If one studies the origins of our major religions, one generally discovers that they were spun out of the fears, hatreds, wars, diseases of quite primitive times. Joshua fought the battle of Jericho which entailed ethnic cleansing (genocide) of his enemies — possibly an exaggerated story to thrill subsequent religious followers. Tales originally told orally were eventually written down, edited and reedited by subsequent generations of priests and scribes.
The version of Christianity that got to us through the matrix of Saint Paul was Romanized with brutal hatreds far removed from the sermons of Jesus — the victim of Roman hatred of suspect terrorists (zealots). Paul hated gays, Jews, young widows, probably women in general to judge by his comments on them. He was a synchophantic towards Roman authority — even in its most brutal manifestations which he declared to be the will of G-d. Obey! Obey! Obey!
I could provide religious texts for all of the above — I studied theology for 3 years back when with thoughts of a possible career in theology. I thought religious people were the good ones. Then I discovered that there were good and bad who were religious or not religious. My philosophy dissertation adviser, Ernest Nagel, the University Professor at Columbia, had written a piece entitled “Why I am an Atheist.” He was a philosopher of science and law and one of the finest persons I have had the pleasure of knowing. Some of my theology teachers were the best, too, e.g. Reinhold Niebuhr who warned us against the born agains such as Billy Graham who, he feared, would launch a mindless hate version of Christianity. He was dead right and they are out there right now fighting for control of the Republican party leadership. They are all for war. They have a long list of hated ones — gays, women, Jews who do not convert (an ugly little secret), Muslims, and any who threaten their acquisition of wealth or who suggest that they should follow Jesus and care for the poor and hungry — particularly our millions of American kids who are likely to be hungry at night or to be fed the unhealthy dregs of our diets.
I could go on. But this is enough for now. Whenever you find religious ones calling for hatred or war, you can spot them as the disciples of the devil. I don’t believe in him, but he is a good symbol that has crept into our Western religions from a religion that did not believe in an ultimate, all powerful, all good creator and sustainer deity — the Zoroastrians (Persians/Iranians) if you want to look them up.
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“A war is just if there is no alternative, and the resort to arms is legitimate if they represent your last hope.” (Livy cited by Machiavelli)
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Ed Kent 212-665-8535 (voice mail only) [blind copies]
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2 users commented in " Our Hate Religions "
Follow-up comment rss or Leave a TrackbackEd, I share most of your fear and loathing about the beliefs of the religious right (I have written some scorching articles, too hot to publish, that could only come from someone raised in that delusional environment). I must, however, point out some apparent inaccuracies in the above article. Paul (yes, he indeed was an obedience fanatic) said he would give up his own salvation to save his Jewish people. He also told husbands to “love your wives as Christ loved the church and gave himself for her,” and for husbands and wives to “submit TO ONE ANOTHER,”–radical stuff in an era where women were treated as property. Christian men typically want submission but don’t give it, and they won’t even sacrifice the remote for their wives, much less their lives. Billy Graham never preached hate. In a recent Larry King interview, Graham was asked if he could love one of his children if he found out they were gay. His reply? “Why, I’d love that one MORE.” There is a whole slew of intolerant play actors who have desecrated the person and values of Jesus–Falwell and Coulter to mention just two–but Graham isn’t one of them. And what is an atheist doing teaching in a seminary? (I know, there are lots of them–another dirty little secret.)There are a lot of Christians (and Jews, and Muslims, and Buddhists) fighting for the values that you (judging from your articles) and I strongly believe in. I don’t think we should allow a bunch of fanatical unwashed religious pigs to be lumped together in the same swimming hole with all the simple followers of Jesus who hate no one and only seek to do good. –Mark Mercer
You obviously had a problem: You studied theology.
Me, I merely worked with poor people for 35 plus years.
Could I kindly suggest that God is not in a temple or in intellectual know it alls but in what Christians call “the least of your brethren”?
If I had to put up with intellectual religion I’d probably be an athiest too…\
and if all I knew about Fundamentalists was what I read in the NYTimes, I’d hate them too. But I worked in Oklahoma for a couple years.
As for born again Fundamentalists: They may try to convert you, but if you are sick they’ll bring you a cassarole, and if your town is hit by a tornado, hurricane, or flood, they’ll load up their youth group and help you clean out the garbage….
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