Religious right extremism, new atheism and late-night comedy could spell the end for religion http://t.co/L2TeYDOXLG pic.twitter.com/bE5KHz7lz8
— Salon Politics (@Salon_Politics) December 22, 2014
The essence of any belief system- Christianity, atheism, Pastafarianism, Packers fandom- is the idea that it adds meaning and value to someone’s existence. Though I can’t begin to imagine what sort of meaning being a Packers fan could possibly add to someone’s already miserable, pointless existence, my point of view isn’t the one that matters. Perhaps that’s why I bristle at those who believe they possess the right to pass judgment on me because of the incorrectness or sinfulness of my views. ‘Course, if I was a better person, I’d tell them to pound sand and get on with my life…and I’m working on that.
We all have our shortcomings, right?
Whatever your belief system happens to be, there’s nothing wrong with someone (respectfully) questioning it. If you can’t defend your beliefs, or if you’re so offended by being questioned that you’d accuse the questioner of persecution…well, don’tchathink that says more about you than your inquisitor? If you react to your beliefs being questioned with the assumption that the questioner is hating on you or disrespecting your right to your beliefs, I’d submit that speaks to your insecurity about your faith in the philosophical/theological construct that governs your world than it ever could about anyone outside yourself.
This is particularly true of modern Christianity these days, which seems chock full of people who define anything but slavish obeisance to their faith as persecution- “If you’re not with us, you’re against us.”
Religious faith- or really, ANY sort of faith- isn’t a one-size-fits-all, same-for-all-time-no-matter-what-happens construct. If your belief system doesn’t change and evolve with time and experience, what you have isn’t faith; it’s dogma. If your faith doesn’t change and evolve over time, how can you hope to grow? That’s not saying that need to live in doubt and uncertainty…but then again, life IS doubt and uncertainty. We can never know what’s to come, so how can we know that we hold firm to today will prove immutable and unalterable tomorrow?
If medicine was approached in the same manner, we’d still be getting bled by leeches. As our world changes and evolves, so must our beliefs…or we run the risks of clinging to an outdated philosophy no longer applicable to our current reality…which seems to be where so many Christians find themselves today. Absent the ability and/or willingness to question their beliefs, what do they really have besides dogma? If your faith is inflexible and not available for examination, I’d posit that you really have no faith at all.
Religion as a concept seems to be falling prey to those who would hijack and use it to advance their narrow, self-interested agenda. It appears to be dying in large part because so many good and decent people of faith decline to confront those who would use their faith to advance their own material interests. We hear so much today about hateful, intolerant Christians these days, in part because those who actually try to live their faith don’t stand up for it. For whatever reasons, the faithful refuse to confront those who use their belief system as a club with which to bludgeon others in their lust for power, money, and political control.
Extremism may well prove to be the undoing of religion, because how many intelligent, morally sound people are going to be willing to subscribe to a faith tradition based on fear, prejudice, and hatred of those who don’t share similar beliefs? Unless the mainstream stands up and does the right thing, until they demand better from their leaders, the future of religion in America can’t be held to be bright.
And don’t even get me started how many millions have been slaughtered in the name of religion….
