A couple of nights ago, I had the misfortune of watching The Unbelievers, a documentary following Richard Dawkins and Lawrence Krauss around the globe engaging with audiences on reason and science. The film is simply a visual travel scrapbook with clever soundbites interspersed. It lacked an overall theme, was very disjointed, and brought no new information to the viewer. As a supporter of atheism and secular causes, I was disappointed and had a hard time understanding why it was rated so highly.
However, something Dr. Krauss said in one of the many conversations shown did provoke a thought on the difficulty that some believers have in subscribing to the full doctrine of their religions. Should they have to? Most religious texts were written well over one thousand years ago and the world has changed quite a bit in that time. What may have been moral or acceptable in the 9th Century may be different today, and to deny such change is to deny reality and progress.
Perhaps Joseph Smith had the right idea when he started Mormonism (at least in concept, not necessarily execution). If you're a believer, why not start your own religion or create your own doctrine? Since there's no evidence of god anyway, it's not as if anyone can prove you wrong, and you can follow beliefs that are more consistent with who you are and the moral code of the present day. Why should you be restricted by the world-view of someone who lived two thousand years ago and knew far less about the nature of the universe than we do in 2015? You should not be. Think of the freedom that would bring. You could celebrate the religious holidays you like and maybe come up with some new ones. You could stand up for social progress and not feel guilty that you were in opposition to the stance of your religion. Eliminate the conflict and start the religion of YOU. Define the morals and ethics of your religion. Draft a set of core values and live your life by them. Be at peace with your choices and most important, promote peace and compassion in the world.
