When I read about the lynched gay gentleman this afternoon, a little of the rage I often keep in check due to the flagrant hypocrisy this world is filled with escaped its cage.

You see, no one can claim to be immune from hypocrisy, it’s a uniquely human trait- but it’s only a particular section of the populace who like to pretend they are, religious people.

Yet religion is just what everyone thinks it is supposed to be, nothing more. If you cast your mind back to the US civil war, both sides used the same Holy Bible to justify their pro or anti slavery stance.

All that tells us is that the Bible is a book full of some good parts, and some very terrible parts, and anyone can decide what it’s supposed to mean. What everyone does is take the parts they like, ignore the parts they do not like, and claim they are the best at their religion.

That is why a religion like Christianity can have such fundamental differences within, from Catholics and Protestants, to Mormons and Jehovah’s Witnesses. Each has taken a part of the Bible and interpreted it to the best of their prejudices- cherry picking.

So Christians would rail against gay rights, yet ignore all the other horrible parts of Leviticus and Deuteronomy. Christians would tell you the Ten Commandments are the greatest thing since sliced bread, but then would claim they live under a new covenant when you point that they’re not supposed to shave, or that they must stone their adulterous daughter to death.

It’s all very confused, compounded by the holier than thou attitude put forth when dealing with unbelievers and other minorities, like gay people. You have the right to believe whatever you want to believe, but the moment that belief infringes on another person’s human rights you lose the right to that belief.

Especially when that belief is not very coherent either. It is based on nothing except what you want to be true, conveniently ignoring all the parts you do not like, and expecting others to conform to the parts you have chosen as true. And this holds true for especially the great Abrahamic religions.

They say a photo speaks a thousand words…