Talking About Religion

On March 24, 2012, a Reason Rally will be held on the Mall in Washington. Its focus is on atheism, among other things.

 Started me to wonder, again, about religion.

My parents were Primitive Baptists, although they seldom went to church. They were believers, although my daddy believed with some skepticism. “Watch them preachers,” he’d say. “If they pull their watches out at the beginning of the sermon, it’s gonna be a long one.” He also said more than once, “Watch out for preachers that pass the hat before their sermon. That ain’t right. Let me hear what you have to say before you ask me for money.”

I went to church with them a few times, but my interaction with the church came mostly from funerals. I did go to a baptism once, though. The baptismal, I guess you’d call it (where people get dunked) was in the form of a large glass tank of water behind the pulpit. My daddy wasn’t crazy about that. “If you’re gonna do it, the preacher ought to have to break the ice off Tradewater River and hold you down in it ‘til you feel the spirit.” I honestly do not know whether either of my parents were baptized.

Somehow or other, when I was about six years old I got connected with the United Methodist Church. We lived on Baptist Hill (go figure), which was about a mile or so from the church. On Sunday mornings I walked down the rock-road hill and over to Cedar Street by myself to attend Sunday school and church.

This was the start my wondering about religion.

The Providence Methodist Church provided me an opportunity to develop myself spiritually, without hell fire and damnation, without a focus on the “thou shalt nots” , but with a focus on caring, love, and spiritual development. Rice Sutherland, Wendell Johnson, an array of smart pastors, and other adults were role models.

The Methodist Youth Fellowship (MYF) provided me with a social life I would not have had otherwise. I was a shy kid, did not smoke or drink (again, go figure), did not have a car, and had no money. I was active in school during the week, but Sundays were devoted to the Methodist choir and MYF.

In my youth, I committed myself to “full-time Christian service” during several revivals. I even thought about becoming a minister—that’s another story for a later date.

In college, the Wesley Foundation became one important hub for spiritual and social development. It was there that I was exposed to Buber, Kierkegaard, Tillich. And civil rights. It was heady times.

My love affair with religion started to fall apart during my last year of college. Nothing dramatic happened. My wondering just caught up with me.

Since my experience was mostly Christian, that’s where most of my questions reside. Understand that I am not a theologian, not a divinity student. Just a wonderer.

I wonder, if God is omnipotent, omniscient, and omnipresent, how can his creations (humans) presume to speak on his behalf? Are we, the people who establish religions and sects, really that arrogant?

I wonder why Christians, who profess to believe that every single sentence of the Bible is the inspired word of God, pick and choose from among those words only those concepts and ideas that we like, or can use as tools to disparage, persecute, and in many cases, kill other human beings?

I wonder, why a lot of Christians focus only on the Old Testament from which to develop those destructive tools? Isn’t the New Testament the Bible for Christians? Didn’t Jesus condense the 10 Commandments of the Old Testament into two, each of which dealt with love?

I wonder at the amount of money collected by religious leaders, who use the money to build idols of themselves in the form of cathedrals and giant buildings and billboards with their names and faces plastered on them?

I wonder why religious sects create large bureaucratic organizations and behave as corporations focused on profits and survival of the sect?

I wonder why politicians find religion to be such a cudgel in the fulfillment of their power trips?

I wonder why religious leaders feel the need to condemn those with whom they don’t agree?

I wonder why humans feel the need to construct God in our image?

It is no wonder to me why atheism has blossomed. 

I am not an atheist. I believe in the existence of a metaphysical force that is responsible for the universes. I can’t prove it; don’t feel the need to try. Don’t think this force cares particularly (yeah, I’m being anthropomorphical—if that’s a word that can be used to talk about “the force”) whether I believe in it or not.

I don’t know about a hereafter or what the rules are for being a part of it.  I do know that treating all living things with respect and love in THIS life is crucial to my well being—again, can’t prove it, but know it.

I know that faith, as practiced, has brought peace and solace to a lot of people. And as I write, there are hundreds of “preachers” and other believers out there who are feeding the hungry and helping feed the spiritual needs and faith of people, without asking for money or allegiance.

I also know that religion, in all its sectual forms, has been responsible, and continues to be responsible, for the misery and deaths of millions of people, while breeding and blessing greed, hubris, and hate among human beings. 

I believe my daddy was right to be suspicious of preachers/politicians wearing three-thousand dollar suits and insincere smiles and uttering hate-filled words, while holding their hands out looking for ever more money to build ever bigger power bases to do ever more destruction.

My belief in God continues to be strong, even as I wonder about it. My belief in religion and its leaders has been dead and buried for a long time now.