To all you "Christians", is it Judgment Day already?

(Yes, this was a facebook note I wrote)

No...

Well then why are you judging me?

First things first, this is NOT towards all Christians. I have plenty of friends who have faith and who are religious, and I love them to death: I don't care what religion you practice. This is focused on a specific group of people from any religion... those who have just frustrated me most recently happen to be Christians. So I do apologize right now if this offends anyone, but it's something I've wanted to say but never considered saying until a friend and I talked a few days ago... (thanks for the inspiration to write this!... glad I didn't steal your thunder!)

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I'm not even going to get into the Lent thing right now... if you have a legit question, then ask it... if you just want to say "I told you so" or something like that, then you're incredibly wrong and should get your facts straight first. [[This would make more sense if you read this as my facebook note... since I gave up facebook for Lent...]]


To my point:

As my title says, "...Is it judgment day already?" As far as I'm concerned, nobody can judge me because nobody has lived the perfect life. So for those of you out there who claim to live this perfect life and have this "holier than thou" attitude, you really need to get rid of it. I'm sick and tired of hearing people say that they're right and everyone else is wrong because that's not what Christianity is about. Also, I can't stand hearing people say "oh, Kate doesn't believe in God" because not being religious and not believing in God (whether or not I do) is not the same thing, and I hate this phrase, but you don't know me like that... you don't know how I think, feel, or believe... nobody knows or understands my thoughts the way I do.

Whether or not I'm "religious" should not matter when it comes to me attempting to participate in this celebration of sorts. Not only have I been put down because of my choice to celebrate Lent in the way I've done in the past, but I've been ridiculed for even participating in this religious ceremony because "Kate's not religious". First off, I know that this shouldn't bother me. I should hold my head high and say that people should be proud of me for participating in an event that helps better myself, and that I shouldn't care if people ridicule me for an attempt at challenging and bettering myself at the same time they're practicing their religious ceremony, but I can't help but be peeved, irritated, and offended because it's human nature. I know it's human nature to judge as well, but it's not human nature to be cruel to those who you judge.

And those of you who say I don't believe in God... whether or not I do isn't your business, but why would you say that when I've never said that? Never have I said I don't believe in God. I've said I was confused, pondering, unsure, etc. but I've never said I don't believe. I'm not sure if I believe, but that gives you no right to make assumptions of my belief or my character.

Just because I'm not a Christian doesn't mean I don't have beliefs and morals. There are other religions out there, and if you were open minded enough to even consider that they could be the "right" religion (although I don't believe there is a correct religion), then maybe you could see that your way isn't the only way.

Just because I don't consider myself a part of an organized religion doesn't meant that I am an immoral person who doesn't deserve to have her opinions heard. I think organized religion can be over rated sometimes because some people lose some of their beliefs when they try to fit into one category. Just because I'm not Christian doesn't mean I'm an Atheist or an Agnostic. I've looked at Deism, and although I don't consider myself a Deist, I do hold some of their same beliefs. I also hold some of the same thoughts as those who are agnostic, those who are Catholic, Christian, Jewish, Islam, Buddhist, etc. My ideas are MY OWN. I don't have a few ideas and follow one specific religion, but so what?!

I don't ridicule those who do - I don't say "oh wow, you're a Christian... I can't associate myself with you...". I try to be open minded in how I think, feel, act, believe, etc. I try to HEAR and LISTEN to your opinions rather than walking away and disregarding what you have to say. I want to be heard and not completely ignored. When I answer "pro choice" I don't want you to automatically say "baby killer" and walk away without hearing my points... I listen to yours when you say "pro life". I don't laugh when you say you're pro life and pro death penalty... when you say only God can choose who lives or dies, but then you vote for the law to kill people as well...

And for those of you who tell me how I'm wrong then quote the exact passage out of the Bible that says so, keep in mind that the Bible was MAN-MADE! Not only that, the stories in the Bible were first passed by word of mouth, then written in Hebrew (or w/e language), then written in English. The Bible has been translated and passed on for years: Have you ever considered that some of those stories could have been a little mixed up? One game of telephone played on the 7th floor would prove that word of mouth isn't always reliable...

I am not saying that the Bible is wrong - there are some passages in the Bible that I really enjoy, and then there are some that I think are rubbish... we're all entitled to our opinions, I just wish some people who at least HEAR someone else's point of view before saying that person is wrong.

I just get so frustrated when I hear that I'm wrong because I'm not Christian.
I'm going to Hell because I'm a "law breaker" (if you've ever driven one mile over or under the speed limit, spit out a piece of gum anywhere but the trash, or crossed the street when not at a stoplight, you're a law breaker, so I'll see you in Hell...)


Most of all, I get frustrated when I'm told that I'm "celebrating Lent incorrectly" because by MY standards, I'm not doing so incorrectly. I'm doing what I believe, and just because my beliefs differ from yours, that doesn't make them wrong... so grow up and learn that it's not judgment day, and according to your religion, only God can judge, so who do you think you are, because you're certainly not Him!


[[While this note was originally intended for certain people who have just seemed to be out of line lately, I wanted to post it in my blog as well because I'm just really frustrated with any and all people who act this way... with their "holier than thou" attitudes just because they have a certain belief, relationship, etc. I just think that maybe now people will think before they make these judgments. We're not all bad people just because we don't hold the same beliefs as some...]]