So many Christians, so few Lions

Despite my devotion throughout high school and even a little beyond, my first disagreement with Christianity happened when I was actually quite little. My parents were both raised by fairly religious parents, but they too got bored with it for a while during the 80’s. So, until I was eight we went to church twice a year. My father had a religious experience somewhere in there and we started hitting church three times a week, sometimes four. Of course, they believe that their poor church attendance in the 80’s is the direct cause of all three of their sons being heathens now. (They can’t think for themselves, why should their sons be able to?)

So as a kid I had only a cursory understanding of Jesus and his teachings. I remember my best friend at school was a Mormon. And at some point I was told that poor Clyde was going to H-E-double toothpicks because Mormonism is actually a cult that had been led astray by a false prophet named Smith. Now, it could have been Colonel Mustard for all I cared, my friend was going to hell, and I was powerless to effect change in the matter. How could this be? He’s a kid. He didn’t choose his parents or the church they took him to. Why should he suffer eternal damnation?

Well, like all the other nutters, I devoted two years of my free time to reading that giant book which most hypocrites claim to believe but never really bother to read on their own, and I came to the mind boggling conclusion that I am almost a bazillion times more compassionate than Jesus or any of his contemporary followers.

Now I could list all the social advances the Jesus people have fought against, from abolishing slavery right on up to equal rights and the current gay marriage debate, but that would no doubt belittle the epiphany of a 10 year old kid that I'm trying to share. And I think this one example, if carefully considered, should not only cause Jesus himself to take a good look in the mirror, it should also be accessible to anyone with a 5th grade education. An open mind would help, but I don't think it's necessarily a requirement.

I don’t personally like getting pissed off at people, and I certainly don’t think that my kicking the shit out of some asshole is going to make them a better person. Take any insane lunatic, Hussain or Hitler for example, and I’d have to agree they should be locked up and maybe even beheaded just because they probably don’t deserve a free lunch for the rest of their days, but I would never think that torturing them was in any way a benefit. Sure it might satisfy my sense of hate, but is that who I want to be, a hollow man amused by the suffering of another human being? No.

But this Jesus character, you cross him and he’ll put the fucking screws to you. You’ll end up spending ETERNITY in a pit of fire and brimstone. Is that compassion for a wayward child? The Jesus people think so. It must be that ‘tough love’ they talk about. Spend an eternity in torment, hell-fire and damnation, not just for being a mass murderer, rapist or thief, but for being a 10 year old kid whose parents take him to the wrong church.