Praise The Lord!

               I wouldn't exactly call myself the most religious girl in the world....actually, you could probably call me about the least religious person in the world. I consider myself my own form of Agnostic. I was raised in a very much religiously neutral family. My parents didn't want to brainwash my sisters and I to believe exactly what they believed it, they wanted us to decide on our own when we were old enough. In many ways, that's one of the things about my parents I admire most. They raised us to make our own decisions instead of pressing theirs upon us, saying this is what we NEED to believe in. I say I'm Agnostic because I believe that there may be a God...maybe not. There are hundreds of different religions and beliefs out there in the world, who's to say which one is right? There is absolutely no scientific proof of any of them being more true than the other...so why label it? My motto when it comes to religion is: ".....dunno...." with a casual shrug of the shoulders. There's no way to possibly know, so why claim that you do?
               Disclaimer: I am NOT trying to slam upon all of those hardcore Christians, Jewish, or anyone at all. I think in some ways, religion is a wonderful thing. It gives large masses of people a method of feeling better. It gives hope when things aren't going to great. It gives faith, a sense of love from their lord, a sense of belonging, and a sense of meaning, and I think that's great. However, in some ways, I also believe that religion is a scapegoat. When something goes terribly wrong, many will say that it was the will of God that this happened, through no fault of their own. How many times in a day do we say "Oh my God!"? Well next time you use those words, think of what you're saying. It's basically saying "Oh wow! God, what are you doing?" Usually used with shock or disbelief. Like I said....scapegoat. Something to blame.
              The biggest upside to religion, I believe: it has the ability to straighten someone out. I think of how many thousands of books that have been written all about how God gave the strength to someone who completely ruined their lives through alcohol, drugs, crime, or anything of the sort to completely turn things around for themselves. I believe that to be true to an extent. I think that religion a lot of the time can scare someone into becoming a better person. It gives some the discipline needed to make something out of themselves.
              Please note, I am not trying to start any arguments or get anyone mad. I realize that religion is quite the touchy subject, which is why I'm not going to get into some of the more negative affects I have seen of religion. Moral of the story being: just because I don't believe in something, doesn't mean I think it's all bad. For some reason, when some people who are Christian (and pretty much everyone in my school is), finds out I'm Agnostic, their guard goes up, and they automatically think I'm some religion hater. Not true, I think there are good points and bad points, I just simply choose not to get involved with it all. Give those who aren't religious a chance, trust me, they're not all awful people.