What Is An Infidel???

What is an infidel?  I have been asked that question all the time.  Let’s take a look at the definition, shall we?

Infidel- A person who does not accept a particular faith.  A person who disbelieves or doubts a particular theory, belief, creed, etc.; a skeptic.

That would be me.  I am a person who does not believe in ANY particular faith.  And when it comes down to questions about the paranormal, blood coming out of eyes and hands, people getting healed from healing waters, and so forth…I don’t hold any stock in those things whatsoever.  Now, do I believe that there is some sort of cosmic entity guiding the universe??  I’m not “omniscient”, so I can NOT say that for certain.  Now, as for the candidates thus offered to be this “entity” be it Jehovah, Jesus, Allah, Shiva, Vishnu, Mithra, Osiris, Ra, Zeus, and so forth…I can safely say that I can rule each one of those options out.

How did I become an “infidel”?  Short answer…me.  Long answer…it was actually the particular “god” that I chose to serve that led me down the path of not believing in him.  Isn’t that crazy??  Not as crazy as it seems….

Consider this…when you think about religions, the basic underlying premise is that there is SOMETHING innately wrong with us as humans.  That somehow we were born wrong and in need of some sort of intercession…be it salvation from a god or some form of enlightenment.  But how can a baby who JUST came out of the mother’s womb have anything MORALLY wrong with it?  When I think about this type of foolishness, the concept of Original Sin immediately comes to mind.  Before the doctors even cut the umbilical cord and place the baby in the mother’s arms, a TRUE CHRISTIAN accepts that this little bundle of joy is ALREADY a wicked heathen covered in sin.  Crazy?  Not if you are a Christian and believe WHOLEHEARTEDLY in the concept of salvation.

Christianity is not alone in this.  All religions insist that we need to be “saved” from some ghastly fate after death.  And the only way that we can “get to heaven” is through various self-deprecating rituals such as fasting, bowing, kneeling, not having sex, praying, sacrificing animals, tithing (one that is ALWAYS encouraged), asking for forgiveness for your human fuck ups, and the list goes on and on.  And on a side note, most religions in ancient times included HUMAN SACRIFICE as a way to please their deities.  Why a deity would be excited over the death of a human is above my pay grade.

If you listen to “Amazing Grace”, by the time we get to the seventh word, we are already calling ourselves “wretches” that need to be saved!  That saved a wretch like me indeed!  But the list keeps on going…here are some of MY personal favorites:

“The Potter wants to put you back together again…at the cross, at the cross where I first SAW the light…I need someone to come and help me turn my life around…Just as I am, poor, wretched, blind…I bring my guilt to Jesus to wash my crimson stains…We deserve but grief and shame…nothing but the blood of Jesus can wash my sins away…I, wretched sinner, come to Thee…”

I digress, but you see what I mean.  And to have these things “force fed” to children is nothing short of child abuse.  Children need to hear words of love and encouragement.  Not words of hellfire and damnation…and especially that they are pitiful sinful creatures in need of some help!!  The only thing that religions truly purport to do is try to “fix” people.  But do we actually need fixing?  Hell no!  We need love, security, peace, and unity.  And that DOES NOT require a belief in any type of god whatsoever.  Even the “so-called” atheistic religion of Buddhism encourages people to follow the “Eightfold Path to Enlightenment.”  That path urges you to comprehend Karma, but what is Karma?  Just a complicated theory that, in the end, tells you that the problems you face are your OWN fault.  This excerpt is from Buddha Net:

“According to Buddhism, this inequality is due not only to heredity, environment, nature and nurture, but also to Karma.  In other words, it is the result of our own past actions and our own present doings.  We ourselves are responsible for our own happiness and misery.  We create our own Heaven.  We create our own Hell. We are the architects of our own fate.”

Well, so much for the 8 year old sexually molested and burned in the face with a crack pipe by her uncle (sign o’ the times).  It’s her own damn fault!  She must have been a real bitch in a past life!  And if you think about this…the concept of Karma is just as sick and offensive as Original Sin.  Well, so much for Holocaust survivors, Africans brought over in the slave trade, the many who died in the Inquisitions, and so forth.  They all must have been some really fucked up sinners in some life to get THAT fate, huh??  Obviously!  They got what they deserved.

The awe-inspiring “Buddha” was born Prince Siddhartha Gautama around 563 BCE (I use BCE…Before the Common Era instead of BC).  He was the son of a king, and he was raised as a spoiled rich brat.  He played in his fathers whorehouse until he was 29.  He then decided to become a “wandering ascetic” who was searching for the solution to the problems of death and human suffering.  After six years of wondering through the wilderness, he achieved (according to him, and we only have HIS word on this matter) supreme enlightenment at the age of 35.  Well, great for the Buddha!  Wasn’t he the best ever?  But where’s the humility?  Isn’t it fortunate that the very ideas about Karma explain the Buddha’s OWN noble birth?!  His previous lives must have been just as awesome as his current one.

Of course, the apologetics ALWAYS come around to say some bull shit like, “You’re taking that out of context,” or “Jesus didn’t REALLY mean this,” or “Muhammed didn’t REALLY mean that all infidels should be killed.”  I usually follow a simple rule of logic.  If you didn’t MEAN something, why did you say it?

Ancient superstitions…and that’s EXACTLY what they are…stand in the way of us making the world better TODAY.  Why would I give a rat’s ass about Earth when Muhammed said I would get 100 virgins in heaven??  It’s that same thought process that leads people to fly planes into buildings, to blow up subways, not care as much about the environment, and to try to speed up “so-called” apocalyptic scenarios.  Instead of planning for some inane life AFTER death, why not enjoy the beauty that is all around us?  This world and each other is all that we have.  Truth, freedom, love, peace, unity, and helping our fellow man should be the hallmarks that we strive for.  And I don’t need a god to tell me that.

© 2010 TheBlackGayInfidel

~ by theblackgayinfidel on April 29, 2010.