I got into quite a debate with Sharon Frasca-Williams and Donna Morris Kadding last week over the mosque being built near ground zero. This was one of my posts, which I think is worth repeating here as it says a lot about me and my fall from religion.

Years ago I was a practicing Christian, board member of my church, read the parts of the bible the pastor used for sermons, and was once an elder in a small church. I read the book the "De Vinci Code" and began to question my religion. So ...I read the whole bible and lots of other books on religion. I learned that there have been hundreds of religions worshiping a wide array of gods throughout the history of mankind. I found that a great many had the same savior born of a virgin myth who healed and brought people back from the dead. So the basic tenants of Christianity are nothing new. All those religions came and went, as will Christianity and Islam. I can actually see why the earliest of mankind chose to worship the sun. You can see the sun do things in your day to day life. You stand out in the sun too long and your skin turns red etc.

I learned that most religions, with the exception of the goddess religions of course, had a male savior and were male dominated. I learned that Christians have hated Muslims for thousands of years. Muslims have hated Christians in return and hundreds of thousands of people have died in this fight. (See crusades) No city has changed hands more than Jerusalem. Why? It really boils down to "my god is the one true god" argument. Kinda like my dad can kick your dad's a__. I think it was John Wayne who said, "if you ain't with me, you're again' me."

So religions, instead of spreading love, have become the great segregators of the world. It's us vs them. And if you don't see it our way, you are nothing. Catholics don't worship with Methodists, who don't worship with Mormons, who don't worship with Baptists etc. Most churches I've ever been to segregate by race as well. The last church I went to had one black couple. There was a "black church" that met after we cleared out, and a Korean church that met in the evening.

I learned that in our latest reincarnations of religion, there are holy books to rely on for god's direction. Only those books were written by men to support their idea of their religion and have undergone a number of changes and edits. The same bible says different things to different people and different denominations, based on what they want to prove. Catholic priests, for hundreds of years, wouldn't let laymen read the bible.

Many extremists in every religion have become murders and spreaders of hate instead of love in their god's name. The terrorists who hit the twin towers did so in the name of their god. 3,000 people were killed. Hate not love. So we in turn, attacked Iraq and killed over 1 million Iraqis, both civilian and soldiers. Hate not love. Catholics killed thousands of women, including children, accused of being witches, and thousands more for not agreeing with the Catholic religion. Hate not love.

It would seem to me that religious people have really cut god short. If I were to believe in a god, I would think that IT created the entire world as we know it today. I would think that IT had more important things to do than watch what I do in my bedroom at night or concern itself with me using his name in vain. I would think that IT wouldn't chose one sect of people over another and wouldn't favor men over women. My god wouldn't be a "jealous god." IT wouldn't wipe out the entire mankind in a flood except one family because he didn't get it right the first time. IT wouldn't inspire a book that says the world is flat or that ITS followers are ok to kill others in his name.

Now some will quickly point out secular folks who have killed millions like Hitler and Stalin etc. But this doesn't make what religious folks did right.

I learned that many of the folks who came to America came to escape being the minority religion. In Britain it was the Church of England. In Spain it was Catholics. They knew what it felt like to be the minority belief and wanted to have the freedom to practice their religion even if it was the minority group. Thus all citizens of the US have the right to believe as they see fit.

I didn't want this to be a discussion on religion, but religion was injected into the discussion. Sharon & others, don't pray for me or my salvation. Don't quote from your book. Believe what brings you peace. For me, I choose not to believe. I chose not to hate "others". I choose not to segregate. I try to treat others as I would want to be treated. I try to remember that we are humans on this little planet, all born from a woman, all bleed red blood and breath the same air. There will be no peace on our little planet until there is no more us vs. them.