How is the absence (of the Bible) shoving atheism in your face and the presence of it not shoving Christianity in a person's face? I'm not understanding the logic.

I have not posted in a long time, but there are a few things that I have been wanting to write about.  I will try to blog more this week since it is Spring Break. 

A while back I saw this article: Iowa State to remove bibles from union hotel rooms (http://www.ktiv.com/story/24736377/2014/02/15/iowa-state-to-remove-bibles-from-union-hotel-rooms) on facebook.  Take note that this is just the Iowa State University's Memorial Union Hotel.  One hotel.  52 guestrooms.  Not the entire U.S., just one hotel in Iowa.  Anyway, back to the point, someone complained about the hotel providing Bibles in the hotel rooms and how they did not want religious propaganda in their nightstand.  Because it is a state-run facility, it was argued that it cannot endorse any religious text, so the hotel made plans to remove the Bibles from the rooms by March 1.  They moved them to the hotel's library downstairs, where they are still available for guests to borrow.

Now this article really wouldn't be that important to me, except I read some of the comments on it and they upset me.  I truly believe that the U.S. and other countries should focus on being neutral in the religious department.  Separation of Church and State.  We already have too many people in politics that have their own agenda, why do we need religious agendas mixed in as well?  Many Christians might be calling me an atheist at this point.  I am not an atheist.  I was actually baptized Methodist.  I have read the Bible several times, along with other religious texts.  Why?  Being I'd rather be informed than ignorant.  I also want to be understanding of people who are different than I am, what better way than to read various cultural and religious texts (if you can't travel that much)?  However, I also believe that religion does not matter, if I were truly a citizen of the U.S. I would also uphold the principles of the U.S.  Because of Separation of Church and State, even if I had religious beliefs that disagreed with a proposed law or government issue, the question would be: what would be better for the people of the United States of America (knowing that not all people are of one religion or cultural heritage)?  People can have a difference of opinion (this is the U.S.A!!!), but one should support it via government documents if it is a government issue.  If it is a religious issue, then by all means, pull out the religious text of choice.

Anyhow, I meandered again.  Back to the comments on this article.  Many people were claiming religious persecution and having atheism shoved down their throats and having their rights away.  Not just one or two people but many, many people saying these things.  I love my home state of Iowa, but just because a Bible gets removed from one hotel room does not mean a person's rights are getting taken away nor does it mean people are forcing atheism upon them.  No one in the discussion was willing to listen to anyone else and everyone claimed to be the victim.  Moving a Bible from some rooms into a library available for checkout is hardly the end of the world.  And it most certainly is NOT taking anyone's rights away.  If you need a Bible (or other religious text) wherever you go, then you should already be bringing it with you.  If you really want to hear about people's rights look at homosexuals, bisexuals, transgendered, women, and other minorities. Those discussions matter. The fact that a book gets moved from point A to point B in one hotel does not matter. What matters is seeing how a lot of people are upset over this enough to display disrespect towards other people. What matters is the fact there are people still fighting for equality and a group of privileged people (Christians) are upset over Bibles in one hotel that are getting moved. A book that talks about how to treat people with love and to help them when in need and that we are all equal in the eyes of The Lord. Yet, people discriminate everyday and still call themselves good Christians and overall good people. What matters is that we have freedom of religion and they should be equal, yet at this pace never will be because it is always about the privileged and their rights, never about the people who don't have those same rights. We are all equal. In the eyes of our government, religion is supposed to be separate. Stop using religious debates and Biblical quotes to say why a law should or should not pass. Separation of church and state. Our country's founders believed in that principle. Stop picking and choosing quotes from various documents to try to validate your complaints to get yourself benefits. What any religion states doesn't matter in this country on that principle.

For those who say atheism is being thrown down your throats when something like this happens: research persecution and Christianity. Be informed of history. More importantly: they are moving the location of the Bible, not burning them. They are still available to you. How is it throwing atheism down your throats or giving them more rights when it is actually putting Christians on a more equal level? Christians tend to be privileged, so this step toward neutrality is not telling you that you can't keep believing in God or the content of the Bible. It is saying that because we have freedom of religion here in this country, maybe we should start acting like it.  So the Bibles WILL still be available upon request, my question is will other religious books be available upon request as well. If yes, then this is truly a step towards neutrality in religions. If not, then as always, Christianity is still considered superior and everyone can chill out.  Another note:  Not everyone needs God in their life. Everyone can choose which deity (if any) they want in their life. Also, one does not need religion in their life to have morals. 

Another point for this post and others: People tend to resort to name calling because of a difference in opinion.  Apparently God hasn't taught them how to respect other people even though in his teachings He doesn't want people to judge others and He helped many people who had lost their way according to various lessons in the Bible.

It isn't wrong for people to believe or have faith in a deity, it is their right to do so. The debate is about having Bibles in certain hotels, not whether it is right or wrong to believe in a particular religion. That is also forcing one's beliefs on another. My question is if one actually needs a Bible (or other religious book) wherever they go? Isn't that a little materialistic? If you have God in your heart, you should be fine without a book. People place too much importance in things. Also, for people saying that not believing in God is what is wrong with our country- I think that's hardly the worst. One can still have morals but be an atheist or believe in a religion other than Christianity.... 

Some of this blog I borrowed my points from the facebook comments because I think some of the points need to be brought up to as many people as possible.