your-god-is-too-small May. 2016 | Page 134

Religion: Womb of Arrogance and Irrationality By - Storme I’m not inclined to respect a religion that suppresses critical thinking, encourages homophobia and misogyny, and promotes the arrogant view that this unfathomably vast universe was created just for humanity. Nor am I inclined to respect the appalling belief that billions of people, many of whom are decent, have been damned to roast forevermore because they didn't bow before a celestial tyrant. The Illogic of Damnation, Prayer, and a Divine Plan How is it possible for a moral person to live blissfully in Heaven, knowing that countless fellow human beings are shrieking and writhing in agony below them? A majority of the damned did not have a true choice in selecting their religion—like many, they imbibed the beliefs of their immediate family as children, when their minds were malleable. If God has a plan for us all, as is often stated by evangelicals, the implication is that he selects where each of us is born. In doing so, is he not condemning countless people to suffer eternal damnation? A person in India will be indoctrinated into Hinduism — which, presumably, is a ticket to Hell — whereas a person born in Alabama is more likely to be born into an ultra-conservative Christian family. Our minds, our worldviews, are molded by our childhood environments and, perhaps to a lesser degree, by our experiences. Next, shall we discuss the futility of praying for material gain? Observe the world around you. Innumerable people suffer from problems that are far more severe than the problems most of us face. Their prayers are not P a g e | 134