I was cleaning out my Inbox when I noticed that I'd gotten a piece of Christian Evangelical spam. I hadn't noticed any spam of this kind in a while, so I looked it over. It was full of quotations from the Christian Testament, which is pretty much par for the course, but it had nothing else.
This is a perfect example of the circular reasoning of some brands of Christian proselytizing. If I don't accept the Bible as being anything more than a human-written book, what good is quoting it at me going to do? I should just as well believe I should kiss Hank's Ass.
Now, I've been proselyzed by many over the years. The good ones strive to engage your mind and your emotions in positive ways. They talk about fulfillment; they talk about love; they talk about community. The best ones don't even actively engage in the practice; they lead by the example of their lives, and wait for you to ask. I wish there was more of that around these days.
But this kind of "The Bible Says ..." crap is kinda offensive. What makes these people think I haven't heard this nonsense before? Part of me wonders if the people who engage in this kind of proselytizing even understand what it is they're doing. Do they understand that, when presented to a critical audience, this kind of spiel is doomed to failure? Or worse, it's an open invitation to dueling holy books: "Oh yeah? Well, The Gospel of the Flying Spaghetti Monster says ..." which is never a pretty thing to behold (unless one party is trolling; then it's fun as hell).
But I guess when all is said and done, they're only commanded to spread the word, not to be particularly effective at it.
Here's the thing that really bugs me about Fundamentalists: They're not responsible for anything.
If they fail, if they sin, it's Satan's doing.
If they succeed, it's God's grace.
This is a recipe for stunted emotional and intellectual development. Part of being an adult is owning your success and your failure.
The Air Force released new guidelines for religious expression Thursday that no longer caution top officers about promoting their personal religious views.
New Air Force Religion Guidelines
Deeper in the article, you'll read this:The revised guidelines say nothing should be understood to limit the substance of voluntary discussions of religion where it is reasonably clear that the discussions are personal, not official, and can be reasonably free of potential coercion.
Now here's a problem I have: Coercion isn't just something you do to me; it's also something I feel. You don't have to intend to coerce in order for me to feel coerced. Now put this in the context of talking with someone who happens to be a deeply religious Christian evangelical and who also happens to be the guy who writes and approves your annual enlisted performance report.
The nature of the military colors every interaction between superiors and subordinates. While many hierarchical organizations have this issue, none have it to the extent of the military; because unlinke the civilian world military members are always on the job; can't quit; aren't free to take time off without planning; are subject to recall, not just from leave, but even after separation (years afterward, even); and can go to jail for saying no.
While no courts-martial would uphold an order to, say, attend church, I can certainly envision it happening. After all, the issue that kicked off this whole furor was allegations at the Academy that some students and instructors were using rank to pressure others to attend church or even convert.
Then there's this little gem:
And that one should give everyone pause.They also omit a statement in the earlier version that chaplains "should respect the rights of others to their own religious beliefs, including the right to hold no beliefs."
Heard on NPR this afternoon (paraphrased) When government endorses religion, it doesn't grant that religion legitimacy; it is using that religion to prop up its own legitimacy.
And that should give everyone pause.
In the wake of the tsunami there had been some speculation from the offensive wing of Protestant Christianity that those dirty heathens deserved it in some way. Specifically, that the wave was divine retribution for some perceived slight--probably simply the heinous crime of being non-Christian in an obviously Christian world.
Yeah, it's crap, but it got me thinking. If you accept the existence of an omnipotent god, you have to come to terms with this simple choice:
Either God is the source of all suffering as well as all joy, or He doesn't really care. Either God slaughters the guilty and the innocent with equal aplomb, or He quite frankly doesn't give a shit about us.
Let's examine this more closely. (More below the fold.)
We'll postulate an omnipotent God (why a being that is not omnipotent cannot be God is left as an exercise for the reader 8) for the purposes of this discussion. Since this being is omnipotent, there can be only one of Him; if there were two, neither would be omnipotent, would they? This eliminates the possibility of "Satan," or some kind of adversary that wields God-like power. That means we can't blame our suffering on some evil nasty living in a pit of fire.
More sophisticated ideas of suffering place the blame on Man himself; namely, we create suffering by deviating from God's plan for us. Now, we must ask ourselves, why should God--who is, recall, omnipotent--allow us to suffer, sometimes needlessly? What creature with compassion would allow such a crime to continue for millennia without seeking to end it?
