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Life for some of us is like an assembly line where we build a complex network of thoughts based on education and experience. I have heard it said that knowledge combined with experience yields wisdom. Well, I am not real sure about that but it sounds pretty good. For what it's worth, the following is one component of the unfinished product rolling down my personal assembly line:
Roots of Religion
Religion originated in a world dominated by brutality, ignorance, and superstition. It was born of the natural human instinct to lead; the inner desire to elevate one's self above peers. It was perpetuated through the practice of exploitation and deceit by those of superior intellect and perpetrated against the less sophisticated.
These humble beginnings proved successful in a fertile climate of physical brutality and domination by the physically powerful while other, more cunning people of higher intellect and sophistication seized upon opportunity amid tragedy, disaster, and disease to convince sick, downtrodden, and grieving people that they, these perpetrators themselves, were 'chosen', and/or had the unique ability to discern messages from or to communicate with the creator, master, god, or almighty one.
As societies and nations developed, leaders found that the fears, superstitions, and uncertainties of the people along with the powerful sway of the church or supposed spiritual leaders were excellent mechanisms by which to both intimidate and placate the populous. By using religion in this way, those in power could better manipulate and exploit the masses behind a facade of righteousness while they themselves were exempt from or broke the very laws and rules by which the governed were bound and expected to live or else suffer the loss of their souls to “eternal damnation”; that sinister lie created by the perpetrators.
Earthly humanity, as we know it, is an integral part of everything else in our universe, obviously more highly developed intellectually, yet no more important. The most detrimental features of human endeavor are the mental barriers and misguided decision-making that exist because of the fraudulent influence of religion; The Greatest Lie, The Ultimate Deceit. It is the faulty assumption of our human mindset that we, our species, or each family, nation, sect, or other entity with which we identify, is somehow more important or holds a more special place of favor with "God" than any of the other people, places, or things that exist. This concept has facilitated theft of property and genocide throughout history and continues to do so as each group commits horrendous acts of crime and deprivation against others, all the while believing they are blessed in doing so by "their God".
The most difficult challenge for the future is to find the way to free ourselves from the illegitimate bindings of religion and move forward with great curiosity and the confidence that comes from knowing, as stated in Desiderata, that we "are a part of the universe, no less than the trees and the stars, we have a right to be here and whether or not it is clear to us, no doubt the universe is unfolding as it should." Accept the mystery of our existence for now and know that we as a species are progressing in the development of wisdom and understanding.
Rejecting the lies of religion and seeking truth together can speed our development and enhance the experience of living.
Showing posts with label religion. Show all posts
Showing posts with label religion. Show all posts
Sunday, September 6, 2009
Tuesday, August 4, 2009
Joshua 6, Verse 21
A couple of years ago, I received an email from a friend questioning my views on religion based on a conversation we had had about the events of 911. This was my reply:
Yes, the terrorist attacks of September 11, 2001, were very barbaric; such a waste. It is sad what fanatical thinking can do to people when they blindly follow others and refuse to validate their own beliefs against the vast evidence of history, including their own experiences.
I first discovered that Joshua verse, at about age 31, while reading a book I bought at the Woolworth store in Independence one day in 1978 when Judy and I went there for lunch while we were working at ARCO. The paperback book was a history of the bible based on archaeological discoveries in the holy land during the 19th and 20th centuries. Reading Joshua chapter 6, verse 21 (which immediately follows the story about the walls of Jericho tumbling down and is the basis for the sweet little children's song that we sang in Sunday school) was a critical turning point in my thinking about religion. I could not accept it being ok to have an entire community, including the elderly and little children, approved for slaughter so that another group of people could take over their homeland. That made no sense to me and was contrary to my religious views up to that point in my life. More recently, I googled the book of Joshua and found many other similar instances of God authorizing his "chosen" to kill entire communities so they could take another's land.
Here is a note I wrote to myself a few years ago about my reaction to Joshua 6:21...
"A major turning point in my attitude toward Christianity was my reading of Joshua 6:21. This verse is the culmination of a running dialog among God, Moses, and Joshua with the ultimate goal being the acquisition of the "Promised Land" by the Israelites. This reading made clear to me that the God of the Jewish heritage was and is simply a justifying mechanism for the most appalling crimes that one group of people can commit against another. It is interesting to observe that the present day Jewish community fails include this scripture within the context of Holocaust related discussions. I don't make this association to justify the Holocaust. The crimes committed by the German leaders against the Jewish people during WW II were punished to the fullest extent possible at the time. Those acts stand on their own historically and can never be justified."
