Though I have been exposed to it throughout my entire life, I have never taken comfort in religion, ever. Perhaps, this attitude has been borne out of my natural cynicism, or the chaotic circumstances of my childhood; but, rather than initially just giving into my skepticism, I spent many years reading, studying and contemplating the sacred texts of the major religions and found them wholly lacking in substantive answers other than to just ‘believe’ them to be true. The major sticking point for me was that religious faith preaches ‘inner-peace’ as its primary selling point: Put your faith in ‘God’ and he will provide you with peace and provide you with all the answers. In my assessment, this is the model of human complacency: It tells us not to question, not to ruminate, not to search outside of the boundaries of what theology tells you is acceptable. I will Christianity as my reference point in this discussion: Firstly, in the fourth Gospel, Jesus gives the primary tenet of Christianity: "Peace I leave with you; my peace I give to you" (John 14:27). Yet, I contend that inner peace is a destructive force, as it is our pain within that defines who we are as people; and, if we chose to ignore our own suffering, we inevitably lose ourselves. Our empathy for the plight of others is directly related to the pain we feel within ourselves. For example, we strive to feed those who are starving due to the fear of pain in hunger; we shelter the abused because of the physical and psychological pain inflicted upon others touches our humanity; and, we seek to make our children’s lives more idyllic due the pain we suffered when were children. Thus, I do not want the pain of my life taken from me: I need my pain to make me aware of the human condition outside of my own wants and needs; and, to motivate me to do something about it. Secondly, there is the notion that all human beings do in the realms of knowledge are an exercise in futility” “"I will destroy the wisdom of the wise; the intelligence of the intelligent I will frustrate. ‘Where is the wise man? Where is the scholar? Where is the philosopher of this age? Has not God made foolish the wisdom of the world?’” (I Corinthians 1:18-25). If human beings had not possessed an innate curiosity of their world and the human condition, how many more people would have died as the result of diseases for which science has found a cure? Would we possess the modes of electronic communication, of which I am communicating to you now, be possible if not for the evolution of human knowledge through curiosity? Obviously not. No ‘God’ or religion is valid if it demands willed ignorance to a theology; for, if we, as humans possess the capability of reshaping and remaking our world for the better, and then chose to abandon that responsibility because of our beliefs, of what intrinsic value are they? In addition, there are tenets within the Bible that quite frankly disturb me: It condones slavery (Ephesians 6:5); it demands the subjugation of women (Titus 2”3-5); and, puts forward a shocking rationale with regards to rape (Exodus 22:16-17). These are the most fundamental reasons why I have entirely rejected religion. Again, I have used Christianity as the reference point here; however, I see little substantive difference between it and all of the other theologies out there, some of which, in my view, are the epitome of cartoon-level stupid. I do not want to remain blissfully ignorant of my world, I want to be a part of it, to reinforce what is good, and to do what is within my power to change what is wrong. It begs an important question: With all of the human misery in this world just from ‘natural causes’ and ‘acts of God’ alone, if there is a ‘God’ in Heaven, what in the hell is he/she waiting for? The answer to this query was best addressed by the Greek philosopher, Epicurus: “Is God willing to prevent evil, but not able? Then he is not omnipotent. Is he able, but not willing? Then he is malevolent. Is he both able and willing? Then whence cometh evil? Is he neither able nor willing? Then why call him God?”
Posted on: Sun, 08 Sep 2013 14:39:34 +0000
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