Religion confuses me. Christianity especially. Let’s just get that out of the way right now. But let me also explain that it is not spirituality or faith that confuses me. The organization that has grown out of these things — AKA: religion — is something I simply don’t understand.

I don’t understand how a preacher of Christianity — a religion that is supposed to promote selflessness — can become so twisted that they scheme, covet, steal and even murder. Last month, Rev. Howard Douglas Porter of Hickman, Calif., was convicted of embezzlement, first degree murder, elder abuse and attempted murder.

This “man of God” had used his position of authority to trick an elderly man into giving up more than one million dollars toward building an agricultural museum. What did the good reverend use this money for? Home remodeling. What truly sickens me is the possibility that agendas similar to this are carried out far more frequently than we realize by people and organizations larger than Mr. Porter and that the cause of such good fortune is attributed to divine intervention or righteousness.

“TheCall,” a 12-hour gathering of fasting and prayer is scheduled to commence this November at the Qualcomm Stadium in California. The Web site says that, “In the midst of an ‘entertainment’ driven society, TheCall does not seek to entertain, but to encounter God. Unlike other mass gatherings which attract people through the rhythms of loud music, the glamour of flashing lights, or through the appeal of charismatic personalities, TheCall is a gathering centered around the affections of a loving God.”

That’s an interesting statement to me, because the promo for the event begins with drums overlapping an extremely deep, raspy and melodramatic voice beckoning, “A confrontation between light and darkness will happen this November.” This is accompanied by shiny text that creates a metal twang sound as it crashes into the screen.

Can you honestly tell me that doesn’t sound like a Hollywood teaser trailer?

By the way, the “darkness” these people are confronting? Same-sex marriage, of course. Those evil, evil gays.

Yes, of course. It’s so obvious. There are people starving in Africa, wars being fought over whose holy text is correct, greed corrupting the pillars of our economy and a failing healthcare system here in America. Thank goodness the organizers of TheCall can prioritize.

Stuart Shepard, director of digital media at Focus Action, is another with his priorities intact. The man asked people to pray for rain during Barack Obama’s acceptance speech at the Democratic National Convention. “Now I know there’ll probably be people who’ll pray for 72 degrees and clear skies, but this isn’t a contest,” Shepard said. Not more than a second later does he smile smugly into the camera and say, “But if God decides that rain of biblical proportions would be a good and proper meteorological condition for that evening, we’ll see it and we’ll say that it is good.”

These are not the words of a good Christian, in my opinion. He is asking what is, in his mind, the most Supreme Being to place “ruining the DNC” at the top of His list, and he really thinks this will work. Talk about the deadly sins envy and pride. To me, Shepard’s actions are those of a selfish man who gets a kind of twisted high from holier-than-thou rhetoric.

On a lighter — yet still somewhat darkly humorous — note, I was at ClubFest earlier this month. While visiting the LGBTAA’s booth, I couldn’t help but notice a girl come swipe some candy without saying so much as “hello” or “thanks” before she quickly scampered back to her club’s booth, as if trying to avoid being seen. What made this so funny was that the girl was affiliated with the Salt Company, a Christian student club.

So essentially, a selfish Christian stole from gays. Or at the least, the girl was being quite rude.

Now, I would’ve done what I did next regardless of her club membership. I would’ve done what I did even if the booth I was browsing was the ISU Fishing Club. Taking things without saying thank you is simply rude. So, just what did I do?

I walked over to this young woman, calmly and kindly expressing that when someone offers you gifts, the moral thing to do would be to say thank you.

And therein lies an example of faith versus religion.

I didn’t need a holy doctrine to teach me manners or how to treat others. I didn’t need a sermon on the mound to tell me how to follow my heart on what’s right and what’s wrong. My spirit is good, and my belief in humanity is nothing if not egalitarian optimism. We all have a part to play.

What do I think about faith? I think we have a purpose in this life, and that is to help others. I think there’s something greater than us out there, and that it would like us to be happy. What do I think about Christianity? This organization, this multi-billion dollar business of belief?

Man, don’t even get me started.

— Sophie Prell is a junior in pre-journalism and mass communication from Alta.