Youth on Religion

Apparently it is the done thing nowadays to, when somebody asks about your religious beliefs, shrug your shoulders, give a lopsided smile and say “Dude, I believe in a higher power but I don't subscribe to any particular religion. That's just oppressive dude. I just think that if you're spiritual then you'll be fine”, in a patronising and slightly pitying tone. There are two types of people who are likely to say this. The first type is rare but I'll give them a mention anyway because this blog isn't going to be directed at this type of person and I wouldn't want anybody to think it is. This type of person is a deep thinker, probably highly intelligent and is likely to be educated in philosophy. They have given a lot of thought to the idea of God and simply cannot begin to comprehend just what God is like. They have accepted the existence of a higher energy form but do not claim to know anything about this source. They don't follow any religion because they simply do not have any idea of what God is like and don't think it right to worship anyone else’s idea, because after all, what is it but an idea?

And then there's the other kind. This kind of person is a somewhat shallow and vapid human being who, whilst only really caring about what they're doing next weekend and who they wouldn't mind sleeping with, are also pretentious enough to recognise that appearing to be a deep thinker makes you look good. This person has probably been brought up in a semi-religious household or perhaps just doesn't want to be an active atheist because that would involve having too much of an opinion. They most likely do not have a good philosophical or theological knowledge of most religious beliefs but wish to appear as if they are above all that narrow-minded nonsense so come out with the reply I mentioned above.

Now, I apologise if you genuinely have thought about the possibility of God and simply cannot come to a conclusion. If you've really opened your mind up to God but just don't feel like you can make the commitment to any one religion because your faith isn't strong enough or whatever then I wish you the best of luck and hope that you can find the spiritual path that is right for you eventually. However, if your disregard of religion is based on the age-old arguments that are recycled again and again and again then please, SNAP OUT OF IT.

“Oh but religion has caused so much trouble”, I hear you whine. “I can't support the Bible because the God of The Old Testament was MEAN” you protest and “People die of cancer. Innocent children get murdered, thus God can't exist!” you splutter, as you realise that you're talking to somebody who believes in a God that starts wars, holds grudges and sits back and allows bad, even evil things to happen to people who just do not deserve it.

If you gave me a chance, if you stopped attacking the whole concept of religion based on snippets of Dawkins that you have heard but not really understood and allowed somebody religious to explain the other side to the arguments you hold then perhaps you might wise up and see that perhaps it is people that are the cause of religion-based fights, not God. Perhaps you would listen to my analogy that just because football can provoke hooliganism doesn't necessarily mean that football is to blame and that instead, the hooliganism is the result of the people that follow it. Perhaps you could apply that to religion and you would understand that there are always two sides to the story.

“But even if you did answer my questions about God, surely you can't expect me to believe that your religion is superior to all others? You're biased! You won't give me a balanced picture!” Well actually, if somebody actually sat down and spoke with me about all this then I would explain that yes, I feel that I can prove my religion to be the one true religion. I would tell you about the archaeological, historical, psychological, fingerprint, eyewitness, scientific and medical evidence that has led me to realise that there is only one true religion. I would explain to you that it isn't just about picking your favourite out of a bunch and that you can actually go away and research varying beliefs to see how well they stand up to scrutiny. Hopefully I would change your opinions or at least open your minds to further thought on the topic.

However, I am not naïve enough to believe that many people my age genuinely care about matters such as this. Most people figure that they are doing just fine without religion or that they have enough to think about in this world without devoting any thought to another. All I can say is that this makes me really sad. People of today aren't rejecting God. They just don't care enough to want to accept him.