| Level | Score |
|---|---|
| Purgatory (Repending Believers) | Low |
| Level 1 - Limbo (Virtuous Non-Believers) | High |
| Level 2 (Lustful) | Low |
| Level 3 (Gluttonous) | Low |
| Level 4 (Prodigal and Avaricious) | Low |
| Level 5 (Wrathful and Gloomy) | Low |
| Level 6 - The City of Dis (Heretics) | Moderate |
| Level 7 (Violent) | Low |
| Level 8 - The Malebolge (Fraudulent, Malicious, Panderers) | Low |
| Level 9 - Cocytus (Treacherous) | Low |
I swear, if we all die and it turns out that our 'grand deity' is really the Flying Spaghetti Monster or that all the Wiccans were right, I will laugh until I die a second time. Because I am sick and tired of these extremist Christians being treated better then all other extremists. I could sit here and call them names until the cows come home but, to bring it right back to the basics, the undeniable truth, they are xenophobes.
"What this is coming down to is who runs the country. It's us against them. It's the good guys versus the bad guys. It's the God-fearing people against the pagans, and some of the pagans are going to church." - Randall Terry, published in the New Sentinel, August 16th 1993.
I was born that year and it is words like these that make me ashamed. Ashamed to have been born into such a society, almost ashamed to be human. But, for all our flaws, we, as a species, are learning. We are learning acceptance, we are learning peace. Admittedly, it is slow going but we are still learning. It is people like Mr. Terry who are forcing this process to drag out.
I am not asking anyone to renounce their beliefs, goodness no. But, I am asking people to open their minds. I ask them, not to change their thoughts on issues such as homosexuality and abortion but to grow as people and understand that there are people out there who feel differently then they do. No one is essentially right or wrong.
On topics such as religion, how can we ever know what is right until we have passed on and learn? A lot of you will say 'Faith' and I agree. The issue is that some people become so commited to their faith that they refuse to entertain the idea that other people have a different faith, believe in a different path to the same destination.
Even as I type, the tone of my writing changes. That is because I started out angry but have gradually calmed and thought through what I am saying. I remembered what I stand for, which is freedom and the right to be who you are without fear of recrimination. I learned that anger is not the way to face these things. Anger solves nothing, it merely creates more anger. There are examples of this all around us and yet we refuse to see them. Why? Because they are ugly reminders that we are not perfect, that, even though we have placed ourselves at the top of the food chain, we are not as at peace with ourselves and others as we would like to believe.
I'm going to finish there as a combination of energy drinks and t.v have distracted me from my original point. I may continue this post later on. For now, please, let me know what you think.
