Losing My Religion
“There are no Christians, as far as I know, blowing up buildings, I am not aware of any Christian suicide bombers. I am not aware of any majority Christian denomination that believes the penalty for apostasy is death.”
“I have mixed feelings about the decline of Christianity, in so far as Christianity might be a bulwark against something worse.”
Richard Dawkins
If we eliminate religion, reason and science will take its place, or so some folks seem to think. In fact, recent studies have shown that as traditional religion becomes more scarce, people tend to revert to mysticism and superstition, not science.
This was found to be the case in Europe where agnosticism is common, but so is the belief in fairies, ghosts, and other related phenomena. Nature worship isn't far behind. And, if you don't like religion, but wish to believe that the universe has got your back, " The Law of Attraction" is a fine substitute for a generous God. That way you can have your cake, without any accountability to a consciousness higher than your own. Think of it as prosperity teaching for people who're pissed at God, but don't want to be left out in the cold.
I realize that for many good people, all religion is viewed as superstition. In the case of actual historians or social scientists, however, religion's role in the formation of our system of laws and moral codes is indispensable and indisputable. So is the notion of "Inalienable rights" that's found in our own constitution, which grew out of the conception of 'Natural Law" as espoused by enlightenment philosophers like John Locke and Thomas Jefferson. Judeo-Christian tradition played an even more, profound role in the process.
But hey, don't tell anybody because the separation of church and state is a hot topic of discussion. At least, it is for folks who want eliminate any hint of religion on the basis of a non-historic reading of the First amendment. Who cares about centuries of legal and historical precedent. You don't need that, not when you've got really, really smart people to do the thinking for you, except when it comes to abortion, of course, then a few decades of precedent are beyond question.
Does the hypocrisy ever end? I'm afraid not.
Lastly, but certainly not least, is the whole, "I feel betrayed by my pastor, my religion, and my church, etc, etc, etc... Why? Because, that version of God came up short. I'm not responsible for believing it, though, because I was helpless, caught in the grasp of evil religious folk."
To this, I say, "Yes, there are some cults, both mainstream and not so mainstream, that work feverishly to indoctrinate impressionable, vulnerable people, who, in fact, may be in deep need of genuine love and help. But, for most of us, we choose our religion like someone eating at the local smorgasbord, "I'll take some of that, a bit of this." And, if, in the end, that version of God comes up empty, it almost certainly says more about us, than it does about God.
Mark Magula
This was found to be the case in Europe where agnosticism is common, but so is the belief in fairies, ghosts, and other related phenomena. Nature worship isn't far behind. And, if you don't like religion, but wish to believe that the universe has got your back, " The Law of Attraction" is a fine substitute for a generous God. That way you can have your cake, without any accountability to a consciousness higher than your own. Think of it as prosperity teaching for people who're pissed at God, but don't want to be left out in the cold.
I realize that for many good people, all religion is viewed as superstition. In the case of actual historians or social scientists, however, religion's role in the formation of our system of laws and moral codes is indispensable and indisputable. So is the notion of "Inalienable rights" that's found in our own constitution, which grew out of the conception of 'Natural Law" as espoused by enlightenment philosophers like John Locke and Thomas Jefferson. Judeo-Christian tradition played an even more, profound role in the process.
But hey, don't tell anybody because the separation of church and state is a hot topic of discussion. At least, it is for folks who want eliminate any hint of religion on the basis of a non-historic reading of the First amendment. Who cares about centuries of legal and historical precedent. You don't need that, not when you've got really, really smart people to do the thinking for you, except when it comes to abortion, of course, then a few decades of precedent are beyond question.
Does the hypocrisy ever end? I'm afraid not.
Lastly, but certainly not least, is the whole, "I feel betrayed by my pastor, my religion, and my church, etc, etc, etc... Why? Because, that version of God came up short. I'm not responsible for believing it, though, because I was helpless, caught in the grasp of evil religious folk."
To this, I say, "Yes, there are some cults, both mainstream and not so mainstream, that work feverishly to indoctrinate impressionable, vulnerable people, who, in fact, may be in deep need of genuine love and help. But, for most of us, we choose our religion like someone eating at the local smorgasbord, "I'll take some of that, a bit of this." And, if, in the end, that version of God comes up empty, it almost certainly says more about us, than it does about God.
Mark Magula
