Running Away
Figuratively, I have been running away from my parents in the recent past. I have essentially abandoned the ideals, principles, and other things that I had been taught and took for granted. I always thought that the statement “ignorance is bliss” was a little funny, but I now truly appreciate the statement. Along with my venture to attain truth, I have come to the realization that truth might not be fun to live with, necessarily. I will expound on this.
Although I would expect that any maturing teenager will at some point dump certain ideals that his or her parents taught him or her, I have been told by many a friend and confidant that I have gone above and beyond the call of the typical teenager’s idea rebellion. Anyhow, you might say that I have categorically ignored the views of my parents and have been searching for the most logical, rational ideas to follow politically, philosophically, and otherwise. This has taken me places that not too long ago I could never have imagined myself in. I live in the “Bible-belt” of the American midwest. My parents are conservative evangelical Christians. Not too long ago, I would have gladly proclaimed that I too was a conservative evangelical Christian and damn proud of it. As you can probably imagine, this is no longer the case.
Why did I change my views? One event led me on a chain of events, taking me to where I am now. I had been essentially led to believe that gay people were inferior human beings. I had been taught that sexual orientation determined whether God would forgive or curse you. Once I was enlightened to the moral wrongness of this and the irrationality, I began questioning a lot of other things. It is quite ironic, because the doctrine of “childlike faith” I had so believed in was actually the thing that caused me to lose my “childlike faith.”
Ironically, I am right now sharing a story that I find very personal with essentially anyone who wants to read. But, I feel that honesty is one of the best virtues. So, where do I stand now? I am a libertarian. I believe in the freedom to do whatever one wants, so long that it does not affect humans or other creatures negatively. Religiously, I am currently in a bit of a conundrum. I thought I had no faith, but having read The God Delusion by Richard Dawkins, I realized that I did have faith in God and the Bible still. Now, I cannot say. It is certainly tough, and I will as I always do choose the answer that makes the most logical, rational, and scientific sense. Having read The God Delusion and The Case for Christ, I definitely have a lot on my plate right now.
I will certainly update later on how my internal religious battle is going, but I will not elude to my current thoughts.
