Religion, Life and Death

Among the many ideas that I have, I look at Religion, Life and Death a bit differently than most people. I consider myself an Athiest. I do not believe in any God, or even a 'Life Force'. My Dad insisted that my brother and I discover religion on our own, and particularly disliked my Grandmother's (Mom's Mom) introducing Catholosism to us. Grandma was a very devout Catholic and practiced her religion until the day she died. She was one of the original 'modern women'. She tried to keep abreast of the latest fashion and design of the day. I remember she had a Packard Convertable, that my brother and I loved to ride around in, with the top down. Grandma divorced Grandpa when my Mom was 2 years old, and I never did meet the man, in my life. Because divorce was such a taboo in 1931, Grandma was 'Excommunicated' from the Catholic Church. I know that in the year 2010 it sounds kind of silly for an entire religion to condemn my Grandmother from practicing her religion, just because she divorced a man that was hard to live with. Even though, as I understand it, he was an alcoholic womanizer and petty criminal. According to the Pope and the Catholic Church, she was no longer recognized as a human being in the eyes of the church. Grandma spent the rest of her life moving around to find a Catholic Church she could worship in. Eventually they would discover that she was 'Excommunicated' and ask her to 'NOT' enter that church. She was uninvited to more Catholic Churchs than I can count, and this woman remained a devout Catholic. Apparantly their 'forgiving God' could not forgive the 'sin' of divorce. Am I the only one that sees the ignorance of treating my Grandmother so shabbily.
I became involved with the Protestant religion in order to play Basketball in a Church League. I attended church, every Sunday from about age 10 to 15. I enjoyed the sermons, singing in the choir and actually believed throughout this time. Every Sunday my Mom and Dad gave me 25 or 50 cents to put in the tray. Many times it was money that should have been used for household things that we would do without, to give to the Church. I began to realize that three or four times a year, the whole Sunday Sermon was about 'digging deeper' to give to the church because the church needed money. I had been to the ministers house and had helped one move out and another move in during this time. The minister and his family lived in one of the nicest and biggest homes in my village. He and his family always had new shoes and clothing etc. that most of the rest of us could never be able to afford, yet here is this minister telling us that we need to dig deeper and give. After a number of 'Dig Deeper' sermons, I realized that I did not have to pay someone to believe in God. I stopped attending church and have lived the rest of my life in a more devoutly religious manner than any so-called 'Religious God Fearing' person ever has. I lived by being an honest, responsible member of society.
It was much later in my life,that I realized that I do not like people who make a living by simply speaking. Ministers, Preachers and Priests. They make money by talking. By taking their Bibles and making you believe in a God that you have never seen or never heard. This all knowing and seeing being of pureness. And yet, for all of eternity there have been countless wars based on the premise that "My GOD is better than your god, so therefore I KILL YOU..."
I say, WHAT !!!??? What God, from any Bible, would allow War ?? What God would allow so much pain and suffering throughout the world ??
Life and Death are the only miracles in this world. I am born, and I am me. My world is my life, and when I die, that world ends. I have witnessed the death of many forms of life, including humans. I have looked into the eyes of death. Death is NEVER pretty. I see the struggle to live, and then it just stops. There is nothing after. There is no Heaven. Hell is what we live, and that's it. When we die, our world ENDS. Therefore, we ARE God. At that point, as far as I am concerned, you can take whatever is good... Burn the rest.... and throw it in the nearest garbage can. That is IT.