Sunday, 09 November 2008
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Stop doing religion wrong, guys, seriously.
Going to an art school, the majority of the students, like me, are agnostic. This is kinda confusing considering the history of art, but I guess creativity only runs in the blood of anarchistic heathens in this day and age. I'm kidding, kinda. but on the subject fo being anarchistic heathens, my friend and I got into a discussion about the innacurate portrayal of agnostics by pretty much everyone.
To be religious, it's assumed that one has to be tied to a religion. This encompasses the foundation of the problem with religion as a whole. The title of a religion is tied strictly to the religion's scripture, and not the ethics, because, for the most part, all religions have almost identical moral codes. So, one has to call themselves a "Christian," "Catholic," or "Muslim," in spite of having the same rules against murder, rape, theft, etc. And naturally, because these religions follow different literature, they have to look down on each other, because being different is just stupid, and you're stupid for being different (that's the code of all mankind right there, folks).
So, I wear the title of agnostic, because we have to have titles for everything, society would panic without a label and system of identification for everything. Because of this label, it's assumed I disregard everything about all religion. Obviously this is bullshit. I have read the Bible, the Book of Mormon, two books on taoism, a book on budhism, and even a book on Krishna that some monk gave me a few months ago. the last three are incredibly more interesting, since rather than telling incredibly ridiculous stories to prove their points, they discuss philosophy. Granted, these are just a few books on a very select few religions. Either way, though, I realized how dramatically similar they all really are.
So, take away the literature and stories of the respective religious texts, because, true or not, they are only in there to reinforce the morals and ideals that the religion is founded on. They are not important, and not ment to be taken literally in any context as they so often are. Suddenly, religion isn't so bad, and something I can totally get into. I'm still not going to accept whether there is or isn't a God, because I can't prove that. But again, diety isn't important in religion, either, and some don't even have one. I mean, what is a God in a religious sense? Someone who may or may not be there who you pray to, who may or may not do what you ask, which is irrelevant because he or she already has your fate pre-determined, so what the fuck are you praying for, anyway? Oh, also it's someone who you can kill in the name of, and it's automatically justified.
I don't hate religion, I just hate where society has placed the focus. That is, everyone is so caught up in literally interpreting the religious texts that they forget the point of religion. Religion is there to set a unified moral code and to give hope to those who need it. Instead, it's being used to give hate an excuse. I know this isn't any sort of new revelation, that the religious are misusing their religion, that's been done since before history. The problem that I've come to realize, though, is that while everything else in society advances, religion doesn't, and in my mind the single-most visible cause of this is the labelling and segregation of religions. But then, what do I know, I'm a anarchistic heathen.
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Comments (196)
The legend of the three blind men and the elephant speaks eloquently to this age old human conceit:
One blind man walks up to an elephant and touches it's leg and and is convinced that it's a tree...
One blind man touches it's trunk and swears he is holding a snake...
One blind man touches the elephants side and announces that he has has found a wall...
They set to debating and then arguing and then fighting, each shouting
the irrefutable evidence of their own experience, each denying the
validity of the others, and each refusing to admit their own
blindness...
Taoism is very different from Christianity, especially the modern incarnations of Christianity. I realize how un-taoist it is of me to say this, but they don't really have all that much in common.
You give a very general explanation of why a handful of religions are similar (I'd be curious if you could elaborate), but I'm wondering if you've really explored the differences. Have you taken any world religion classes? They're very informative and do a lot of comparing and contrasting.
With that said, there are most certainly a lot of similarities between Buddhism and the Judeo-Christian religions.
@methodElevated - Really, Taoism is more of a philosophy than a religion, so yeah, it is a lot different. Really, though, in this post I'm focusing on the common bond of ethics. Yes, as many people have pointed out, religions are different in how they practice, think, and relate to others, but Taoism still holds the same altruistic support and respect for others that all religions share. I agree, though, and I would have to say Taoism, Budhism, Krishna, and Hinduism are by far some of the most distinct from other religions.
@DrugInducedDuck - The irony is that in modern China, there is a Taoist organized religion. They even have gods. It's so far removed from what Lao Tzu talked about, it's laughable. That's why when I refer to myself as being an agnostic with taoist influences, I makes sure to use a lower case "t".
just, thanks.
Nice post. :)
@misuriver - Huh? I never said anything about Islam...?
