In yesterday’s inbox. Name withheld, as it’s probably best none of his parishioners who Google his name, find that he’s reading my blog.
“Dear Richard,
“I’ve learned and continue to learn so much from your blog. I just wanted to say thank you again.
“I know I probably represent everything you despise (being a Lutheran pastor and all), but my gosh, when it comes to just ordinary living you’ve had such a huge impact. Not only am I one who does not use soap or shampoo, my son agrees 100% and hasn’t for a couple years. I don’t check in every day, but I do check in often to see what I’ve been missing.
“Thanks for your brutal honesty and your willingness to question yourself.
“Pax!”
Strange as you may find it, given all of my awful rants about religion, I do have a certain affinity with many religious people. Fundamentally, we have something in common. Loosely stated, it’s a general disdain for the State and its democratic socialism—not to mention its nannyesque delving into every aspect of human life under the illusion of “protecting” us from ourselves.
We simply differ on that “higher calling;” what it is. I’ve found over many years of self-experimentation that there’s “no God required.” An understanding of human nature shall suffice always, for me. And having grown up in fundamentalist circles, I’ve seen it both ways and how people do generally. Suffice to say, Jesus Take the Wheel is a very poor way to live a human life in my not-so-humble opinion. My life improved immensely when I no longer had the God excuse. “Well, it just wasn’t God’s will.”
Anyway…My ranting about religion should always be seen by religious people of good conscience as Tough Love. I just think you can do better than that. You’ve got the fundamentals locked up, already.
May I be the first to say, ‘Go to Hell!’.
+1 for helping Jesus’ little lambs.
@Tim:
If it really existed, that’s were I’d want to go. Think about it.
A bunch of worshippers sitting at the feet of Jesus over eternity, vs. the wildest ass parties you’ve ever seen. Hell, who hasn’t been to a party and felt like they took a trip through hell the next morning.
…Yea, I know, it’s purported to be way worse than that.
I’ll take my chances.
@bornagain
Well, they’re the ones touting their need of salvation. I’m just making it real and prescient.
I wonder…..Part of humanity eventually overcame its reliance on a punishing god of retribution and has been making an effort to keep more of the ‘kinder, gentler’ aspects of their religions/sects.
They are cherry picking the ‘gospel truth’ and so being blatantly illogical, but there it is.
Do you think these same people have evolved enough to not need the moral authority either and can hold their moral rudder straight with only the force of their reasoning? Have you seen much evidence of such widespread reasoning?
A bit of a pessimist. But only with regards to timing. Some societies seem to be on that path, just not there yet.
I suppose I could turn the argument on its head and say people are Born with the reasoning ability needed to deduce and sustain natural ethics, it is only religion that is perverting and/or suppressing it.
Again though, there’s the problem of evidence. Chicken/egg?
Also, they would have to be born and somehow grow and develop the emotional resilience to withstand a lot of pain and misery without resorting to the relief offered by these same religions.
How do you undo pervasive brainwashing?
A few come from long lines of atheists and others, randomly, didn’t get it full blast growing up or they revolted against authority and for common sense. That’s not most people though.
I wonder.
“Do you think these same people have evolved enough to not need the moral authority either and can hold their moral rudder straight with only the force of their reasoning? Have you seen much evidence of such widespread reasoning?”
Well, you’ve got a whole basket of eggs, there, so let me pick one.
I think we are in The Grand Age of Cognitive Dissonance. People profess beliefs, but only in the Muslim world do you see people actually acting them out per the jot & tittle of the ancient scriptures. And it happens at all sorts of levels, plain politics too. For example, next time you talk to someone who wants marijuana to remain illegal, ask him how big a check he’s willing to write monthly to ensure his neighbor doesn’t smoke dope.
The grand illusion is that we can remain content that our values are being respected and enforced by God or State, and now & then, State gets it right. As for God, people attribute all good to his intervention and all bad–like 7 children dying of starvation per minute–goes into the memory hole.
I could go on, but by your comment you know all this so Im just jabbering.
“The Grand Age of Cognitive Dissonance” – Nice, I’m going to be borrowing that.
However, did you just say that those in the Muslim world who are acting out their beliefs, in all their gory glory, are more honest (in the context of being true to their beliefs) than the grandly illusory westerners?
Nothing wrong with that conclusion that I can see, btw. Just surprised if that’s an intended implication.
Do you mean something along the lines of “here’s the real, naked face of religion”?
So is there nothing more wrong with islam than say with christianity or the great alien?
More baskets of eggs – I hope you like omelets!
Yep, the molication is intended. I’ve made it explicitly a time or two in the past.
But that goes to the cognitive dissonance. Lieralists, by which I mean the fundamentalists and orthodox, it’s only the Muslims honest enough to take it beyond eating rituals and dominating women in a “balanced” way.
No, nothing more wrong with Islam per se. An age of cognitive dissonance would be a step in the right direction. They’re about 300 years or so behind Chistianity and Judasism right now. Chances are, they will catch up quickly in the natural evolution of things.
Ultimately, everyone will be atheist in terms of literalism. Mystery and spiritualism will prevail, because it’s difficult to differentiate that from natural curiosity.
“No God Required”. Great website name. I can see it on tee-shirts now.
Richard,
I’ll quibble on the ‘300 hundred years or so behind’, though we might be thinking along the same lines since you said ‘right now’.
What I’m thinking is that the gap fluctuates back and forth, westerners only pulled forward these last couple hundred years, whereas long before that, the middle-eastern caliphates during the european dark ages were way ahead. They preserved western knowledge and moved it forward, when europe was ‘dirt-scratching’ at that time. Some ebbs and flows over the long run, not linear progression, for any culture/s.
However, no question, an age of cognitive dissonance now would be progress away from fundamentalist literalism.
I don’t know about catching up or not, that depends on how optimistic you are that humanity’s natural evolution is ultimately in that direction and not actually a cyclic hell, per some historical evidence (that might define ‘hell on earth’ for those who perceive it – blessed be the ignorant after all? – somewhere here Camus contemplates suicide, I think).
This IFB (independent Baptist Fundamentalist) disagrees with Richard about religion, God, and all that, but likes this blog and the entertaining reading. You’re just interesting Richard.
Sometimes when I’m watching Sister Wives and the fat one keeps talking about how she can’t lose weight I even think to myself, “man I wish Janelle Brown could spend one day with Richard Nikoley. She’d learn how to lose weight AND see how a real man operates in life and kick that sorry excuse for a husband to the curb.”