Talking to God through People.

I have a problem. 


Hello, my name is Valerie, and I'm addicted to arguing over Religion.


It has come to my attention that I have a ridiculously terrible habit of starting fights with people over their chosen beliefs. 


After being subjected to spending most of my formative years in Catholic School, attending church on the regular, and studying my religion 'religiously', I finished 8th grade, was no longer 'forced' to be there, so I promptly dropped my "Roman Catholic" faith, and to this day have been trying to find a faith that suits me better, all the while fighting people over the inconsistencies that I've found over the years.


In 2004 I started a program that allowed me to have a Higher Power, and my version of "God" (whatever I wanted him/her/it to be, whether it be the Moon, a door handle, or an old man that looked like Professor Dumbledore from Harry Potter, which I actually picture for a small amount of time).  I learned that it was okay for everyone to have their own verison of "God", their own faith, and their own ways to handle Life.  I started thinking to myself that everything would be great, we'd all be taken care of by that parental figure in the sky, and life would be sunshine and roses for all time.


Boy, was I wrong.


Someone I'd like to refer to as "The Desk-Stealer" is pretty deep into religion, and the more that Desk Stealer indulges in prayer and being a "good Christian", the more I want to scream "you are an idiot and a sheep!" into her face.  After reading it for a religion course in college, I honestly have come to the conclusion that the Bible, while a wonderful story meant to lift people's spirits and enhance their belief system, it cannot possibly be held as a genuine document of fact.  There are too many discrepancies to list here, but in all fairness, read the Old Testament, and you'll find such twisted crap that you'll want to be sick to think that there are actually people who take this word for word.  You can't really believe that people tried to build a tower to Heaven so they could speak to God  --  there is no way that you can tell me that Abraham actually lived for 900 years.  How can that even be possible?  It can't.  When I confronted the Desk Stealer with this question, the answer I received was even better than I could have imagined:  "It can be possible if you have faith." The rest of the conversation goes as follows:


Me:  I'm sorry, Desk Stealer, but the Bible is not literal.  It's not fact; it's not real.  It's a story written by man.
Desk Stealer:  It was written by God.
Me:  No, (you fucking idiot sheep) it was written by man....
Desk Stealer: ... who God was talking through.  God signed it.
Me: ::dumbfounded expression:::  What does God tell you to do?
Desk Stealer:  Say my prayers ::giggle:: because I'm a good Christian.
Me: (Holy shit, I can't believe this conversation is happening)


Susie tells me that I have a problem -- Desk Stealer is not the only person I argue religion with; I also once argued w/ a self-proclaimed preacher of Born Again Christianity about homosexuality and heaven, and also had discussions with a Nihilistic Deist Goth, who is actually quite insightful.


Thanks for letting me share.