Manson's Essay
Take a second to think, if you see someone worshiping a tree, and drinking the sap from the tree, and saving every leaf that falls everday in a gold room, I know plenty of people who would say, "Freak!" And laugh about it quietly ...or loudly.
They believe that tree is their savoir, the messiah; how could you argue with that? Especially in the land of the 'Free will?' You can't. You can just make fun of them in your thoughts, quietly or loudly, whichever you wish.
Last night I read Marilyn Manson's essay on Columbine for Creative Writing.
In his introductory paragraph he grabs us all by the neck and draws us forward. Most people felt violated, offended, hurt by what he said. I think it is because most people are afraid to think what he thinks; no one wants to be sent to hell. To question religion seems blasphemous and no one wants to go against the son of God. I wouldn't.
"Whether you interpret the Bible as literature or as the final word of whatever God may be, Christianity has given us an image of death and sexuality that we have based our culture around. A half-naked dead man hangs in most homes and around our necks. And we just have taken that for granted all our lives. Is it a symbol of hope or hopelessness? The world's most famous murder-suicide was also the birth of the death icon--the blueprint for celebrity."
They say that you can't talk about religion and politics ...well, because it gets too controversial. And as open-minded as some people are, they are always going to believe what they originally thought.
Politics and Religion are too messy.
People feel disgusted with themselves when they question their faith. I think it is because of Fear. What would you do if there was no God? If there was no one who made the world? If the world just made itself? What would you worship then? No one takes a second to stop, look outside unbiasely, and see what exactly we do as humans for religion.
We worship because we need answers.
I have been brought up Catholic my entire life. I feel deeply for my faith, even though this entry seems to contradict that; I honestly do. I just think that no one ever takes the time to question, and if you don't question, I don't think you truly believe ...because you're not looking for the answers on your own. You're just taking on someone else's beliefs.
Some of us follow a religion our entire lives only because we were brought up that way, because we didn't know any different, because no one gave us the chance to think on our own.
Ignorance is bliss.
I believe that one of the greatest epiphanies that anyone could achieve is to realize this: Religion has flaw because it was created by the word of man. What to truly trust is that there is truth in every religion, not just one.
Some people argue that religion has been a way of life for centuries, why should we start questioning now? It's worked in the past for so long.
This is a time in history where everyone is becoming more equal, more independent, why not question when we have the brains to think? Don't let knowledge die out because we are afraid or because we've had all these answers for centuries.
Time does not make something true.
I will never be sure. I know it may sound like I'm the type of person who has to see to believe, but that's not it at all. I believe that sometimes you have to believe to see. It's just I don't think you can have all the answers in one sitting. And just sitting and never wondering, is not really following. It seems fake to me.
Don't shun out ideas and beliefs because you are afraid. Fear is one of the greatest emotions, passions that we humans can feel. It generates motivation. So be motivated. Look outside the box for a second. Questioning generates knowledge. Learn.
Everything has truth. Everything. Even a lie.