Abandon Religion Research Paper
Most people who are brought up in Christian households never question their faith. More often than not, they are given no good reason to doubt their beliefs; they assume that God is gracious and loving. Society views religion as a source of goodness and charity. It is commonly believed that to oppose religion is to oppose all such goodness and charity that is stipulated to be with it. For most of my childhood, I believed all of these things. Growing up, I was never forced to go to church, but I did so because my parents did and I thought it was "fun". I went to church every week naively believing that God was just. Like so many others, I never challenged the Christian ways that had been spoon-fed to me; I had no reason to. That is until I began to see acts of violence, tragedy, and evil greatly outweigh acts of love performed by this so-called compassionate God. My faith was truly challenged and destroyed three summers ago.
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It was a day just like any other. The kind of day that you look back on and realize that it was the perfect day for everything to go wrong. Summer vacation had just started, so I spent the majority of my days relishing the fact that I didn't have to worry about homework or studying. Any recognizable sleep pattern was practically non-existent as it was lost somewhere between having to wake up excruciatingly early and having the freedom to sleep all day if I wanted. By the time I managed to crawl out of bed, the June sun was high and unforgiving. I made my way down the creaky old stairs and stepped outside. I was overwhelmed by a wave of heat, and quickly turned around to return to the comforts of air-conditioning. Trying to decide what to do with my day became much easier at that moment because I automatically ruled out going outdoors. In an effort to relieve the boredom, I plopped down in front of my computer to surf the internet for awhile. I nonchalantly navigated from web page to web page, half distracted by the idea of a change of clothes. The sea of information did little to stimulate me, but I still had trouble finding the motivation to take a shower. My stomach growled; my body's incessant reminder of hunger. I hadn't realized how hungry I was until I began fantasizing about a huge bowl of Fruity Pebbles. I was interrupted mid-thought when the phone suddenly began to ring.
"Hello?" I impassively asked into the receiver.
Silence.
"Hello?" I asked again annoyed.
Still nothing. I was about to hang up when the voice on the other end said my name. At first I didn't recognize my friend, but once I did I knew something was very wrong.
"Have you heard about Brooke?" she asked in a shaky voice.
I had not, in fact, heard anything about my best friend, but I didn't answer right away. A devoted gymnast, I assumed that she had done well in a competition over the weekend. That can't be, I thought to myself, she didn't even have a competition.
"What are you talking about?" I asked, but somehow already knew.
"She was in a car accident" she and her parents. They didn't make it Brooke died.
I was floored. The voice on the other end of the phone became distant and no longer made sense to me. My eyes filled with tears and I grabbed onto the counter for stability. Disbelief and shock besieged my body; I began to sob uncontrollably. I immediately questioned God. How could He do this to someone so pure and innocent? Why her and not me? I couldn't grasp the idea that she was gone, that God would take her away so brutally. Hundreds of doubts infected my brain. I don't remember hanging up the phone or getting up or eventually taking a shower; I only remember the hurt I felt in the realization that my God could do something like this. It was at that moment that my downward spiral began.
Since early childhood, I recognized religion and God in a positive light, but since Brooke's death, I was forced to face the harsh reality of having been lied to. I had built this "good God" up over many years only to see him rip so many lives apart. The loss of my best friend forced me to lose my faith. One would think something like this would only strengthen my faith, but since then I have felt nothing for him. I became numb.
When I ask others to abandon religion, they will reply, "Why would you want to forsake something that has produced so many helpful things?" But I am not asking people to give up their affectionate and tender ways, laced with gentleness and humanity. I am not asking that they give up mercy or justice, things which are just as easily attainable without religion, if not easier. I am asking people to give up their fear of hell and demons, their hope of an afterlife and a God. I am not asking the human species to surrender the things that are good and accompany every warm heart -- I am asking the human species to remodel the idea that a God exists that will punish nonbelievers and reward believers. The consequences of a society functioning under the false pretense that God will reward those who are good will only devastate them when an experience like mine forces them to think otherwise. If people were to suddenly discover that there was no God, would they find themselves to be less considerate, less hopeful, less charitable? If any religious person can honestly say yes to this, then it would only be right to be suspicious of the claim that they are hopeful, kind, or charitable now.
