 via The Walking Dead |
Picking up where I left off in my previous post (and continuing with the zombie theme) concerning religious faith, I mentioned briefly that one might recognize a few parallels between the undead (zombies) and the reborn (Christians). Before I go any further, I want to clarify that I mean no disrespect to Christians or any other faith group. What I oppose is fundamentalism along with any worldview which extols absolute faith as a virtue and condemns doubt as a sin and a vice. I speak out against the actions and attitudes of those religionists who exhibit zombie-like behavior, which includes a lack of autonomous thought and independent judgment, mindlessness, and a disposition towards attacking anything that's different from you.
Fundamentalism is the daughter of faith, which is the heart of religion. And while religion can exist apart from fundamentalism, it cannot exist apart from faith. This is why I am critical of religion. While I am confident that there are many religionists - including my dear friends Mr. Saw and Clayton - who would never abuse their children or bomb buildings, the promotion of religion is necessarily a promotion of faith, which is the catalyst of some of the most heinous acts in history. Even my otherwise rational Christian friends must sacrifice their minds - take captive every thought to make it obedient to Christ - and forego the application of reason and logic to their religious faith.
Of course, Christians aren't the only ones who resemble the walking dead. Every religion fosters a zombie-like mentality.
 Krishna Zombie! |
Bruce Gerencser posted a blog entry recently in which he asks, Is Living By Faith an Excuse for Irresponsibility? Bruce notes that, "[a]ccording to the Bible, without faith it is IMPOSSIBLE to please God," and proceeds to use his own previous life of faith as an illustration. In the end, Bruce admits:
I have come to the conclusion that faith was an excuse for irresponsibility; that waiting for God to provide was an excuse for doing without. If I had to do it all over again I would have been a bi-vocational pastor. I would’ve worked a secular job. I would’ve made sure that my family was provided for, that we had insurance, that we had money saved, and that we had adequately planned for the future.
I remember listening to sermons in which the preacher would challenge us to "put legs on our faith" or "take a step out in faith." I remember one sermon in particular in which the preacher told the congregation to "do something that could only be accomplished by god." Think about it: if god isn't keen on going along with the plan, or if god just isn't listening or isn't there at all, then that step taken in faith could prove to be a huge mistake. "Faith" becomes comparable to driving down the street blindfolded.
Yet this is the nature of faith, seen time and again. Living by faith comes with the promise of divine guidance, protection or providence, and ultimately the promise of eternal bliss once this life is over. How many people have squandered their lives by "acting in faith" when they should have made more responsible decisions? The thought is humbling, because I once had a faith-based mentality. The thought is also quite sobering, because I can't help but think how much better the world would be without all the Kierkegaardian leaps of faith.
Some people think I've become anti-god, but I'm not. I'm not even anti-religion. I'm anti-faith. I'm against anything that causes a person to stop using his head. For Bruce - and for myself when I was a Christian minister - faith was a catalyst for irresponsible behavior. But for some, faith leads to something much worse:
The title says it all. The article begins by reporting that a "fundamentalist Christian couple who prayed instead of calling a doctor while their two-year-old son was left to die of pneumonia have been spared jail." The article continues: "The parents are members of the controversial First Century Gospel Church which tells members it is a sin to use medicine... They were convicted of involuntary manslaughter and child endangerment in December after their son Kent died from bacterial pneumonia. A judge spared them jail, but said they must take their remaining seven children for regular check-ups with a doctor."
Child abuse and neglect, suicide bombings, the rise of cults and tyrants. This is the product of religious fundamentalism. Demonize doubt, uphold faith as a virtue, chastise and punish those who dare to question or think for themselves. No independent thought! Be the zombie. Remember, without faith it is impossible to please god. Now these idiots have killed their own child.
How much death and destruction and chaos does it take to wake people up? When will people snap out of their zombie-like mentality? Human history is replete with repulsive acts committed in the name of faith, by those who received their deluded commands from an ancient book, or from god talking to them, or from the teachings of a deranged preacher. How much longer before people stop looking at faith as a virtue? How many more parents have to kill their children before we fucking wake up?
My Christian friends - people who are both sane and rational, like my very close friends Clayton and Mr. Saw - would never do such a thing. I am certain that, if they started hearing voices claiming to be from god telling them to kill their children or set their house on fire, they would go straight to the doctor because they would realize something is wrong with them. They are good people. But here we see the cognitive dissonance they must live with in order to maintain their worldview. They will readily apply logic and reason to every other area of their lives, but never extend their use of logic and reason to examine the claims of their religion.
 via The Walking Dead |
How do we know Abraham wasn't crazy when he supposedly heard god's voice telling him to sacrifice his only son? Mohammed supposedly received direct revelation from god, yet god felt it necessary to send Mohammed revisions of his previous decrees, as though god were just making this stuff up on the spot. Joseph Smith supposedly received golden plates from the angel Moroni. Saul of Tarsus claimed that the risen Jesus appeared to him on the road to Damascus. The claims of special revelation in the religions have one thing in common: one person - or a small group of people - receive The Truth from god. Then this person or small group of people spread The Truth to the rest of the world. People who receive special revelation from the divine are part of quite an exclusive group.
This raises a very important question: How do we know these people weren't just batshit crazy? Why do people of faith apply different standards when it comes to judging members of this exclusive club? Why do adherents of the Abrahamic religions just accept that Moses wasn't stark raving mad (or a master politician)? They so easily believe that god really did talk to him through a burning bush? Yet how many of them, if they were to hear of someone nowadays talking to a flaming shrub, would think that person needed serious psychological help?
This is because people can and oftentimes do apply reason to their lives, but such application stops short of religion, giving one's faith a pass. And what does that lead to?
Jeff and Marci Beagley were sentenced to 16 months in prison last year for the death of their 16-year-old son.
The couple refused to use medicine for their son Neil, who was suffering from a preventable urinary tract blockage.
Instead, they prayed and used anointing oils in the hope of divine intervention. [link]