And that being as it may, I believe not what I am told by some authority, dogma, or creed to believe, but I believe what I am compelled by my own conscience, life experiences, and understanding to believe. I don't pretend to know the answers of where we came from, where we are going, or what it is all about. Most of what I believe about religion is actually based on what I don't believe. That is the crucial test for me. I have bought a few used cars and encyclopedias in my time and have known a lot of different people. I have learned to often recognize deceit, deception, and insincerity when I hear it or see it. It is my sincere belief that the institutions of religion are based on nothing more than folklore and myth; creative storytellings by those who seek to entertain, dominate, or control others for their own prestige and gain. They can’t help it, it’s just the way they are.
But that is not an indictment of the nice groups of people who gather together in churches and enjoy each other's trust and support. The social and supportive aspects of church groups are great. It is the thin hard outer shell of lies, deceit, domination, and control that is the true evil of religion. If not for the Roman Catholic Church and subsequent others that followed, I imagine that air travel and other modern technologies would have emerged hundreds of years before they actually did. I believe their delay was due to the systematic prohibition and restriction of scientific learning, lethally enforced by the Church for centuries. Unfortunately science is discouraged and discredited to this day by religious leaders around the world.
Other than that, I think all people are about the same. Life and human existence are very complex and not a series of simple choices between right and wrong. Life is messy.
I am comfortable with my own views and respect the rights of others to believe as they feel appropriate.
I just try to get by day to day, generally meeting the expectations of family, employer, and society.
Yes, the terrorist attacks of September 11, 2001, were very barbaric; such a waste. It is sad what fanatical thinking can do to people when they blindly follow others and refuse to validate their own beliefs against the vast evidence of history, including their own experiences.
I first discovered that Joshua verse, at about age 31, while reading a book I bought at the Woolworth store in Independence one day in 1978 when Judy and I went there for lunch while we were working at ARCO. The paperback book was a history of the bible based on archaeological discoveries in the holy land during the 19th and 20th centuries. Reading Joshua chapter 6, verse 21 (which immediately follows the story about the walls of Jericho tumbling down and is the basis for the sweet little children's song that we sang in Sunday school) was a critical turning point in my thinking about religion. I could not accept it being ok to have an entire community, including the elderly and little children, approved for slaughter so that another group of people could take over their homeland. That made no sense to me and was contrary to my religious views up to that point in my life. More recently, I googled the book of Joshua and found many other similar instances of God authorizing his "chosen" to kill entire communities so they could take another's land.
Here is a note I wrote to myself a few years ago about my reaction to Joshua 6:21...
"A major turning point in my attitude toward Christianity was my reading of Joshua 6:21. This verse is the culmination of a running dialog among God, Moses, and Joshua with the ultimate goal being the acquisition of the "Promised Land" by the Israelites. This reading made clear to me that the God of the Jewish heritage was and is simply a justifying mechanism for the most appalling crimes that one group of people can commit against another. It is interesting to observe that the present day Jewish community fails include this scripture within the context of Holocaust related discussions. I don't make this association to justify the Holocaust. The crimes committed by the German leaders against the Jewish people during WW II were punished to the fullest extent possible at the time. Those acts stand on their own historically and can never be justified."
And that being as it may, I believe not what I am told by some authority, dogma, or creed to believe, but I believe what I am compelled by my own conscience, life experiences, and understanding to believe. I don't pretend to know the answers of where we came from, where we are going, or what it is all about. Most of what I believe about religion is actually based on what I don't believe. That is the crucial test for me. I have bought a few used cars and encyclopedias in my time and have known a lot of different people. I have learned to often recognize deceit, deception, and insincerity when I hear it or see it. It is my sincere belief that the institutions of religion are based on nothing more than folklore and myth; creative storytellings by those who seek to entertain, dominate, or control others for their own prestige and gain. They can’t help it, it’s just the way they are.
