Agnostic? Why not?

Do you remember the campus ministry kids who harrassed you on the way to class? Or maybe they didn't harrass you, but just lingered in the pathway handing out leaflets. I remember one guy at Iowa State with a Jesus-like beard who would preach by yelling at the full capacity of his lungs. In the late 70s and early 80s, these people took a lot of abuse. I remember one time when one of the louder and more belligerent of the campus preachers got into an altercation. Who started it, I don't know, and I really don't care. The fact that it happened is kind of sad, and from my perspective, both parties are at fault.

I never bought any of their preaching stuff. I don't believe any God, should one exist, would condone any "look how religious I am" behaviors. In fact, it seems to me that s/he would frown upon such smug self-righteousness. But that's just me. Well, maybe not just me, some others seem to have the same attitude.

Furthermore, it's about belief, baby! If someone wants to believe in Jesus Christ, and that he was here to wash the world of sin, by golly, good for them! But, if some else doesn't believe it, whether by preference, training, or lack of exposure, it's really not okay to be ranting holiness in their face. First, that kind of approach doesn't work. Second, if that person needs to find your God, they will probaby do so - after all, it's not like there isn't a christian church every couple blocks or so in just about any community you're likely to encounter. On the other hand, most of those churches don't really work at helping anyone other than themselves, so I have to at least give the campus preachers credit for that.

What I'd rather see, however, is people who just treat each other with respect. If someone believes in Jesus and wants to wear a Jesus t-shirt, or wants to pray before lunch, fine. Who cares? Not me. Though, I do think it's interesting that people who do this have a tendency to feel some anxiety, shame, or fear about doing it. Gosh! If they really believe, why on earth....? Sometimes that also makes me wonder if they are doing it to get noticed. If it was important to me, I'd say "Please give me a moment while I give thanks."

Sometimes I feel like doing exactly that, just to gauge the reaction I'd get. But, in fact, I don't believe that's all that important to any deity, should one exist. If the deity created us, and provided food for us, wouldn't the deity expect us to eat it? Why would said deity demand we be grateful? Not that I'm not - I'm very thankful for the blessings bestowed upon me. But I don't feel I need to go tagging around at the deity's robe, constantly pandering my thankfulness for perhaps more favor. Yeah - I'm thankful. 'Nuff said.

In any case, you may wish to check out this page, where the author, Michael Berube, does a much better job of addressing the question. You won't be sorry to have read it. Unless, perhaps, you recognize yourself as the proselytizer.

Who's telling who what?

I want to address the problem of "the deity" as propounded by most organized religions. It has always seemed curious to me that people "believe in God" but then God somehow speaks to them. Wait a minute! I'm already starting to get mixed up! If something is speaking to you, it's a being, and not something you "believe in." Believing in something implies that it is not real, and could not, therefore speak to a living being.

It always raises my hackles when a televangelist starts down this road. They talk to you about believing in God. Then they edge toward "God wants his children to do X." (We'll talk about the problem with infantilization another time.) The next thing, it's "God says Y." And before long it's "God commands you to Z." What these tv preachers are attempting is to walk you along to the point they can talk to you as if from a position of knowledge, which places you at the disadvantage of being the person who lacks said knowledge, and must place the evangelist on the pedestal above your beliefs. Once you've done that, they've got you - and their hope is you'll empty your pockets to enrich them, and that you'll do as they bid to support their issues in the way they direct you.

And the ways in which these televangelists are directing their followers is becoming more disturbing all the time. In fact, these folks are working their own angle at grabbing political power. They are called dominionists, and their movement is growing. Just follow that link to read more about it.

In any case, the movement is worrisome. As the Rolling Stone article explains, these folks want a Christian Nation, with everything rolling out of government as if it is handed down by god. That's not good. It's not supported by the bible (Render unto Caesar that which is Caesar's. Render unto God that which is God's,) by Jesus, or by the founding fathers of the United States of America. In fact, christian nationalism is more the hallmark of fascist governments, such as was found in South Africa more than 20 years ago. Nazi Germany, Fascist Italy, and many other nefarious governments have also used religion in this manner, and almost alway with terrible results. And, in fact, in these worst examples, big business and religion combined forces to create a form of fascism that was particularly heinous, and that treated human beings as mere fodder for the machine - a resource to be consumed.

I encourage you to think more critically in these situations. First of all, has God ever spoken directly to you? I believe the answer to that would be "no." I'm not saying it hasn't happened, I'm saying I believe it probably has not. Correct me if I'm wrong. Maybe I'd change to the position of saying I believe God has spoken to you if you can give me some compelling evidence. But think about it, unless God has found a way to speak to me directly, or to the both of us together, how could I be operating from a perspective of knowledge? I can't. Nobody can.

Ok, do you know of anyone who can prove that God has spoken to them? I doubt it. And if someone told you that had happened, I kind of doubt you'd believe them. So, where does that leave you?

My point is, these televangelists, dominionists, and other religious leaders who would control our nation, are often telling you they know what god wants. I don't accept that. I don't think they know what god wants any more than the next guy, only that they have a talent for pulling a con on the average person, and are not above mis-using that talent. The key is they want to take away your freedom of choice, the free will guaranteed to you by the constitution, and, according to most deists, given to you by your creator.

Anyway, I'm hoping this post leaves you thinking about the words you hear from most organized religion, and from televangelists in particular. I hope it especially helps you think about their politics, and how their message relates to individual freedoms of choice, in belief and action. And I hope it helps you think critically about the messages organized religion is currently delivering. We should hope these organizations and individuals would approach their issues, especially those that involve belief, from a more honest, and less manipulative perspective.

But they don't.