My Views on Religion

I admit I don't have much of a beef with religion. I don't have much of a rapport with it, either. I've observed it enough to be sure that what it really is, is a clever con with a very believable story. It offers a lovely promise of hope and redemption. When I take a look at the rising thing called Christian nationalism, I see a clearly divided balance of power. The man is the master, the woman and children are the slaves. The woman is subservient and keeps the children in line. The man rules with an iron fist. Eventually, the children go down separate paths, leading in freedom for the boys and eternal bondage for the girls. Freedom in the Lord, slavery in the home. How ironic. I was baptised when I was about 23 years old. It was around the end of February, 2005. I was a sort-of believer back in those days, but I was skeptical, too. Eventually the belief disappeared, the skepticism increased. If it's really true that some sort of god awaits us in the end, then I've done a half-assed job in making myself believe in it, whatever it is. If there's nothing at all, then my efforts resulted in a very wet person on that day. Fantasmic in any case. Thankfully, it wasn't all that bad. The water in the baptistry was warm. I was lucky. Some people take the plunge and the water is freezing. I began my existence as a Catholic, then moved over to Apostolic/Charismatic, non-denominational, Church of Christ, Seventh-day Adventist, Presbyterian, Pentecostal, and Lutheran faiths. I've found nothing in all of these religions. All of them feel precisely the same. God is used in the same way by all of these religions. It's used as a tactic of fear to keep people in line. Guilt and shame. It's fucking pathetic. I'll be 44 next week and I know damn well what I'm talking about. That's all I have to say about religion. For the record, I am an atheist. Good day.