Strict Christian Beliefs

I was raised in a strict Christian household with strict Christian parents. They forced me to know all the beliefs that are common place with the Christian religion, and really all religions - thou shalt not steal, thou shalt not kill, thou shall honor your mother and father. I was told not to judge others regardless of color, creed, religion and to help those that needed help. Prayers were said before every meal, before going to bed at night, upon rising from sleep in the morning. The point is that having been raised in that type of environment, being surrounded by people whom I believed to be - and was told were the "good" people, this is the life I wanted, these were the people that I wanted to be like, or so I thought.

As I got older though,

I began to see through this facade. I began to notice that these "good" people, these righteous people, we're actually quite the opposite. They judged others without impunity because of the way they dressed, because they had tattoos, because they were "different". They stole, they lied, they didn’t honor a single thing. They walked into the church a worshiper of the lord, praising him loudly so others would notice and then they would go and do “bad” things. I know, I saw these. I saw this hypocrisy at home as well. I saw my mother and father verbally and physically abuse each other. Once my mother stabbed my father with a fork. I imagine that she couldn't reach the knife or that whole thou shalt not kill thing may have gone right out the window. I have also heard the nasty, cruel things that my father said to my mother as well, so maybe the fork stabbing was justified. Seeing all this, with my mind soaking in all these things, I started to realize that this whole idea of "religion", this whole idea that we have to live our lives according to the words in some ancient book - wasn't real.

I'm an adult now, and as such I am able to form my own thoughts, and form my own conclusions. Religion and religious beliefs cause war. They turn people, cultures, and nations against each other. It's the same hypocrisy that I witnessed while growing up, only on a much larger and troublesome scale. This wasn't an easy conclusion to come to. Having been raised how I was and knowing that the people I love and that love me are "religious" people, but it was the obvious conclusion. It's all right there for everyone to see, you just have to know where to look. Or you can come to the church I was taken to as a child and witness it all first hand.

The moment we do forget about religion, that is the moment when we take a step forward towards a better world. It won't be perfect, it never will be, but it will be better. As for me, well I don't go to church anymore, I don't pray and I don't live my life by the words of prophets. I am a good person, and I do try and live my life in a good way because I do believe that you get exactly what you give. In that sense, I guess that religion did help me become a good person because it showed me exactly what not do and what not to be. So thanks mom and dad. By showing me what I could have become you taught me a valuable and lifelong lesson.