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It was a day just like any other. The kind of day that you look back on and realize that it was the perfect day for everything to go wrong. Summer vacation had just started, so I spent the majority of my days relishing the fact that I didn't have to worry about homework or studying. Any recognizable sleep pattern was practically non-existent as it was lost somewhere between having to wake up excruciatingly early and having the freedom to sleep all day if I wanted. By the time I managed to crawl out of bed, the June sun was high and unforgiving. I made my way down the creaky old stairs and stepped outside. I was overwhelmed by a wave of heat, and quickly turned around to return to the comforts of air-conditioning. Trying to decide what to do with my day became much easier at that moment because I automatically ruled out going outdoors. In an effort to relieve the boredom, I plopped down in front of my computer to surf the internet for awhile. I nonchalantly navigated from web page to web page, half distracted by the idea of a change of clothes. The sea of information did little to stimulate me, but I still had trouble finding the motivation to take a shower. My stomach growled; my body's incessant reminder of hunger. I hadn't realized how hungry I was until I began fantasizing about a huge bowl of Fruity Pebbles. I was interrupted mid-thought when the phone suddenly began to ring.
"Hello?" I impassively asked into the receiver.
Silence.
"Hello?" I asked again annoyed.
Still nothing. I was about to hang up when the voice on the other end said my name. At first I didn't recognize my friend, but once I did I knew something was very wrong.
"Have you heard about Brooke?" she asked in a shaky voice.
I had not, in fact, heard anything about my best friend, but I didn't answer right away. A devoted gymnast, I assumed that she had done well in a competition over the weekend. That can't be, I thought to myself, she didn't even have a competition.
"What are you talking about?" I asked, but somehow already knew.
"She was in a car accident" she and her parents. They didn't make it Brooke died.
I was floored. The voice on the other end of the phone became distant and no longer made sense to me. My eyes filled with tears and I grabbed onto the counter for stability. Disbelief and shock besieged my body; I began to sob uncontrollably. I immediately questioned God. How could He do this to someone so pure and innocent? Why her and not me? I couldn't grasp the idea that she was gone, that God would take her away so brutally. Hundreds of doubts infected my brain. I don't remember hanging up the phone or getting up or eventually taking a shower; I only remember the hurt I felt in the realization that my God could do something like this. It was at that moment that my downward spiral began.
Since early childhood, I recognized religion and God in a positive light, but since Brooke's death, I was forced to face the harsh reality of having been lied to. I had built this "good God" up over many years only to see him rip so many lives apart. The loss of my best friend forced me to lose my faith. One would think something like this would only strengthen my faith, but since then I have felt nothing for him. I became numb.
When I ask others to abandon religion, they will reply, "Why would you want to forsake something that has produced so many helpful things?" But I am not asking people to give up their affectionate and tender ways, laced with gentleness and humanity. I am not asking that they give up mercy or justice, things which are just as easily attainable without religion, if not easier. I am asking people to give up their fear of hell and demons, their hope of an afterlife and a God. I am not asking the human species to surrender the things that are good and accompany every warm heart -- I am asking the human species to remodel the idea that a God exists that will punish nonbelievers and reward believers. The consequences of a society functioning under the false pretense that God will reward those who are good will only devastate them when an experience like mine forces them to think otherwise. If people were to suddenly discover that there was no God, would they find themselves to be less considerate, less hopeful, less charitable? If any religious person can honestly say yes to this, then it would only be right to be suspicious of the claim that they are hopeful, kind, or charitable now.
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___________________________________________________________If you need a custom research paper, research proposal, essay, dissertation, thesis paper or term paper on your topic, EffectivePapers.com will write your research papers from scratch. Starting at $12/page you can order custom written papers online. We work with experienced PhD. and Master's freelance writers to help you with writing any academic papers in any subject! High quality and 100% non-plagiarized papers guaranteed!
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