Saturday, September 02, 2006
Intolerant Christian (continued)
My Brothers Keeper
“No kingdom has shed more blood than the kingdom of Christ.”
Montiesque
Since the first human gazed up at the stars and wondered why, mankind has endeavored to explain the purpose of existence. This ability to imagine and dream is perhaps the most incredible aspect of human nature And, throughout the millennia humanity has developed an amazing variety of ideas, or belief systems, in our struggles to bring meaning to life beyond the mundane trials and travails of everyday existence. Religious belief has also been the primary vehicle through which humankind has attempted to explain the unexplainable. We are naturally curious creatures and this curiosity has led us to believe that there must be more to life, and to believe that life must have a purpose beyond this simple everyday existence. Just as people have a natural fear of loneliness, as a species we also fear being alone. And just as a child who longs for protection from adults, as adults we long to have a protector or an all-powerful creator. And, we have imagined a creator who will offer, and provide the guarantee of immortality. According to those who believe, Christianity provides all of this and more, which certainly helps to explain the amazing success of what began as a small Jewish sect.
When we gaze at the stars and think about the vastness of the cosmos it is understandably easy to be overwhelmed. The belief in an omniscient intelligence or a guiding spirit that is always there to provide us with a helping hand is not easy concept to reject. We think that if somehow the cosmos is interconnected, and especially if it were created specifically for the benefit of humanity, then how special must we be. All religions attempt to answer the cosmic mystery, and explain humanities place within the cosmos. As many as two billion people today see a timeless wisdom embodied in the texts of the Old and New Testaments. Add in the Koran, which is also an outgrowth of the Judeo-Christian tradition, and three of the great world religions have been born, prospered and accepted as revealing the Truth of our existence by more than half the World’s population. There is a special genius within the pages of these texts. And along with the writings of early Buddhists they have all encouraged people to look beyond their own small tribal or ethnic identity and to see humanity as one people with a common destiny. However, it did not take long for individuals with selfish ulterior motives to begin to use these religious writings for their own personal gain. And for evil!
Too often throughout the past two millennia there have been those who have been willing to use the teachings of Christianity as a pretext to persecute those who do not agree with their interpretation what is sacred. Every religion has the potential for religious extremism. Religious zealotry and political extremism in the name of religion are unfortunately characteristic of the human condition. Because of the genuine desire of people to find meaning in their lives through their religious faith, we are too often easily manipulated by those with unscrupulous motives. Another common theme that runs through the pages of history is the willingness of those who claim to have a special relationship with God, to take advantage of this human desire for Truth for their own personal gain. The very nature of faith allows for a certain ease by which so many are deceived. There are undoubtedly many good and well-meaning individuals among the conservative evangelical and fundamentalist community of modern America. Although they may be mistaken in their vision of what is best for our society and in their interpretations of scripture, many do so with an open and loving soul.
However, when a movement becomes as successful as the conservative fundamentalist and evangelical movement has become, it is almost inevitable that unscrupulous individuals, people who are willing to take advantage of their naive and often uneducated followers, to attain positions of power. And, they are more than eager to use that power in unethical and immoral ways. These American conservative religio-political elites insist that religious freedom is an essential and “ordained” right of all humanity, but in reality they embrace religious intolerance towards anyone who does not ultimately accept his or her specific vision of God’s will. This kind of religious intolerance is a threat to any truly free society, and if taken too far, to the very future of humanity. Those who are the most certain about their beliefs are in essence the gravest threat to those who disagree with them. The examples of the extremes that people will go to attain their religiously inspired goals are innumerable, but the inclination to persecute others for their beliefs is based at least in part on ignorance, fear and even hate. One could almost forgive those who engage in this kind of religiously inspired intolerance if not for the damage they do to the lives of so many on a daily basis. Of course, there are also those who claim to “believe”, and to base their actions on this belief, when in reality they are just cynically acting for their own personal or political gain.
“No kingdom has shed more blood than the kingdom of Christ.”
Montiesque
Since the first human gazed up at the stars and wondered why, mankind has endeavored to explain the purpose of existence. This ability to imagine and dream is perhaps the most incredible aspect of human nature And, throughout the millennia humanity has developed an amazing variety of ideas, or belief systems, in our struggles to bring meaning to life beyond the mundane trials and travails of everyday existence. Religious belief has also been the primary vehicle through which humankind has attempted to explain the unexplainable. We are naturally curious creatures and this curiosity has led us to believe that there must be more to life, and to believe that life must have a purpose beyond this simple everyday existence. Just as people have a natural fear of loneliness, as a species we also fear being alone. And just as a child who longs for protection from adults, as adults we long to have a protector or an all-powerful creator. And, we have imagined a creator who will offer, and provide the guarantee of immortality. According to those who believe, Christianity provides all of this and more, which certainly helps to explain the amazing success of what began as a small Jewish sect.
When we gaze at the stars and think about the vastness of the cosmos it is understandably easy to be overwhelmed. The belief in an omniscient intelligence or a guiding spirit that is always there to provide us with a helping hand is not easy concept to reject. We think that if somehow the cosmos is interconnected, and especially if it were created specifically for the benefit of humanity, then how special must we be. All religions attempt to answer the cosmic mystery, and explain humanities place within the cosmos. As many as two billion people today see a timeless wisdom embodied in the texts of the Old and New Testaments. Add in the Koran, which is also an outgrowth of the Judeo-Christian tradition, and three of the great world religions have been born, prospered and accepted as revealing the Truth of our existence by more than half the World’s population. There is a special genius within the pages of these texts. And along with the writings of early Buddhists they have all encouraged people to look beyond their own small tribal or ethnic identity and to see humanity as one people with a common destiny. However, it did not take long for individuals with selfish ulterior motives to begin to use these religious writings for their own personal gain. And for evil!
Too often throughout the past two millennia there have been those who have been willing to use the teachings of Christianity as a pretext to persecute those who do not agree with their interpretation what is sacred. Every religion has the potential for religious extremism. Religious zealotry and political extremism in the name of religion are unfortunately characteristic of the human condition. Because of the genuine desire of people to find meaning in their lives through their religious faith, we are too often easily manipulated by those with unscrupulous motives. Another common theme that runs through the pages of history is the willingness of those who claim to have a special relationship with God, to take advantage of this human desire for Truth for their own personal gain. The very nature of faith allows for a certain ease by which so many are deceived. There are undoubtedly many good and well-meaning individuals among the conservative evangelical and fundamentalist community of modern America. Although they may be mistaken in their vision of what is best for our society and in their interpretations of scripture, many do so with an open and loving soul.
However, when a movement becomes as successful as the conservative fundamentalist and evangelical movement has become, it is almost inevitable that unscrupulous individuals, people who are willing to take advantage of their naive and often uneducated followers, to attain positions of power. And, they are more than eager to use that power in unethical and immoral ways. These American conservative religio-political elites insist that religious freedom is an essential and “ordained” right of all humanity, but in reality they embrace religious intolerance towards anyone who does not ultimately accept his or her specific vision of God’s will. This kind of religious intolerance is a threat to any truly free society, and if taken too far, to the very future of humanity. Those who are the most certain about their beliefs are in essence the gravest threat to those who disagree with them. The examples of the extremes that people will go to attain their religiously inspired goals are innumerable, but the inclination to persecute others for their beliefs is based at least in part on ignorance, fear and even hate. One could almost forgive those who engage in this kind of religiously inspired intolerance if not for the damage they do to the lives of so many on a daily basis. Of course, there are also those who claim to “believe”, and to base their actions on this belief, when in reality they are just cynically acting for their own personal or political gain.
