Frightened Believers

Frightened believers tell me that they believe in God because it "gives life meaning"and that God loves me as He created me! Well, during my youthful years, I too believed in God. However, I hardly felt life's meaning; on the contrary, I felt the burden of guilt that crippled my mind and heart. The terror made me live uselessly like a frightened subservient moron. I only loved divinity up there. I did not give a hoot for humanity nor had I any kind of love for my country down here. Under the influence of great fear, like a good soldier, I had the courage to die gallantly in battle; but I had no courage at all to question what it was really that I will die for. In brief, on all the important subjects - I was educated to never think for myself. In fact, I was warned to read not the bible. Well, I did and began to see slowly and to learn gradually the lies and deceptions - the illusion, confusion, and delusion that characterizes Filipino life spiritually impoverished in the Philippines. In the ultimate analysis, I managed, somehow, to save myself from being just another Sick Man of Asia. Indeed, at the age of 14 I slowly began to appreciate not only the sanity, but also the beauty and the dignity behind atheism. For the most part, we live in a world of extreme poverty, hunger, and preventable diseases. Today, in this already 21st century, more than 800 Million people are still without access to safe drinking water, and more than 1 Billion people live without sanitation facilities. And to think that the bible says proudly that "God so loved the world that he gave his one and only Son, that whoever believes in him shall not perish but have life everlasting." John 3:16 Well, I asked it before, I ask it again of God: WHY NOT JUST SIMPLY LOVE OUR WORLD WITHOUT THE BULLSHIT STRING ATTACHED TO SUCH LOVE? REALLY GOD, WHAT'S THE BIG FUCKING DEAL ABOUT LIFE AFTER DEATH IN HEAVEN? WHEN WE HUMANS HAVE YET TO LIVE THE PRECIOUS LIFE AFTER BIRTH ON THIS EARTH? Poch Suzara