Nothing Proper about your Propaganda

Yesterday I got my hands on a piece of christian propaganda. It was just a questionnaire to be filled out in Sunday school, 16 questions, no biggie. These questions, though they were opinion questions, had an obvious "right" answer for all of them. So naturally I filled it out myself.

1) Do you believe in "Absolute truth"?

-Yes as a matter of fact I do.

2) Do you believe that some things are right sometimes and wrong at other times?

-Absolutely. The world is far more complicated than many would like to admit, and there are countless situations that go far beyond a simple black and white, right or wrong choice. For instance the Kholberg Heinz Dilemma, or a Hobson's Choice. There is not always a right or wrong answer.

3) Do you believe that, in some cases, abortion is okay?

-Yes, it is not anyone's choice but the pregnant woman's, and arguably the father's. It is never right to impose the belief of a few on the majority, especially when the few aren't affected at all.

4) Do you believe that you should always tell the truth, no matter what?

-No, lies can be used for good. If everyone told the truth, the Diary of Anne Frank would be a hell of a lot shorter.

5) Do you believe, in some situations, it is okay to live with someone before you're married?

-No, everyone who ever had a college roommate should be burned at the stake. What a stupid question.

6) Do you believe it is okay, in some situations, to talk behind people's backs?

-Disregarding the fact that this is pretty much completely unavoidable, I'd say not unless you can pull off a Tyler Durden.

7) Do you believe it's okay to stretch the truth or life if it means not hurting someone's feelings?

-In some situations, yes.

8) Do you believe it's okay to cheat on your homework?

-You are NOT getting through high school if you don't cheat on your homework at least once.

9) Do you believe that if you are a pretty good person and you don't do anything too bad, that you will go to heaven when you die?

-This was one thing that always bothered me about the Christian faith. Under their dogma, a good, moral person who did everything they could to better society and help those around them would still go to hell if he happened to be an atheist. Personally, I try to live by a quote from Marcus Aurelius.

"Live a good life. If there are gods and they are just, then they will not care how devout you have been, but will welcome you based on the virtues you have lived by. If there are gods, but unjust, then you should not want to worship them. If there are no gods, then you will be gone, but will have lived a noble life that will live on in the memories of your loved ones."

10) Do you think that it is okay to get revenge on someone?
-Not necessarily revenge, but retribution, yes. A righteous fury is a force that can drive people to do great good, like in the case of Gandhi  or great evil, as in the recent case of Christopher Dorner. Retribution, or revenge  if you will, is not good or bad, it is a neutral force.

11) Do you think that, in some situations, smoking is okay?
-Personally I don't smoke, but I'm pretty sure someone out there could come up with a really damn good excuse to smoke.

12) Do you think in some situations stealing is okay?
-See question 2

13) Do you think that other religions other than Christianity are true and useful?
-I have never found a real reason Christianity is any more valid than Islam or Hinduism. From an objective, unbiased standpoint, it's easy to observe that most religions actually just say the exact same thing in different ways. They might have different story lines and minor discrepancies in terms of what you can eat or wear, but the core message of nearly every religion is "Be a good person". They all have their populations of extremists, but for the most part, religions generate healthy, social, functioning members of society. From an objective standpoint, it honestly doesn't matter what religion you follow, because in the end, if you do it right, it all amounts to the same thing.

14) Do you think it is okay to watch MTV?
-Only if you're okay with having terrible taste in television.

15) Do you think it is okay to listen to secular music?
-Why the hell not? Unless you're trying to brainwash people or something. Oh wait...

16) Do you think it is okay to have a lot of stuff and not share with the rest of the world?
-This is the reason I am a socialist. Funny how most stereotypical republicans are christian right?