It was nice to read how quickly Maren Stephenson responded to her husband's admission that he no longer believed in God by saying, "You are more important to me than the Church." Some of her doubts about that expression are both sad and disturbing. In the end she seems to handle his and her own transition pretty well.
It still is upsetting to think that there are those who have such doubts about the value of love. I won't pretend to understand what either of them went through since I have never had any faith. That said, I find any "church", "religion", or "faith" that actively seeks to diminish the value of love or impede it in any way as truly despicable. We need more love in the world not less. Claiming that love is somehow sinful or wrong only serves to demonstrate the pettiness of that particular version of religion.
It also seems strange since virtually every aspect of Faith is intangible and therefore unproven. If you love someone there is proof of it all around you. Just the fact that your partner is quite literally right there with you. People can talk about God and religion in anthropomorphic terms but that is all metaphor and symbolism. Even as a believer, you cannot literally hold God's hand. I happily go to bed and wake up next to my wife. Even if I was a believer I find it hard to see how I could view religion as more important.
Any religion that seeks to place itself as being greater than love is not deserving of any respect from believer or non-believer
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