“Do not believe in anything simply because you have heard it. Do not believe in anything simply because it is spoken and rumored by many. Do not believe in anything simply because it is found written in your religious books. Do not believe in anything merely on the authority of your teachers and elders. Do not believe in traditions because they have been handed down for many generations. But after observation and analysis, when you find that anything agrees with reason and is conducive to the good and benefit of one and all, then accept it and live up to it.” -Buddha

How beautiful is it that Buddha suggested that we (in so many words) question everything?

The problem I’ve always had with the religion of love and forgiveness (Christianity) is that it DEMANDS faith and threatens me with eternal hellfire and damnation if I come up short.

Wait…

Either I bow down before the all-loving Jesus or I’ll burn in hell? You’re fucking kidding me, right? That sort of offering seems like the behavior worthy of a two-bit thug or a schoolyard bully, not the message of a religion or prophet offering salvation. Faith by definition requires a suspension of reason and disbelief, much like a fantasy story… I personally find it insulting. So thanks but no thanks, I am capable of discerning right from wrong, I can think for myself, and I don’t need any silly-spooky threats to motivate me. I’ll continue questioning everything, and when I find what agrees with my reason, I’ll try and live up to it.