The Kind-Hearted Smart Aleck

I may not be religious, but it still cracks me up sometimes to hear people describe themselves as "God-fearing." The reason for this is because, regardless of what a former druggie says he witnesses during a flashback, I've personally never seen nor heard "God," so when someone says they're "God-fearing," my first thought is, "Okay then. So, what you're saying is you fear someone you've never seen nor heard? An invisible man so to speak? Interesting..." When thinking about it, this thought-process isn't so far removed from many kids whom fear a boogeyman - a monster in their closet or under their bed. No, they may not be able to see or hear this beast, yet they're so frightened by this figment of their imagination, they swear they can hear it. In fact, let's further compare the two beliefs, shall we? Setting: A little boy screams while in bed late at night Joseph Pansyazz (the father): "What's wrong? Are...

This isn't true in all cases, of course, but more times than not, when talking about the government's role in people's lives, Republicans tend to sway to the side of, "They have too much control!" The Tea Party, a sub-party of angry Republicans, spout those same sentiments fairly regularly. I find this amusing, because as polls have shown for a while now, Republicans tend to be more "religious," more involved with the church, more regular attenders of church services, etc. Now, nobody really knows with certainty why religions were created, what the reasons for them were, if any of them are accurate and/or superior to all others, etc. We can have faith that one is accurate and superior, but until we pass, we won't know. Personally, I've always believed that religion was a tool used by the governments of the world to mold citizens in a certain-like, in hopes that it would provoke fear, especially of authority figures and in turn, bring about ...

I can't tell you how many times I've heard a person tell me with regard to belief in a God or a particular faith, "Well, I figure I might as well, you know? If I believe, what's the worst that can happen? I was wrong? Oh well. If I don't believe and I'm wrong, I'd be a lot worse off, so I might as well believe." I call that explanation, that thought-process, "The God-Fearing Complex". Most people whom believe in God believe in her/him/it to be benevolent (all-loving), omniscient (all-knowing) and omnipotent (all-powerful). So, my question then becomes, if this entity is all-knowing, wouldn't he/she/it be able to see right through the seemingly ingenuine faith? It doesn't take much for one to simply say, "I believe" or "I love". It takes much more effort to back up those words than to simply say them. So, if one says to believe in a faith just in case it's true out of the fear of not believing and being punish...