This was good reading. Thanks for this post. :D
I have to say that every religion but Christianity has "what can I do to get to heaven." How good can I be, how much can I do for God? It's a ladder you have to climb. Who says what is right? How do you know you've done enough to get into heaven. You don't. Jesus paid the price. We only have to believe that Jesus saved us from our sins, died, and rose again. There is no ladder, no "Have I done enough?"
@laytexduckie - People tell the good news of Jesus Christ because they want others to know His love. Instead of looking like at it like they are trying to push it down your throat, maybe look at it like they are trying to show you that Jesus loves you. That's it.
I gave up on the concept of "religion" a while ago. I'm not an atheist, and agnostic would just be a title for one of the tiny threads of beliefs that makes up my logical mind. I am spiritual. I discover things every day that I believe in and used to think that I believed in, and I practice them.
But to have my "spirituality" mapped out for me with specific rules and guidelines to follow when I haven't even gone on the quest of discovery to learn why I'm following them and a God with a name already tagged on "him" or "her" would just be giving up. It would be saying, "I'm too lazy to live life and learn things for myself. I'll let someone else name my god and have everything ready to go. And I'll go to church every Sunday so I can have moral rest and peace of mind that I'm good to go for the afterlife."
You know what that sounds like?
Fast food.
That's what it sounds like.
"I'm too busy to find something quick and healthy to eat, so I'm just going to go and get a Number Five and let someone else decide what my lunch break will entail. And then I'll work out for twenty minutes every week to 'undo the damage' that that burger and fries had on my body, even though all of it probably went toward clogging my arteries, destroying my liver, worsening my eyesight, and thinning my hair."
But of course you'd be too oblivious to know all of the bad effects that Number Five had, because you really don't care and you just want a quick fix and peace of mind.
Awesome post!
@CHS_Drummer - dude sorry. I replied to the wrong person :) Shoddy mouse and bad eyes
@Erin3838 - The ones that I encounter told me that I "have to forgive my sins from my religion and convert to Christianity." I honestly know that that's is pushing their belief. Another woman while I was working told me that Christianity is much better that Buddhism to my face. She also told me to pray to God and not Buddha when I distinctly told her that I'm Buddhist no matter what. I'm not saying that all Christians are like this. Heck even most aren't like this. But there are always some who ruin it for others. That's all I'm saying.
“Does God Exist?”
written by the late
Herbert W. Armstrong (1892–1986) and published
by Ambassador College in 1957.
please read if you have time
I really really liked your entry.
This, along with a few other reasons, is why I left Islam after 18 years of blindly following every word in the Quran. I realized that it was nothing more than a security blanket, and I decided to finally grow out of it.
Awesome post :)
You put it better than most. At least you are saying without just the simple "religion is pointless" rhetoric.
Nicely said. I finally understood why it is that budhism has more substance-- all philosophy, no manufactured stories about Holy cities and saviours. Suits me fine, as an anarchistic heathen.
This may be a minor detail, but when you say all religions have laws against murder, we need to remember that murder is defined as unlawful or unjustified killing. To say they all agree that it's wrong doesn't say much, because BY DEFINITION it is wrong. It's kinda like saying, "all worldviews oppose bad things". Granted, most religions will have a lot of overlap on what type of killings are wrong and in what circumstances (killing a rabbit for food, or even killing a person in self-defense can be seen as a different act that killing innocent people for their money), so I don't think your point is way off. But it is a technical detail that I felt a need to point out, lol.
"I'm still not going to accept whether there is or isn't a God, because I can't prove that."
-- Can you prove that statement? Can you actually prove that you CANNOT prove god? Or is it just that you are UNAWARE of any solid proof/argument that would confirm or deny the existence of god. Plus, the tricky part is, even if you did, it's most likely proving/disproving a certain type of god. Since one could construct an idea of gods whose natures are very different, it's quite possible that a proof may work on one deity, but not another. I'm not here to try to prove or disprove the existence of any particular type of God to you. Instead I just wanted to point out that you're stating a universal negative, which I would imagine you would have an extremely difficult time proving. It's one thing to say you don't know something. But by stating a universal negative, you're actually saying A LOT.
"But again, diety isn't important in religion, either, and some don't even have one"
--- Unless, a particular religion emphasizes relationship with the deity. Perhaps some religions are more than just rules to follow, and could also have an additional emphasis on relationship. Many Christians would probably believe this-- not necessarily all, but many. Just because it may not be important in some religions, or that some religions lack a deity certainly doesn't mean its not important in others.
