This really got to me

[robvalue]

Well, I think it can certainly decrease effective critical thinking. The kind of really bad thought that is required to rationalize religion to one's self can often leak into other subjects.

I am also sick of this "free will" garbage. God could tell me his message, word for word, personally, and I'd most likely just shrug and carry on regardless. If he means to say we have no choice but to worship him, then he's certainly wrong; unless God also decides to use mind control techniques.

Everything that ever happens to us affects our free will in some way. If God was so concerned with our freedom, he wouldn't have made the force of gravity in such a way that we can barely ever move from where we are. And even if we could, he made the atmosphere lethal to us. He's hampered our exploration of virtually 100% of our environment. That's affecting my free will a lot more than him telling me a load of rules he wants me to follow, which I can just ignore if I don't like them.