Most people become religious because of their parents, a disease, old age or just because something went very very wrong. They get the feeling there not alone and the promise that everything happens for a reason. 

But religion affects our lives in many ways and I think that’s dangerous. Dangerous because we let people who base their decisions on a book dictate our lives. Dangerous because religion in its pure form does not tolerate other ideas or opinions. Now don’t get me wrong… I’m not saying that all religious people are dangerous because that would be a stupid statement but a lot of religious people think they will suffer the wrath of a god if they or those around them don’t do his biding. 

So they make rules because everybody should be able to get in to the afterlife. These rules have consequences like not working on Sunday or getting a disease you could have avoided by using a condom. So religion affects our freedom, our right to think or to do what we want. In some countries the religious rules are a lot more dangerous then the rules we have here but the fact that there are religious rules in a country we believe to be civilized and free troubles me.  

Now let’s make it a little less serious… 

In the movie Eternal Sunshine of the Spotless Mind (which is a great movie by the way, a must see I would say) they have a great machine that can erase memories. Now if we were to use that machine to erase religion from our lives I would be one happy guy. Not because I want to walk away from the problem called religion but because it would give us a fresh start. 

So thanks Charlie Kaufman & Michel Gondry for this great solution…

Religion is a part of our life, every day we are confronted with it. Last night I was watching The Bucket List a new movie with Jack Nicholson and Morgan Freeman. It’s a movie about two old men who both have some form of cancer and only have a year to live. They decide to make a list of things to do before they die, a bucket list.

Now let me say this right away the movie really sucks. Now I am a great fan of Jack Nicholson but I have decided to erase this movie from my memory after I have written this.

Well anyway after they skydive and drive a Shelby they travel the world with Jack Nicholson’s private jet. Morgan Freeman is sleeping and Jack is banging some stewardess in the plane’s bathroom. After he is done Jack sits down and talks to Morgan. They start talking about faith and god, Morgan Freeman beliefs there is a god but just can’t explain it because it’s a feeling you have. Jack Nicholson on the other hand tells him he has never believed but he wishes he did but logic stands in the way.

After the short and way to civilized discussion about faith Jack Nicholson looks to Morgan Freeman like he was convinced by Morgan. He’s thinking something like “well my best buddy in the whole wide world says there is a god well there must be a god, I’m sure not gonna let logic stand in the way of believing my best buddy”. 

But the quote that hurt the most went something like this 

Morgan: Well what if you’re wrong

Jack: Then I win

Morgan: I don’t think it works that way 

So Jack Nicholson plays a atheist, a successful businessman that made billions doing things exactly his way, but the first time anyone tells him he might be wrong about god he says… well ok you win. Just because someone says he shouldn’t think with his brain but with his heart. 

The point is, I don’t know if you ever talked about religion with a religious person but they always say: “it’s a feeling I have, you have to believe without any evidence because that’s faith” and that’s usually the part where I start calling them an idiot, i hope you do too.