God or No God?

Today’s discussion was a rather intense, but interesting one. If I could have walked out of English class today, convinced that there was a god, I probably would have chosen not to. There are many reasons for this. The main one is that I am not religious. I have always seen religion as an excuse; something people use to explain what they can’t understand, or a way for them to get out of doing something wrong. People are not strong enough to deal with things as they are, so religion was created in order to protect them and “sugar coat”, for lack of a better word, the negative things that happen in life. If I knew a god existed, my life would change in many ways. I would no longer do things for myself, or simply because I feel I should, but rather I would do them to please this “god.” I do not like the idea of doing good things for a higher power.

If I was convinced, somehow, that a god existed, I am almost certain that I would hate him. Though there are sometimes people who surprise me, and show me that there is still some hope for humanity, too many bad things have occurred in the world for this “god” to be praised and appreciated. Why devote oneself to a higher power that would be held responsible for tragic events such as the holocaust, or war? It doesn’t make sense to me. I am okay with my beliefs at this moment, and convincing me that there is a god would only alter my perceptions and make me live life like a slave, or a worker- not an individual.