Complex Religion
Sara Gaffey
English 102
Napolitano
Persuasive Draft
Complex Religion
Whether there is a God or not has been one of the biggest debates, well, ever. There are worthy arguments from both sides about the existence of God, yet, none can be proven, and never will be.
Christianity is a confusing religion. It’s confusing when I hear that God hates gays and does not accept them. They will go to hell for their preferences. I believe that piece of information is even in the Bible. Yet, whenever I’ve accompanied someone to church, I always hear that “God accepts and loves everyone.” It seems very backwards to me. I was at a friend’s house the other day. The doorbell rang, and my friend was gone and his roommate was upstairs, so I answered the door. It was two Jehovah’s witnesses who immediately started preaching, leaving me no room to say that wasn’t even my house! Finally my friend’s roommate came down, and they started talking to her. When they finally paused she said “Uh, this is awkward…I’m an atheist.” And they responded with “its okay, God still loves you.” Now I had thought that anyone who didn’t believe in God was sent to hell, according to Christianity. So God loves people who don’t worship him, but he’s still going to send them into a fiery inferno when they die?
God’s followers cause the same confusion for me as well. Granted, I do know some true Christians, who accept everyone no matter what, but then there are the highly opinionated Christians who refuse to accept ANY possibility other than God. “When it comes to Christianity, any evidence that contradicts the bible gets thrown out. By definition, a Christian with faith simply cannot accept that they could be wrong.” (Cencula 1) It’s unfair how atheists and agnostics have to be tolerant of Christians, but Christians don’t have to be tolerant of atheists!
A harsh quote from Richard Dawkins proves my point a bit more. “I was asked what I thought about the widely
English 102
Napolitano
Persuasive Draft
Complex Religion
Whether there is a God or not has been one of the biggest debates, well, ever. There are worthy arguments from both sides about the existence of God, yet, none can be proven, and never will be.
Christianity is a confusing religion. It’s confusing when I hear that God hates gays and does not accept them. They will go to hell for their preferences. I believe that piece of information is even in the Bible. Yet, whenever I’ve accompanied someone to church, I always hear that “God accepts and loves everyone.” It seems very backwards to me. I was at a friend’s house the other day. The doorbell rang, and my friend was gone and his roommate was upstairs, so I answered the door. It was two Jehovah’s witnesses who immediately started preaching, leaving me no room to say that wasn’t even my house! Finally my friend’s roommate came down, and they started talking to her. When they finally paused she said “Uh, this is awkward…I’m an atheist.” And they responded with “its okay, God still loves you.” Now I had thought that anyone who didn’t believe in God was sent to hell, according to Christianity. So God loves people who don’t worship him, but he’s still going to send them into a fiery inferno when they die?
God’s followers cause the same confusion for me as well. Granted, I do know some true Christians, who accept everyone no matter what, but then there are the highly opinionated Christians who refuse to accept ANY possibility other than God. “When it comes to Christianity, any evidence that contradicts the bible gets thrown out. By definition, a Christian with faith simply cannot accept that they could be wrong.” (Cencula 1) It’s unfair how atheists and agnostics have to be tolerant of Christians, but Christians don’t have to be tolerant of atheists!
A harsh quote from Richard Dawkins proves my point a bit more. “I was asked what I thought about the widely
Cited: Wong, David. “10 Things Christians and Atheists Can (And Must) Agree On” Cracked.com. Cracked Entertainment, Inc, 2 November 2007. Web. 15 April 2011. http://www.cracked.com/article_15663_10-things-christians-atheists-can-and- must-agree-on.html Cencula, Mike. “Christianity vs. Atheism” Mike Cencula. 1999-2003. Web. 15 April 2011. http://cencula.com/christianity.html Linker, Damon. “Atheism’s Wrong Turn.” New Republic. 10. December 2007, Vol. 237 Issue 11. EBSCOhost. Web. 27 April 2011. University of Oregon. "Different views of God may influence academic cheating." ScienceDaily, 21 April 2011. Web. 27 April 2011