So why go to Church?

I am not a church going person. And I can't say I am a believer in God. Not that I don't think there are spiritual influences in this world, I just don't justify those influence with a belief in God. I really hate when people try to witness to me and I have gotten offended when the CEO of the organization I work for sent out a message filled with praises for a "Higher Power" that I don't subscribe to. Unprofessional in my opinion, but Human Resources didn't see it that way.

One of my friends recently posed the question, "What are you going to do in that hour on Sunday anyway?" Well, lots of things and I thought I am fortunate not to have to worry about appeasing a God that will think poorly of me for not going to Church. I'm not going to dis the beliefs of others, I'm just going to say it isn't for me.

I get mad at things that are said and done because of someone's religious beliefs, someone's interpretation of the bible and someone's ideas of what God would want. Like all this recent blow up of same sex marriage and that woman in Kentucky who refused to issue marriage licenses based on her beliefs. I refuse to believe that a God would be so unkind as to deny two people who love each other the right to be bonded. I also refuse to believe that God wouldn't be accepting of the way people are. We recently had a controversy in my town with a religious group holding a seminar on how to pray the gay away and to teach people to witness to their gay friends the power of God's love and not be gay. WTF!!!

I read this article about how secular kids are being raised to be kinder and more accepting than kids who go to church. Most of it had to do with them being accountable for their own actions and not blaming something on God or the Devil. There was also an element of, "well I can do this because I can confess and will be forgiven" so being accountable to someone else (God or the Church) permits bad behavior and unkindness because of that "forgiven" caveat.

Be a good person, be accountable to yourself, don't hurt others (physically or verbally), be kind, don't judge others, be accepting of difference. That is how I'm raising my kids whether God is in their lives or not.