Goatmoose

I never, ever want to tell anyone what they should or shouldn’t think when it comes to religion. I really don’t care what you do or don’t believe. Every person has been raised their own way, has their own mind, can think for themselves and come up with their own opinions and beliefs. That’s fantastic. That’s human.

What’s messed up is something like the following video, a filthy piece of religious propaganda put out by the clearly insane group Answers in Genesis. This is how they describe the video in the caption on YouTube:

Answers in Genesis is an apologetics (i.e., Christianity-defending) ministry, dedicated to enabling Christians to defend their faith and to proclaim the gospel of Jesus Christ effectively.

“Proclaiming the gospel of Jesus Christ effectively” is apparently defined as threatening people, saying “believe in God, asshole, or this tough looking wigger kid will shoot you in the face!”

This really terrifies me. The message they’re trying to get across could be interpreted many different ways, but the way I see it, they’re saying that if you don’t believe in God, you’re worthless, and might as well get shot and die. You can’t possibly matter to anyone if you don’t matter to God.

But grandpa, I was raised Catholic, and I was always told God loves everyone, even those who don’t love him.

Apparently not. Apparently you can not matter to God.

But grandma, I thought “thou shalt not kill” was a commandment?

Apparently not. If you manage to get on God’s naughty list, you’ll get shot in the face. By a kid. In a wife beater. In broad daylight.

Honestly, religious activists can be terrifying people with really scary messages. Again, I don’t want to comment on any religious belief directly. I think they’re all fine – do what you want. You’re a person with a brain and I’m cool with whatever choice you make. What I’m not cool with is people who do things like this video. I’m not cool with people and groups who try to force messages and beliefs upon others. I’m not cool with those who think everyone should be a certain way, the same as them, or they’re crap. I’m not cool with judging others based on their upbringing or belief structure just because it is different. This goes for religion, atheism, favorite music or preferred method of cooking an egg.

Let people do what they want and think what they want. Let individuals live individually – it’s what makes people interesting and unique. Simply put, let people be people. Or I’ll shoot you in the face.