The Blasphemy Challenge

The other day I was reading an online newspaper, and I found an article about a video on Youtube. Just watch it first and judge for yourself:



Also watch an interview with one of the initiator:



When I heard about it, I had a little bit of mixed feelings. I completely understand the reasons why they are doing this. There are a lot of kids that are forced into believing and accepting a religion by their parents, and indoctrinated by the spiritual leader of that religion.
However, I feel the way they are trying to reach those kids is a little bit over the edge. They are trying to make kids denounce the existence of God, Jesus and the holy spirit, i.e. declare that they believe there is no God.
To me it looks like it is totally missing the point. It is a bit like declaring that you are vegetarian, just because you don't like chicken.
Also the impact and the meaning of a statement like that is far more than just a few words. Who knows what lies at the end? Maybe they make this statement as a joke NOW, because they think it's funny, and, hey, everyone is doing it, so where is the harm in that? But can they see the consequences of their actions? NO, they are way to young for taking these kind of actions.

However, I do agree with that initiator, when he said that this action is because they are trying to reach those kids, that are brainwashed by their parents, priests, ministers, rabbi, imam, etc. "You MUST believe in God, because God is saying that whatever your parents tell you to do is right". "You MUST pray to Mekka 5 times a day, otherwise you will NOT go to heaven". "You are not allowed to watch TV, because TV is a tool of the devil". In other words, if you don't do this, God will be very angry at you. Or, if you do that, God will be very angry at you. Live the way the imam, priest, rabbi tells you to live. Because if you don't you will not go to heaven.
Hmmm.....This sounds a bit like emotional blackmail. And that is all there is to a religion. A religion is nothing more than emotional blackmail by a small number of people, in order to gain power over a large amount of people.
And what no-one in those religion seems to see, is how ridiculous it all is. One religion is saying you can eat pork, but you cannot eat beef. While another religion is saying the exact opposite.

If you look back in history, all misery has been caused by religion. Just look at the Catholics during the Crusades, the conflict in Ireland (well,partly ecause of religion), and now the world wide war on terrorism.
And the most ridiculous thing is that they all believe in the same thing. The only difference is the name, Jehova, Jaweh, Allah, God, Jesus Christ. So, they are more fighting over, who is serving God in the best way. "Holier than Thou" comes to mind.
And look at all those muslims, blowing themselves up in the name of Allah. They are promised 40 virgins when they get to heaven. This already shows that they can't really think ahead. You are in heaven for eternity, and with ONLY 40 virgins??? Basically that means that you only have 40 nights of fun! And what about the rest of that eternity!!??

Anyway, I think that these kids should not be encouraged to denounce God, Jesus etc. but they should be encouraged to denounce religion (is that the right term for this?). Since religion has always been, and will always be a major source of misery,
pain and emotional blackmail.

(Please note that I do NOT put the existence of God on discussion. That is something everyone should make out for themselves.)