Religion: No Good; Just Bad and Ugly: Part Two

Is our Christian religion really the right religion? Human societies have believed in hundreds of religions, some current, many extinct. Humans have worshiped literally thousands of deities over a hundred thousand or some odd years. All religions, and all deities, can’t all be true. Perhaps none are. Regardless, religion has a lot to answer for.

Continued from yesterday’s blog…

As recent and even not so recent revelations have made clear, it has come to pass that not all members in the employment of the inner sanctums of the Church (pick a church, any church) are especially moral beings. If church Vickers, priests, parsons, rabbis, bishops, and associated clergy types are to be believed, as reported in the media and acknowledged by the Church, well let’s just say they don’t apparently always do the right thing by those in their care. 

Speaking of all things moral and ethical, the Church has blood on its collective hands, right up to its proverbial elbows. There’s the Inquisition, the Crusades, all manner of Holy Wars, etc. The Church is guilty of murder, legal death by execution (being burned at the stake, being stoned to death), torture, imprisonment, exile, ridicule, harassment, and all other manner of atrocities, etc. The Church is in no way in any position to cast the first stone, as it were. 

Further examples of religious atrocities now include religious terrorism. Once upon a time, I used to view terrorism as a political act, mainly for the purpose of overthrowing the government-of-the-day; the powers-that-be, by ‘well meaning’ revolutionaries. It wasn’t an attempt to slaughter the average man-in-the-street. The violent revolutions that led to Castro's Cuba or the overthrow of the pro-Western government of Iran are but a few examples of revolutionary terrorism, terrorism with the goal of a forced change of government. Those are but two of many that have taken place in Africa, South and Central America, etc.

Today however, terrorism appears to have a decidedly less political edge to it and way more of a religious context or motivation behind acts of terrorism. It’s also more ‘personal’ since there are millions around the world who wish you dead (and some who would be happy to be your executioner if they could) all because you don’t belong to their religious faith – you’re their infidel. The spate of suicide bombings, the events of 9/11, were (or are) examples of terrorism generally carried out in the name of religion.

While it might be true that some extremely militant fundamentalist Christians might like to eliminate moderate Christians, what I had in mind here is more one faith vs. another - Catholics vs. Protestants (say in Northern Ireland); Muslims vs. Christians, as say in the Bali bombings. Those terrorist bombers, in Bali, wanted Australians, Americans, anyone not of their faith, dead! I believe there is equally faith vs. faith terrorist acts on the Subcontinent, probably of the Hindu vs. Buddhism kind.

How many around the world, who do not share the faith of the average Australian (or other Western democracy), would be happy to see lots of Australians dead? Not the majority of course, but a sizable enough minority, and worldwide, that amounts to millions. That minority of course ultimately form the core of suicide bombers, or at least those who encourage, sanction, condone, support, etc. their actions.

That’s somehow even more disturbing than outright political terrorism. If this is the sort of trait that separates humans from animals, maybe it might have been better to have been born an animal – at least until such time as you’re slaughtered as a sacrifice to someone’s God! You can’t win.  

Then there are those religious vested interests. Let’s face it; organized religion is at least a multi-million dollar industry, if not a multi-billion dollar interest to all and sundry. Religious organizations employ lots of people. These people have a lot invested in the subject matter – money and time and probably training. There’s lots of money tied up in religious real estate and infrastructure.

If someone could conclusively prove beyond a shadow of a doubt that there was no supernatural God, no supernatural JC, no dastardly Devil, no white-picket-fence heaven and no fire-and-brimstone hell, thousands would be out of work and lots of both big and small business (religious publishers and bookstores, religious institutions/schools for example) would go broke. Not to mention all those individuals, from the popes to your local clergy, having lots of collective egg on their faces. In fact, if God were shown not to exist, that religion was a fraud, it would have a major impact on the economy. 

So, it’s not surprising that religious personnel have to talk up the subject of God, etc. anywhere and anytime the opportunity arises – just in case.

One interesting thing is how religion and those who are religious, have seemingly put religion on an untouchably high pedestal that can not do any wrong. It’s nearly taboo to criticise religion without causing massive offence to those who follow whatever religion you’re having a go at. It’s quite alright to criticise the tax office, the opposite sex, a sporting team, a political party, weather forecasters, the banks and just about any and all other institutions – but not religion. That’s blasphemy. But, blasphemy is IMHO a victimless ‘crime’. God, if there is a God, doesn’t seem to take offence at all those highly profile members of the New Atheist movement. After all, none of them have been struck down by a bolt of lightning from the sky, have they?

Lastly, what is it about these religious nutters from religions far and wide that believe they have not only the right, but the duty to disturb you by doorknocking, phoning, dropping literature into and clogging up your private mail box, etc? They feel they can somehow justify shoving their philosophy down your throat.  If you, like me, are one of the normal members of the multitudes, we do not go around pestering others with our personal philosophy, and we all have one.

No doubt the religious nutters will claim their version of whatever holy book they cling to, tells them to do this. If that book told them to take a long walk off a short pier, or to jump off a high cliff, I wonder if they would feel quite the same sense of duty or compulsion to act.