A Side Bar

Before I go forward with this story of the history of western thought, I must reiterate the purpose of my writing this series. I have only one purpose and that is to speak to those who are disillusioned, for whom the present state of Christianity no longer makes sense. I do not write to convert those who love their brand of religion to my way of thinking. I certainly am not writing to throw stones or argue with the status quo. I see myself standing outside the exit door of the church, saying, “Before you leave Christ, consider this alternative to religionized Christianity.”

As I mentioned, I’ve told this historical story before about how the American Christian church has reached its current state. I will show that this has been coming for a while, but Trumpism is the crowning failure. While Donald Trump has no personal religious convictions, if it had not been for the conservative Christian church and their misguided aspirations for a Christian nationalism, Trump would not be in power and our whole country at risk of becoming a failed state. To put it bluntly and meaningfully, your 401 K is tanking today, and measles is exploding because of the devaluation of reason by that part of our society that is influenced by this brand of religion. But I’m not political. I have real qualms with the Democratic party as well. But parts of American Christianity are embracing and worshiping a human being that is the exact antithesis of the historical Jesus. If you want to know what Jesus was like, think of Donald Trump and then imagine the exact opposite.

The historical Jesus told his followers in circa 32 AD, that they would be defined by the greater culture by the intensity of their love. However, today, if you ask a secular American, they will most likely define the present brand of American Christians by whom they hate. They hate the gays, the transexuals, the women who have had abortions, scientists, thinkers, liberals, Democrats, brown-skinned immigrants, other minorities, and the list goes on. But oddly missing from that list are the adulterers, rapists, the liars, the abusers of women, the greedy like Trump and his colleagues. So, they love Trump because he hates the same people they hate but turns a blind eye to the evils that they adore.

I have also decided to write this time with more boldness. I’ve been brow-beaten by religious people for decades. Last year, I had a series of three people from my own church who felt that God had called them to put me in my place. Two of them were especially difficult for me because one of them ended my aspirations of being in a small group with people I adored.

The second one was my best friend at this church. When I wrote in this blog that I love philosophy and don’t like religion, it was the last straw for him. He ambushed me, pointing out that I’m an evil man, a hater of God, and if I like philosophy I am the same as a Nazi. This was painful because I adore and respect all three attackers. They are all good people. It is water on a duck’s back when a bad person or even a stranger attacks you, but it is painful when a person you admire attacks you. It was at that juncture that I gave up on writing these Ramblings. I’ve gone through six hard years, physically, and I no longer had the emotional fortitude to risk pissing off more religious people who felt compelled to prove that their spirituality is far better than mine, and that I’m a horrible person. I am not. I no longer participate in competitive religion. But I’m not writing for them.

To be fair to the church I associate with, they at large are an loving and accepting people. I have noticed that all three men who attacked me no longer associate with the Sunday morning part of this church, due to their criticisms of the pastor. So, I find solace that I was not the one-off, that I am not the only bad Christian from the attackers’ perspective.

But I also feel sad, while the church I associate with is about as good as they come, filled with wonderful people, that I can’t participate in the spiritual life of the church, such as Sunday School or small groups. One of the reasons is my physical risks as my immune system is in complete failure. But the major problem is emotional risk of being attacked if I share my honest views, as I do here. I tried to re-enter the church life when I taught four Sunday School classes over the last few years and the only feedback I recall (Denise is probably right when she says I only remember the criticisms) were negative. It was usually the same couple of individuals who felt they needed to tell me that the class was very bad because God is irrational and spiritual, and I used science and reason. I gave up.

I will probably wake up in the middle of the night tonight for sharing these things, fearing that I will come across as someone who is just airing their grievances. That is not my point. My point is that I am typical of those who are being forced out of Christianity. I speak for them. Going forward, I must tell stories to illustrate the philosophical points I want to make, and my most accessible stories are my own. I will try to find other people’s stories to use when I can.

But I decided to write again because my life is short. I have far outlived my cancer’s curse, and I don’t know if I will still be here in months. I’ve been on my deathbed before, and the thoughts that come to me is that I wished I had been more honest with my views, for the sake of the disenfranchised. So, I will speak bolder than before.

Religion

I will state once again that I do not like religion. I will define again what I call religion. If this does not apply to your faith, then I’m not talking about you. I share this because the disenfranchised know this already but maybe have not put it into such clear words.

Religion is a human enterprise of rituals and beliefs that have the sole purpose of instilling a sense of personal piety, a greater piety than others. It creates a long litany of things (dogmas) you must believe and social behaviors as markers of this greater piety. They claim that their dogmas come directly from God via their holy book, but it comes from their culture. Most of these things have nothing to do with their holy books. Therefore, it is very competitive and intolerant of nonconformity. Nonconformity to their culture is considered against God. This is why religion loves to hate. This is why most wars in the past two thousand years were created by religious people. Two sides, each claiming they are slaughtering the others because they are doing God’s work.

Remember, it was the religious who crucified Jesus of Galilee because he was a nonconformist. Listen to what he said, not what religion says he said.

On Science

I will also say boldly, after spending decades deep in religion and decades deep in science and research, that religion is not interested in finding truth but only conformity. Science, on the other hand, is deeply concerned with truth and therefore doing God’s work greater than religion. But the religious create myths about science to mar their reputation in this war of self-righteousness. Yes, of course, you can find a scientist who is not interested in truth but self-promotion because all humans are fallible. But those scientists are the exceptions. I know this from forty years of working in science and having children who are researchers. Leaving my own personal Dark Ages and having my Renaissance, embracing God’s cosmos via scientific curiosity, has profoundly enriched my relationship with the Creator, far more than when I was a super-spiritual evangelical. The mystery of the creator is far more real than ever before, thanks to what science has revealed.

To be clear, as a scientist who pursues truth, I welcome corrections to factual statements I’ve made, such as a recent suggestion that I chose the wrong New Testament word for “mind.” What I despise is yet another person who feels compelled to tell me that I am a morally inferior person because I don’t believe their dogmas.

If you are someone who doesn’t like the things I write in my Ramblings, please stop reading them. However, if you are helped by my thoughts, and you know others who could be helped by my honesty, please share this. I am contemplating creating a YouTube channel where I have profoundly honest conversations about these things. I’ve tried this before with limited success. But I want to reach the disenfranchised wherever I can find them.

Hell Vs Nihilism

I will discuss this later in a separate post, but my motivation for writing is not “saving people from Hell,” but saving people from nihilism. It is clear to me, and I know some of my atheist friends disagree, that with atheism, or even agnosticism, nihilism is the only rational conclusion.

I also want to “save” people from the mistake of choosing a post-modernist spirituality. I believe this path will take people into the desert, where their gurus, such as Richard Rohr will abandon them. While the loss of truth is sexy and gives a false sense of harmony, in the end, you will have nothing but a pocketful of emotional experiences and a memory of truth.  Morals and meaning are both sustained on absolute truths.

I apologize for allowing these thoughts to become unruly and long so I will have to resume my story about the history of thinking fads next time  

In Peace, Mike