"Someone who may or may not be there who you pray to, who may or may not
do what you ask, which is irrelevant because he or she already has your
fate pre-determined, so what the fuck are you praying for, anyway?"
--- Saying that a particular deity has your fate predetermined isn't necessarily true of all religions or theological standpoints. Many people may claim god has foreknowledge, but did not "pre-determine" one's fate, and that one's prayers do affect the potential outcome. Heck, even some people believe god does NOT have perfect foreknowledge. In such a case not only would the deity not have pre-determined your fate, it wouldn't even know what your "fate" was. One must make some pretty bold theological presuppositions to reach the conclusion you have in that statement.
...
I realize it probably sounds like I'm trying to bash your entry, but I do agree with a lot of what you have to say (but I do go off on tangents a lot). But then again, I disagree with some. But I guess that's to be expected. I think one can interpret the text of many religions either figuratively or literally and not use their religion for hate. There's plenty of people out there who take a very literal reading of the bible and don't express hate at all-- in fact, you'll find much love in these people. Then again, there are the bad apples; I won't deny that. Also, as I alluded to before with the idea of relationship in Christianity, I think there can be more to a religion that just morals to live by and hope for that individual. While that may play a big part (or all of it for some), there could certainly be other aspects and reasons for a religion as well.
But I certainly agree that religion has been abused, or misused for reasons it (whether religion in general, or a specific religion) was never intended to be used for. What's the biggest cause of this? I don't really know. I suppose we could just chalk it up to human nature.
what if it is not up to us to determine whether or not religion is true? what if it exists, outside of us, whether we like it or acknowledge it or not? I am a Christian, and I agree with Erin3838's comments above - Christianity stands apart from other religions in that it shows us the way to God through Jesus Christ, who has paid the price for our wrong acts and shortcomings. it is true that there is commonality among the world religions with respect to morals - but nobody can perfectly live out those morals, and because of this, we all deserve to die and be separated from God forever. Christianity offers us the bridge back to God so that we do not have to pay for our own mistakes.
I know that a lot of people will dismiss Christianity as just another world religion, none of which are literally true... but I believe that it is true, and that its truth is not up to us. it stands outside of us. there are consequences for those who do and do not believe.
@thechris38 -
"Can you actually prove that you CANNOT prove god?" - Yes, I can, without a shadow of a doubt, prove that I cannot prove god. In order to prove something, I'd need hard factual evidence of whether it is true or false, and I have neither. The fact that I don't have this evidence proves that I cannot proove a God or disproove a God.
I appreciate your sharing of the agnostic viewpoint. I very much respect how many religous books you have read. I have visited a Mosque, a Hindu temple, a buddhist temple, a Harry Carry(sp?) service, and a synagogue. Even after talking with many people from these veiwpoints, I still find Jesus Christ to be the Way.
Not all religioins are like each other. Islam teaches that you must do five "pillars" to be saved (and many muslims claim that "allah" still might not save you). The Qu'ran even states that if someone does not come to Islam they are to be killed. Hinduism has about 300,000 different dieties and is so accepting of deities that almost anything will be worshiped. Christianity teaches that Jesus died on a cross for our sins because we all do things that are off target of what God wants for us or even flat out purposely because we know they are wrong.
These viewpoints are not all the same and they can not all be true at the same time. They are all mutually exclusive of each other.
You claim that religous books are not meant to be taken literally, but the Bible is meant literally. It's authors all take themselves seriously and many of its stories have been proven by archeology (there is even video/photo footage of a broken up wooden structure on Mount Ararat that fits the dimensions that Genesis gives about Noah's Arc). Also, many viewpoints the Bible gives about nature ran cross cultural to what was thought when it was written and have been proved by modern day science, such as Genesis connecting the amount of stars with the number of sand on the shore. Until only within the last 200 years most people thought only 1100 stars existed. Scientists still are counting stars.
Please note, as a Christian I do not "look down" on other religions. I do not share their same thoughts. I do not believe they are correct. But, I do not see the people as being less than me. All people make mistakes (I certianly have my own sin issues that I deal with regularly). We all need help. I am not convinced that any other religion can provide that help. And when I share Christ with others it is because I want them to see Him.