I cannot wait until the day that the bible is set on the shelves with the rest of the mythological books! Morality does not require religion…And in fact, in my humble opinion, religion actually gets in the way of real morality.
The bible should not be abused to achieve personal agenda… I am frustrated with the ego and intrusion and judgment and self-righteousness and complete lack of interest in the beliefs of others that seem to be the standard when communicating with bible-based believers. Instead of insisting that I believe their way (which I spent years of my life trying to do), why not ask me what my thoughts are, how I see things differently, etc. Instead, it is mostly, "Let me tell you about MY god" and when I engage in an open dialogue, there is no interest on their part in anything that differs from their beliefs. It becomes a very fruitless and circular, exhausting interaction.
I agree that there is a leap of faith that is required to subscribe to most religions, one I am not willing to take. Why would I? And, I don’t need a judge to reinforce my behavior. There are consequences to my actions, true, but they happen with or without being judged for them.
Don’t get me wrong, I don’t believe in nothing… I choose to believe things that are more tangible, tested, proven, etc. I do not believe in god, I do not believe in needing a judge, nor do I believe that my friends and family are my judges. Their judgments are their own, not mine. I need something to make sense of it all too, which is why I continue to educate myself about the world around me (and beyond). I am not satisfied with an invisible, man-made omnipotent/omniscient being that has all the human characteristics of someone I would probably not even like in human form… ego, jealous, vengeance, etc. NO THANKS.