Relig...uhm?!

I don't understand religion. I grew up in church with all the super fun and mind-numbingly boring indoctrination, but the reality of it just never sat well with me.

So many things just don't make sense about it.

Starting with the very beginning, where was Adam when Eve was chatting up the snake? Why did Adam listen to Eve when she told him to eat the fruit? The Bible makes mention to wives submitting to their husbands but why did Adam submit to Eve in this case, or for that matter, were they even married? I don't recall reading anything about their nuptials, as if it's just assumed that they did because otherwise they would've sinned in order to start mankind (like they hadn't already sinned before).

Skipping forward.

Is it just me, or does God at various points come across as a possibly arrogant and petulant child who wants, nay, demands obedience and worshipping for what he has 'allegedly' created?! I mean for the creator of a book about being humble, amongst other themes, he doesn't seem to be the greatest example of this.

It also seems strange to me that an all wise and merciful God could engineer and condone such violence towards other races. Isn't one of the first few commandments 'Love your neighbour as yourself'? Surely killing your fellow man is directly disobeying this commandment and therefore a terrible travesty/sinning, but it's condoned/instructed by God to do so...?!

One of the biggest issues I had with religion and still do, is what people have to say about homosexuality. I personally am undecided about what my sexuality is (not that it's ultimately anyone's business but my own), but I've always thought it was completely stupid to condemn people for their sexuality which people don't seem to get, isn't a choice. One of the things I've heard/read a lot is 'so when did you decide to be straight?' good question!

Thinking about it logically, why would someone wake up in the morning and go 'I feel like being treated like absolute crap for being attracted to someone of my same sex, I think I'll be gay today'.

Of course the same thing can most likely be said about all other sexualities except maybe straight.

Going back to a previously mentioned note, why do other people care so much about what someone else's sexuality is?! Do you also concern yourself with what TV shows they watch, what their star sign is, what brand of cereal they prefer? I can't think of any circumstance in which my day has been negatively or neutrally affected by someone because of their sexuality.

Also, do people realize how unintelligent they sound when they attack people who are 'different' to them? Namely when they do so without using proper grammar or punctuation.

Back to religion though...after watching The Da Vinci Code which of course is based Dan Brown's book of the same name, the idea that Jesus had a family is absolutely outrageous...or is it?!
Just because it's not written in the bible doesn't mean it didn't happen or exist. How many people are listed by name in the bible as compared to the masses of people of a particular population? Surely the Woman of Samaria had a bigger life than what was briefly mentioned about her in scriptures but it's not relevant to the story so it's not featured. Who's to say Jesus didn't have a wife and kids or a secret love affair with Mary Magdalene or hell, even one of the disciples?!

I can hear a multitude of angry religious scholars out there condemning these words as I write them, but if you stop and really think about it, it's not impossible. From my understanding of the bible, the sole purpose of Jesus' existence was to go throughout the lands convincing people that God exists and he can save them as long as they believe, asked to be forgiven for their sins and they obey him for the rest of their lives. Noting that Jesus left behind a family would throw the whole story out of balance and defeat the purpose of telling it.

I'm personally inclined to believe he did have a family, and that at least one of the disciples was gay because of some random statistics I vaguely remember coming across, and because it'd make the bible SO much more interesting to read!