The Jews out there reading this (I know, I give myself too much credit--who would bother reading my blog?) are no doubt thinking, "But He did act--he gave us the Torah!" The Christians among you are thinking, "He sent us Christ, who showed us the way!" No doubt the Muslims are crying out, "This is why Allah sent us Muhammad!" And similarly with Siddhartha Gautama, Nanak Dev, Laotse, Zarathustra, and so on and so forth. Take your pick.
Good examples for us all, each of them. But is the sending of messengers enough? Is the correction of human misery a task that is beyond the by definition limitless power of God? Clearly not. Even I--a mere human, with my limited powers of imagination--can speculate how some simple, small changes in Man's basic nature would alleviate man-made suffering without obviating free will. Before you play the "unforseen consequences" card, think about this: if you argue that God creates suffering because all other choices for His actions are worse, then you are once again placing limits on God's power--which is defined as limitless. It doesn't work. It also smacks of Dr. Pangloss; you should go read Candide again and think about this "best of all possible worlds." Clearly God either intentionally inflicts suffering on the world or chooses to do little or nothing about it. And for this I must bow and scrape in lifelong obeisance?
I don't think so.
If God intentionally inflicts suffering, well then, fuck him and the cloud He flew in on. Most kids grow out of the "torturing ants" phase pretty quickly, but we have no evidence that this cosmic brat is ever going to let up. In this case I have to think that Douglas Adams was right--nothing we do will matter, He won't stop until He screws with each of us. What right does such a creature have to demand worship from me? I'm a better person than He is.
If God doesn't care, if he chooses to let suffering happen despite His ability to correct it; then once again, fuck him and the cloud He's hiding behind. Clearly such a creature has no compassion. If He has no interest in me and my welfare, why then should I worship Him? It's not like He cares, is it? It makes no difference--in which case, I have better things to be doing, like trying to make the world a better place to live in, especially so since I can't expect any help from on high.
There's a third option, of course: there simply is no God. The world is as it is, take it or leave it. Ultimately, whether we suffer or live in paradise is completely up to us. We don't have the option of throwing up our hands and blaming "God's Will" because he's not there pulling the strings. This is a bitter pill for most people; it's a big scary universe out there and it would nice to think that someone's looking out for our best interests.
But I know which one I choose.
31 "When the Son of Man comes in his glory, and all the angels with him, he will sit on his throne in heavenly glory. 32 All the nations will be gathered before him, and he will separate the people one from another as a shepherd separates the sheep from the goats. 33 He will put the sheep on his right and the goats on his left.
34 "Then the King will say to those on his right, 'Come, you who are blessed by my Father; take your inheritance, the kingdom prepared for you since the creation of the world. 35 For I was hungry and you gave me something to eat, I was thirsty and you gave me something to drink, I was a stranger and you invited me in, 36 I needed clothes and you clothed me, I was sick and you looked after me, I was in prison and you came to visit me.'
37 "Then the righteous will answer him, 'Lord, when did we see you hungry and feed you, or thirsty and give you something to drink? 38 When did we see you a stranger and invite you in, or needing clothes and clothe you? 39 When did we see you sick or in prison and go to visit you?'
40 "The King will reply, 'I tell you the truth, whatever you did for one of the least of these brothers of mine, you did for me.'
41"Then he will say to those on his left, 'Depart from me, you who are cursed, into the eternal fire prepared for the devil and his angels. 42 For I was hungry and you gave me nothing to eat, I was thirsty and you gave me nothing to drink, 43 I was a stranger and you did not invite me in, I needed clothes and you did not clothe me, I was sick and in prison and you did not look after me.'
44 "They also will answer, 'Lord, when did we see you hungry or thirsty or a stranger or needing clothes or sick or in prison, and did not help you?'
45 "He will reply, 'I tell you the truth, whatever you did not do for one of the least of these, you did not do for me.'
46 "Then they will go away to eternal punishment, but the righteous to eternal life."
-- Matthew, Chapter 25, v.31-46
This verse is why, sometimes, I hope that there really is a God. The dismantlement of the social safety net will weigh heavily against them.
It should be noted that God's right side would, in fact, be to our left. 8)