But that is not an indictment of the nice groups of people who gather together in churches and enjoy each other's trust and support. The social and supportive aspects of church groups are great. It is the thin hard outer shell of lies, deceit, domination, and control that is the true evil of religion. If not for the Roman Catholic Church and subsequent others that followed, I imagine that air travel and other modern technologies would have emerged hundreds of years before they actually did. I believe their delay was due to the systematic prohibition and restriction of scientific learning, lethally enforced by the Church for centuries. Unfortunately science is discouraged and discredited to this day by religious leaders around the world.
Other than that, I think all people are about the same. Life and human existence are very complex and not a series of simple choices between right and wrong. Life is messy.
I am comfortable with my own views and respect the rights of others to believe as they feel appropriate.
I just try to get by day to day, generally meeting the expectations of family, employer, and society.
Monday, August 3, 2009
The Stoning of Stephen
It was a hot Sunday morning in July, 1959 at the First Church of God in Henryetta, Oklahoma. I was a 12 year-old sinner sitting in a front row pew, anxiously awaiting the alter call; that dreaded time at the end of each service when heart wrenching songs were sung in the most mournful guilt provoking tones. I had made up my mind that this was the day I would be “saved”. When the invitational hymn was sung that day I was determined that I would go forward to kneel at the altar and ask Jesus to forgive me of all the sins I had committed in my life and be saved from a torturous eternal burning in hell.
In my adolescent mind, my sins were great and numerous,like masturbation and thinking about all kinds of sexual things. Now at last my fear could be forgotten and I could go to sleep at night without worrying about what would happen if I should die an unexpected death. I was only a young boy, but inside I felt like a very sinful person.
The church had been a kind of second home for my family. My dad, Everett Middleton, was the Sunday School Superintendent and Treasurer of the church. But sitting there on the front row at church that Sunday, my heart was pounding faster and faster as the time for action approached. Reverend Sloan peered down from the podium and I felt as if I were the only person in the audience as he presented a compelling case for dying a martyr’s death. His sermon was on the stoning of Stephen, from the New Testament Book of Acts, chapter 7, verses 54 through 60.
What a horrible choice for a kid to make. I could suffer in hell for eternity or become a Christian and be expected to accept death by stoning at the hands of an angry crowd of non-believers with the promise of spending eternity in heaven, a blissful place where rejoicing goes on indefinitely around the clock throughout eternity.
How unfortunate that no one in my family had the courage or the wisdom to see through this bullshit called religion and expose it as being nothing more than a cruel perversion, the greatest of all sins. Instead, here I was, an innocent child functioning in the ways that I was designed to perform. I was born and sustained as a natural child, sensing and feeling life as most children have done throughout the relatively brief time of humanity.
What is the truth about the major religions of the world? How did all the lies and deceit begin? These are questions that I have come to ponder and think about increasingly as my life experiences have accumulated.
In my adolescent mind, my sins were great and numerous,like masturbation and thinking about all kinds of sexual things. Now at last my fear could be forgotten and I could go to sleep at night without worrying about what would happen if I should die an unexpected death. I was only a young boy, but inside I felt like a very sinful person.
The church had been a kind of second home for my family. My dad, Everett Middleton, was the Sunday School Superintendent and Treasurer of the church. But sitting there on the front row at church that Sunday, my heart was pounding faster and faster as the time for action approached. Reverend Sloan peered down from the podium and I felt as if I were the only person in the audience as he presented a compelling case for dying a martyr’s death. His sermon was on the stoning of Stephen, from the New Testament Book of Acts, chapter 7, verses 54 through 60.
What a horrible choice for a kid to make. I could suffer in hell for eternity or become a Christian and be expected to accept death by stoning at the hands of an angry crowd of non-believers with the promise of spending eternity in heaven, a blissful place where rejoicing goes on indefinitely around the clock throughout eternity.
How unfortunate that no one in my family had the courage or the wisdom to see through this bullshit called religion and expose it as being nothing more than a cruel perversion, the greatest of all sins. Instead, here I was, an innocent child functioning in the ways that I was designed to perform. I was born and sustained as a natural child, sensing and feeling life as most children have done throughout the relatively brief time of humanity.
What is the truth about the major religions of the world? How did all the lies and deceit begin? These are questions that I have come to ponder and think about increasingly as my life experiences have accumulated.
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