Gay Rights

     So  there is a huge controversy regarding marriage equality, I find it quite embarassing to live in a society that does not recognize people's rights to marry the person they love. There are plenty of memes that state that you are on the wrong side of history, like the white supremacists before you and the slave owners before them. A lot of the arguments I hear have been heard before and my opinion on the subject is that we should be able to discuss things rationally.
     One of the arguments I hear is that homosexual couples cannot reproduce and are therefore counterintuitive to the survival of the species and that it is unnatural. We are the only species in the animal kingdom to look down on homosexuality, it is in fact very much prevalent in other primates, and other members of the animal kingdom. There is another counter counterargument stating that we allow infertile couples to marry and they can adopt, how is this any different?
     I also hear that it is against the biblical definition of marriage and cannot be allowed into our government as this is a christian nation. Here is my answer, this country was founded on secular values guaranteeing freedom of religion to everyone who enters it, that is the freedom to practice your religion without interferance from others, the spirit  of this law is to prevent religious bigotry from prevailing in this country. By using your religion, or belief system, to prevent others from having rights,  you are arguing against the constitution of the United States of America, and politicians who enforce your beliefs are in direct violation of it. Allowing marriage equality does the exact opposite: it restrict religious oppression. Just because homosexuality is allowed does not mean you have to partake in it.
     Here is to my homosexual friends and may we win this civil liberties fight once and for all!

Introduction

   My name is Aurelien Montoro; I am a godless nerd living in the south of the United States of America. The purpose of this blog is to vent my thoughts about the amount of religiosity encountered in my everyday life, as well as to express my opinion on different topics such as politics, civil rights, and pop culture. I was born and raised in the south of France, in a small town called Gardanne. I have lived in South America for 4 years and there I found religion, or so I thought.
   My family moved to Florida in order to go to ministry school and I was a devout Christian until I started questioning the motives of the church leadership. As I was struggling with my beliefs, I started helping out in the parking lot and the church lobby. I met my wife at an usher party. Since I had started having doubts, I thought it would be great to start over with religion from the beginning, and therefore we joined a messianic synagogue. While I felt very welcome there, there was always something holding me back. I later found this feeling of alienation to be the struggle between what I wanted to believe and what I reasoned. It is true that some people turn away from religion because they have been hurt in the name of God, however, this was not the case for me.
   Most of my family has been very respectful of my unbelief, especially my wife who, while a strong believer at the time, and though she thought that prayer would help me understand, she lived by our agreement to never argue religion one way or the other, and through careful examination of the evidence for a supreme power, came to her own conclusions. I would love to tell you what her beliefs are but that is not my place to tell. In either case we are a happy couple who love our children and raise them in a safe secular way without consciously emphasizing our own beliefs or lack thereof. My parents, who still are very devout Christians, keep our kids once a week and our differences in opinion do not get the best of us.
   I decided to start writing this blog as an outlet for my beliefs and struggles as a secularist in a nation dominated by the Christian religion. It is not a daily struggle, and most of it is not personal as most of those I associate with either respect me enough to treat me with respect or believe the same way I do. In my daily life, I try to understand why people believe believe the supernatural has more to offer than the natural world. As much as I hate to sound like a typical naturalist, I have to ask myself how this natural world isn't enough to satisfy our curiosity, and I truly believe that "I don't know, but I am willing to try to find out" is a valid answer without saying that magic or a divine being created us.
   I do not believe in the theory of Evolution... I understand how evolution takes place and how we are a product of an evolutionary process dating back to an awful long time. It is not blind faith and that is why I do not believe in it.
   I trust that science, while not perfect, is the best tool we have to analyze the world and universe in which we live. I have absolutely no respect for people who are unwilling to learn and go out of their way to remain ignorant on subjects that are basic to most of the educated world. While I respect each individual's rights to believe what they want, I have none for the belief itself when it is not supported by reason. I welcome all types of people to visit and even comment on this blog, whether they agree or not so long as it is constructive and is not insulting to either myself or other visitors who choose to comment on my thoughts. There is no tolerance for bigotry on this page, and respect given will be returned, regardless of who you are and what your beliefs are.