(Warning: This post is very political and I have found myself using generalities more often than I should. Read this at your discretion.)
Insofar as we are still worshipping the God of fear created by our superegos, our atheist friends are right to keep their distance.
--John J. McNeill
Last month, I began my new job which was utterly fantastic. While I could say much on this blessing, that is not the point of my mentioning that. You see: My new job involves me caring for the elderly several days per week, one resident at a time.
But as a good friend repeatedly tells me: People are funny and they do funny things. There is no escaping that. Boy, was I in for one of those.
Now, anyone whom has ever read this blog or conversed with me personally will know that I am a very spiritual person; so you can imagine my inner tension when I was assigned to care for a violently atheistic man for two entire days. It's not pretty.
I will not state too much here on this man. (That would be unprofessional.) However, he was quite vehement on the ideas that all religions are businesses out to scam the common people, all clergy are either con artists and/or pedophiles, people who profess faith in divinity are brainwashed individuals and they are delusional if they claim to have had spiritual experiences, and worst of all: The idea of God is nonsensical.
And while I detest his statements; on a worldly level of consciousness, I have to admit that he is touching on temporal truths that exist in our world. Sadly, my suggestion that not all men of god are lacking intelligence nor morality was lost on deaf ears. And thankfully, there are those out there whom try to understand both sides of the debate.
After all: "He that hath ears, let him hear." (Matthew 11:15)
Let's face it. If we look at mainstream Christianity (as it is the dominant faith of our world), most secular people do not see an establishment of illumination dedicated to uplifting mankind towards God Realization. We see the complete opposite most of the time.
We see charismatic leaders with powerful holds over masses of people programming their congregations with prejudices such as sexism (such as the political plays to ban female contraceptives), homophobia (obviously) and hatred against the parishioners of other faiths; as well as mortal terror into ideas of sin, Hell, Satan, divine wrath and Man's "inferiority" in comparison with God.
The establishment fights tooth and nail to combat the advancement of the sciences (such as the teaching of Darwinian Evolution in public school). It indoctrinates young children long before they even have a chance to question the faith of their parents. It misinterprets choice verses of the Bible and uses them as tools to oppress the masses.
The Roman Catholic Church has been enduring years of scandal due to the actions of a small percentage of it's priesthood. Other churches are sued continually for embezzlement of the congregations funds.
The Westboro Baptist Church made a name for itself with the mobs of people protesting at military funerals and GLAAD events with their "God Hates Fags" signs.
And let us not forget all the bloodshed that occurs from the hands of the mentally unstable whom base their reasoning off of their faith. Wars. Hate Crimes. Political Actions of Oppression. Terrorism. Suicides. Riots. Violence the world over.
All of this is coupled with the physical realities of terminal illnesses, amputations, autism, alzheimer's disease, and down's syndrome, rapes, murders, poverty, homelessness and other apparent evils amongst Church teachings of an Omniscient, Omnipotent and Omni-Benevolent Father God whom is supposed to forgive sins, make miracles and bring salvation.
That's quite a list of problems. There is no denying it. Atheists with a vengeance certainly have a lot of gunfire to use against men of faith. The worst part is that this is all true of our material lives. A man is born crying, suffers through life, grows old and then dies.
And through it all, billions of people hold onto an ideal of a perfect divine creator and sustainer. Truly Karl Marx was correct when he stated that "Religion is the opiate of the masses". Many secular people are apt to look at all of this and are unable to see sense in this; and instead of trying to understand this phenomenon, they reject the notion altogether and claim religion entirely as the fantasy of the weak minded.
But amidst the train wreck I have detailed, there still some goodness to be found. For beyond the seeming contradictions of a world in peril and the machinations of mankind compared to an alleged perfection of deity; there are the seekers, the mystics, the metaphysicians, the magicians, the seers, the priests and the miracle workers that do not seek to be saved from the world by a big daddy God.
Far from it. Many people go into religion, not because it is a way of coping with life's worries, because of the lofty view of life that a spirituality can bring. This lofty view is none other than an experience of the transcendent amidst daily life. It is holding a consciousness of the sacred amidst a falling, mundane life. And guess what? From such a consciousness as that is not only new found joy and comfort. It is true deliverance from the "sins" of one's life. From this level of life, there is no need to fear the fate of one's soul, for the illumined seeker knows his/her soul was never in danger and is now even more glorified.
But this lofty view does not come from having Faith in the Divine. Far from it. If religion is ever to last in an ever increasingly atheistic world, we will have to Know God from personal experience.
Religions make most of their recognition and money from being a cultural phenomenon that consoles the people during the difficult times of life. Various prayers and rituals are all designed to mark various passages of life and death; as well as to bring the community together during those passages. It provides assurances to the weary congregation when the negative becomes manifest and for the difficult questions that even genius level scientists are unable to answer.
This is all wholly good.
Sadly, this form of religion has a tendency to become political. Many churches are wanting to expand their congregations beyond what is necessary, wanting to spread their particular message to as many "lost souls" as can be. Many people in fear of their lives and afterlives become drawn into this play, attracted to a charismatic but psychologically fractured religious leader who preaches from well meaning but misinformed spiritual ideas. Soon enough, we see large masses of people in opposition to the progression of humanity due to the words of a denomination.
But religion can progress beyond societal norms and community work and not fall into the traps of politics.
I have long maintained my position that spirituality and religion doesn't have to be a psychological drug; that it can, instead, be a very useful tool in one's life. That it can be, if used properly, a tool for self actualization. That through a knowledge of god, rigorous practice of teachings and rituals and meditations, and good old common sense; a practitioner can not only see the world in holiness, but live a powerful and holy life.
This usefulness does not revolve around taking anything literally or having blind faith. It revolves around making the needed changes in one's life, learning all one can about his/her path, applying that knowledge and true spiritual discernment. When all applied with a consistent practice of one's faith, one comes to know God instead of just believe in God.
And with such a Knowledge as that, comes the ability to be of true service to those around us. By grounding one's path in daily life and applying it correctly, a religious person need no longer be feared nor mocked, but can be in a position of respect once more.
We can have a time of inner Godliness that extends to all in our world. We just need to make the adjustments so there will be room for it.
LVX Amor!
