To my Generation,
Our generation is the generation that people complain about. We are the smart phone addicts, the tablet fiends, the Instagram stalking, Facebook friending, Twitter following brats. For this, we get a lot of stick. We get told we live life in tunnel vision, that we are disengaged with the world around us, that we form relationships through a computer screen, that our minds are being pumped full of useless information about piano playing cats and reality TV.
For a long time I defended our generation. I would vehemently deny accusations of binge watching and brainwashing. I was up in arms when anyone mentioned that we are a generation of watchers. That we judge the world through a screen and we don’t act until it is too late. Yet I find my self agreeing that, at times, our generation is unkind. We look resignedly up from our phone screens to criticise another celebrity’s child, a singer’s new album… a friend’s religion…
Let me get one thing clear. My religion is none of your business. Who or what I choose to put my faith in is between me and that higher power. Yet I am scorned, sometimes by those I consider closest, for believing in something bigger than me; I am written off as just another bible basher trying to mercilessly shove religious nonsense down your throat; I am told not to be so illogical, ‘don’t I know that science proves my faith wrong’?!
That is not what I stand for.
I am not here to force my beliefs on you, but I have something to say and I need to speak out. My religion, like so many others, is about forgiveness, kindness, and strength. Those who have a belief system, whatever it is, are not all self-righteous or pompous. The actions of the few that do terrible things do not represent the other 84% of the world’s population that do have a faith. This statement does not apply just to Christianity. It applies to all faiths. Yes, including those who believe in Islam. Let me reiterate: The actions of a few do not represent the beliefs of the majority.
We have an obligation- to ourselves and to each other. I am not writing this to convert you to believe in something that you do not wish to. I don’t believe that the God that I put my faith in would wish to force anyone to believe if they did not want to. I don’t believe in God the oppressor, but in God the benevolent. And, by the way, my words are conveying only my own beliefs- many other Christians may feel very differently than I do about many things.
But I have to speak up, to the person who laughed at me and anyone else that feels the same way as them. Yes, I do pray to a higher power. Yes, I do attend church, a place in which I can meet new, like-minded people who will enrich my life in multiple ways. Yes, I do believe that my faith plays an enormous role in my life. But I must also stress this: My religion does not make me weak or boring, it does not mean I am deluded, and it most certainly does not mean that I am narrow-minded. My religion makes me who I am, and if you have been my friend for this long then maybe you shouldn’t have such a problem with that.
With sincere apologies for the rant,
Hannah Bounford
P.S: Is it ironic that I felt the only way I could voice this was through my own social media?
The Gathfords 