"I'm angry that the idea of religious faith - the idea that it's acceptable, and even virtuous, to believe things you have no good reason to think are true - leads people to ignore, dismiss, trivialize, and flatly reject reality. I get angry when believers make arguments for religion that amount to - and sometimes flatly state - that they don't care whether the things they believe are true. And I'm not just angry because ignoring and rejecting reality leads people to make bad decisions that hurt themselves and others. I'm angry because reality is freaking awesome - terrible sometimes, for sure, but also delightful and wondrous and more surprising than anything we could make up about it - and it upsets me that so many people shut it out just so they can keep believing their made-up stories."
Ignoring and rejecting reality is what I did for many years - all for the sake of my religion and its silent god. Life is not easier. It is definitely more challenging. Meaning is important and I'm learning to create it for myself. But I'm the one creating it - no one else.
