It is now Sunday, and although I consider myself a practicing Christian with a strong faith, I have no intention of going to church today. I find that really sad. There are two reasons why I haven't been to church in quite a while:
First, it is difficult for me to concentrate throughout the entire worship service. I have tried just to tune out, but that doesn't help make the experience bearable.
Second, I don't feel accepted by the other Christians (this does not include the pastors; they are accepting). I, therefore, feel unwelcome at church.

This second reason—not feeling accepted and welcome—is what infuriates me. I'm an even-keeled man emotionally, but because I so desire fellowship and worship with other Christians, this upsets me greatly. The church is the place where everyone should feel accepted and welcome.

In truth, I do not know if this feeling of not being welcome is based in reality. Some seem to suggest that it is my illness acting up, but I know others with mental illness who feel the same in this regard. Is it their illness acting up too? In addition to my mental illness bothering these Christians, I am a smoker. Due to the anti-smoking advertisements (perhaps they used a cartoon character), they think smoking is a sin simply because it is unhealthy—as if health and morality were the same. Is eating french fries a sin? How about potato chips?

I saw on television a commercial for an anti-smoking organization called Truth.org. I was very disappointed in their methods, the reason being that they distort the truth (despite the name of the organization). There are plenty of reasons not to smoke, and I wouldn't encourage anyone to start; it is a bad addiction. However, instead of this organization presenting the real facts about the dangers of smoking, they mislead people with a manipulated truth.

For instance, in one commercial of theirs they say there is rat poison in cigarettes. It is not strychnine they are talking about, though it seems they want the viewer to think so and get disgusted. The "poison" they are talking about is nicotine itself. It is sometimes even used as an insecticide, but that is at extremely high levels of the drug. At the levels found in cigarettes, the nicotine, aside from causing addiction, is completely harmless. What actually causes cancer and health problems are all the other chemicals found in the smoke. So, while that organization could have talked about the real dangers, instead they are talking about something that isn't a danger at all. I'm completely skeptical about their motives, now that I think of it. Are they trying to be so ridiculous that no one trusts what they say? Are they funded by money from the tobacco companies (who are court ordered to pay for anti-smoking campaigns) who really want people to start smoking?

Interesting enough, I would guess that Truth.org would consider my medicines rat poison too, because at high enough dosage they would kill a rat as well.