Why Write?

What drives me to write? It's simple, really: the quest for truth. I want to seek it out, test out what I find, and write about it as I go. My definition of truth itself has even changed. That alone is unsettling to most people, and understandably so, but I find a great sense of peace in the knowledge that I have grown and changed with my findings instead of stubbornly refusing to believe what I saw.

I don't write out of hatred. I don't write out of fear. I may be angry at times, but I do not let the anger control my writing. Rather, I allow it to focus my creative energy and push me to write to the best of my ability.

Much of this blog is about debunking the myths of religion and namely Christianity... but I do not hate Christians or all things Christian. To say that I did would be the furthermost thing from the truth. I do, however, despise the many dark, harmful things that have been perpetrated in the name of Christianity... the centuries of domination, persecution of all things non-Christian, and the pain it has caused so many people despite it's message of love and peace. So, as you read what is written here, know that it was and is driven by a desire for all things to be fairly considered and the truth to be known.

I have undertaken liberty by opening my mind and setting my soul free. I challenge you to do the same. You might be surprised where the journey takes you. I certainly was.

Thoughts from "Tao Te Ching"

Just a few quotes from Tao Te Ching, or The Book of the Way, as translated by Stephen Mitchell.

38d
When the Tao is lost, there is goodness.
When goodness is lost, there is morality.
When morality is lost, there is ritual.
Ritual is the husk of true faith,
the beginning of chaos.
Therefore the Master concerns himself
with the depths and not the surface,
with the fruit and not the flower.
He has no will of his own.
He dwells in reality,
and lets all illusions go.

41b
Thus it is said:
The path into the light seems dark,
the path forward seems to go back,
the direct path seems longs,
true power seems weak,
true purity seems tarnished,
true steadfastness seems changeable,
true clarity seems obscure,
the greatest art seems unsophisticated,
the greatest love seems indifferent,
the greatest wisdom seems childish.

58b
When the will to power is in charge,
the higher the ideals, the lower the results.
Try to make people happy,
and you lay the groundwork for misery.
Try to make people moral,
and you lay the groundwork for vice.

72a
When they lose their sense of awe,
people turn to religion.
When they no longer trust themselves,
they begin to depend upon authority.

81a
True words aren't eloquent;
eloquent words aren't true.
Wise men don't need to prove their point;
men who need to prove their point aren't wise.

A Profound Thought from an Unexpected Source

I heard something very good recently while I was watching someone play an online video game (I Wanna Be the Guy).

Boy to Dracula: "You steal men's souls and make them your slaves." 

Dracula to Boy: "Perhaps the same could be said of all religions."

Love... Or Is It?

What is unconditional love? Is it a "Christian" trait - something only followers of Christ can experience and give? That is what several preachers have told me, citing Christ's love as the only true and pure love. If that were the case, then all the love of all the non-Christian people in history was tainted and false, incomplete. I find that conclusion disturbing. I have seen many kinds of love from many different people in my short lifetime - both Christian and non-Christian - and the love I've seen from non-Christians far exceeds that of the Christians. How many times have I witnessed the rejection of anything or anyone non-Christian, and how many times have I now experienced the shame of being an ex? My decisions are now wrong, my love is a mistake, and my truth is now a lie... all because I ceased to claim Christianity. I am a disappointment to all those Christians who once praised and lauded my good character and sound judgement. I fell to the wayside and have been choked like others before me. I left the faith. I am a failure. I thought too much for my own good, and am now trusting in my own wisdom and thereby am foolish. This is my story, but it is also the story of so many other people who have gone down this path before me. I will not be the last.
Rejection, expulsion, exclusion, disappointment, laying guilt, and shame - these are how many Christians show their love to those who are not in the flock, but particularly to those who have left it. It is all a heavy burden to bear, but the freedom of the soul is beyond any load or oppression.