I'm not a religious person. There's too many competing beliefs that all really say much the same thing. Do this and do this, but don't do that. Do some of this...and plenty of that...and if you do this you will be tortured for all eternity.
"Now come in to this drafty old building and sit on this unbelievably hard chair. Then I'm going to read a really long series of all the things that are shit about you....and maybe later we will sing an awful song."
"Can I at least have a cushion?"
"No. Now shut up and eat this dry biscuit."
"Do I get a glass of water to wash it down?"
"No. That's also frowned on as being decadent."
( I'm just going to stick in a bit here and say that if you are Catholic or Muslim or whatever, I have nothing against you. That's your decision and faith and I respect that )
Fuck that. Why spend all of this life begging for mercy in an unknowable next?
A belief in a god whose defining document is a book written by men is inherently flawed. Humanity, both collectively and individually, are amazingly capable of mistakes. You are therefore trusting your belief to someone that either made up a lot of what he or she wrote, or heard it from someone else and translated half of it wrong.
If I had to choose I would follow Voodoo. There's something that's at least fun...and no one needs your belief. A deity that enjoys gifts of fiery chilis, rum and cigars and dresses up like a corpse? Check. Ability to create your own god to fill an empty niche? Check. No stupid costumes? Check. And if you want something, just make an offering to the appropriate spirit. They will probably help you out without demanding blood sacrifice.
There's Legba, who you can appeal to if you want help with travel or getting where you want to be, and Ezuli, who helps out with love and beauty. There's the Samedi family, who have a bunch of different members that all handle the darker side of life, and Marinette, who helps to free people who are captured ( but she's not as nice as she sounds ).
It's great. There's something for everyone and every need. You get to dance, drink like a fish and spend time with genuinely fun people. I love that Voodoo is a stew pot of other beliefs and I especially love that it rips off Catholicism shamelessly.
( To be continued )
