it is degrading religious people to mindless clowns, which for a lot of cases is true (I'll come back to this further down), but making a generalization like that is hurtful to a lot of loving people, who happen to be religious. I feel like the belief in a higher being is a wonderful thing, even though I'm not able to believe. Now I write this, while thinking of circumstances like sickness, hardship and suffering of any kind. And I seem to remember a study which explained how especially sickness, is very likely to worsen, when the bearer gives up on hope and just settles in negativity. For many people, a belief in a loving god helps them through times such as sickness, and keeps their spirits up. Now I may not remember correctly about this study, but it just came to mind. So bear with me. Also, I'm not saying that this is exclusively limited to religion. Some people are able to keep up their hopes and spirits, without the belief of a higher being. Kudos to them.

Now all of this is just my opinion and as I stated initially, I like the video. But I really believe that people should be entitled to their own religious beliefs, without being looked upon as lesser beings. Again, stating this, comes with some exceptions, since there are some religious people who I consider to be quite delusional. But this is not due to their religious beliefs per se, but more so due to their behavior, which they explain with their religion. I'm not sure that quite conveys my thoughts to the extend I intented, but I can't think of another way to express it.
One of my very good friends is a Christian and to even consider her being looked upon as a lesser being, because of her believing in God, saddens me a great deal. She's a really great person and doesn't force her personal belief on anyone. At the beginning of our relationship, I confronted her with the apparent issue, between my homosexuality and her religious beliefs. Without hesitation, she looked me right in the eye and said this: "I am a Christian and therefore it is not my business to judge anyone. That is something only entitled to God and he will look upon us all, when we are standing at the gates of Heaven."
I often think of that statement and wish every Christian was like her. She has the amazing ability to look at people and recognize them for who they are - not letting words written by prejudiced men, control her outlook on the world. I can't comprehend how she is able to believe in God, with all the contradictions, but she once told me that she had at one time felt a divine presence, and this sealed her faith in Jesus Christ. I don't understand it and I can't imagine what that would be like at all, but I accept it. Because just as I can't apprehend her faith, she can't comprehend why I have feelings towards women. And this is what I think is important - tolerance. If she and I weren't tolerant, we wouldn't be able to be friends, but because we are, we're capable of enlightening each others horizons.