God and Bacon
Farce noun \ˈfärs\ : An empty or patently ridiculous act, proceeding, or situation
Organized religion is a farce. There I said it. And I wasn’t struck by lightning nor did I turn to stone. Don’t get me wrong I am certainly not opposed to religion and, in general, I am not opposed to organized religion. But in definitely find it patently ridiculous. Sometimes I even find it to be empty as well.
Before I continue, I want to be absolutely clear; this is simply my opinion. I will voice that opinion and you, the reader, have the right to agree with me or think me a complete and utter asshole. It’s your call.
Now don’t get me wrong, I think it is supremely important for a person to have faith and to choose to believe in a higher power as a way to understand their lives and what, if any, is the meaning to those lives. It is a personal choice with the key word being “personal”. And while I have this belief I do not, in any way, believe that the word “organized” has a part of it.
See, once you bring the word “organized” into it, especially when linking it to “religion”, we’re really talking about groups of people. When those groups get large enough they need leaders. And whether or not those leaders are Moses, Jesus or even David Koresh, that’s when it gets sticky. It gets sticky because those leaders have their own ideals, their own vision if you will, which they will attempt to impose upon the individuals that make up the group. Make no mistake about it they will succeed. If history has taught us anything, it has taught us that.
Moses would have you believe that it wasn’t his will but rather God’s and Jesus clearly espoused the word of the Father. Koresh? Well he was just a fucking lunatic. Let me put it this way; if I were to wake up tomorrow and try to convince you that I’ve seen the Lord, and that He spoke to me and told me that we should all live lives of sin and adultery and debauchery I would at the very least be laughed at. At the most, I’d be stoned. Yet we are told we need to believe. Not “should,” but “NEED.” And we bought it. We believed and by doing so, we allowed those and every other religious leader over time to succeed.
Once those leaders succeed we naturally find ourselves with a variety of groups who hold a diverse set of beliefs. Naturally, those groups will disagree. Rarely, if ever, do they “agree to disagree.” Mostly the disagreements lead to arguments, which lead to threats, which lead to mayhem. It is no accident that more blood has been shed over the last six thousand years as a result of religious diversity. Pharaoh’s Egypt, The Crusades, The Spanish Inquisition and Hitler. And that’s just the tip of the iceberg.
There is a place in our world that can be described as the most contentious piece of real estate in the history of man. It is approximately thirty six acres in size and today, it is the home of the Dome of the Rock and the Al-Aqsa Mosque. The place I speak of is the Temple Mount in the Old City of Jerusalem. Coincidently it is the same spot where Abraham prepared to sacrifice his son, Isaac. Even more coincidently, it is the site where some Christians believe the Temple will be rebuilt before, or concurrently with, the Second Coming of Jesus Christ. And even MORE coincidently, it is where the famous guardians of the Holy Grail, the Knights Templar, who believed it was the site of the Temple of Solomon, set up their headquarters in the twelfth century.
You know the old saying:
If it happens once, it’s an accident.
If it happens twice, it’s a coincidence.
If it happens three times, it’s a pattern.
If it happens four times, it’s a movement.
So we have a spot on earth where it’s happened at least four times. That place will be fought over, and fought for, till the end of time, because each of those coincidences yielded their own movements, each of those movements yielded their own religions, and each of those religions is organized and believes, in their hearts and in their minds, that the place belongs to them. How sad is that?
I am a Jew and I believe in God. I’ve had my faith shaken from time to time but in the end, I am a believer. It is for myself, and my piece of mind, that I believe. Not for my parents, not for my wife and not for my children. For me. I don’t need an organization to tell me how to believe, or what rules to follow in order to be a “good” Jew. I have my own ideals and my own vision and the fact that I love bacon will not get in the way of them. My moral and ethical values are generally in line with those ideals and I’m good with that. I say “generally” because I’m human and, from time to time, I slip. But when I do I learn and when I learn I am a better person for it.
I will also never, ever impose my ideals and vision on anyone else. That is not why I believe and it is not what I am here for. Sure, if I do it all correctly, live my life as a believer for myself, others might see that and use my example as a springboard for their own ideals and vision. But that is not, in any way, is an imposition on anyone. My kids? They’re going to have to make up their own minds. I can do everything in my power to help them make the right decisions in life but there is no way I can make those decisions for them or impose my beliefs on them.
The Rabbi of the synagogue that my family and I are currently members of has a very interesting way of looking at it. She is not shy about telling you how she interprets something; how she sees the religious conundrums we are faced with every day. But she will voice her own opinion, back it up with impeccable reason, and then allow you to make your own decision. Even more interesting is how she won’t criticize that decision. I don’t know this for certain, but I believe she feels that her job is to be more of a guide than a leader. Yes, a guide can be a leader at times, but a religious leader (see Sharpton, Al or Robertson, Pat) is more intent on inflicting his or her will on the masses. Not my Rabbi. She wants me to make up my own mind and I think that’s really cool.
So that’s how I work it with my kids. I will give them my opinion, with solid examples of reason to back it up, and allow them to make up their own minds. It’s how it should be. It’s how it is. Let it be written, let it be done.
What we need more of in this world are people who aren’t afraid to make up their own minds, people who resist being a part of the masses and who can lead their own way by thinking independently about God. It doesn’t have to be a fight over real estate or beliefs. I doesn’t have to be about blindly following rules and commandments that are either archaic or hypocritical, or both.
When I say that organized religion is a farce, it is because of the fighting, the imposition of beliefs and idea that in order to be a good Catholic, or Jew, or whatever, that we must follow the dogma that was set in motion by ancient men and women who believed they were acting for the common good of mankind. Patently ridiculous? You bet!
What it religion should be about is doing what feels right in your heart and what gives you the individual freedom to be who you want to be. If more people in the world were to do that there might be less bloodshed, there might be more compromise and, to be sure, a helluva lot more people would be eating bacon.
Organized religion is a farce. There I said it. And I wasn’t struck by lightning nor did I turn to stone. Don’t get me wrong I am certainly not opposed to religion and, in general, I am not opposed to organized religion. But in definitely find it patently ridiculous. Sometimes I even find it to be empty as well.
Before I continue, I want to be absolutely clear; this is simply my opinion. I will voice that opinion and you, the reader, have the right to agree with me or think me a complete and utter asshole. It’s your call.
Now don’t get me wrong, I think it is supremely important for a person to have faith and to choose to believe in a higher power as a way to understand their lives and what, if any, is the meaning to those lives. It is a personal choice with the key word being “personal”. And while I have this belief I do not, in any way, believe that the word “organized” has a part of it.
See, once you bring the word “organized” into it, especially when linking it to “religion”, we’re really talking about groups of people. When those groups get large enough they need leaders. And whether or not those leaders are Moses, Jesus or even David Koresh, that’s when it gets sticky. It gets sticky because those leaders have their own ideals, their own vision if you will, which they will attempt to impose upon the individuals that make up the group. Make no mistake about it they will succeed. If history has taught us anything, it has taught us that.
Moses would have you believe that it wasn’t his will but rather God’s and Jesus clearly espoused the word of the Father. Koresh? Well he was just a fucking lunatic. Let me put it this way; if I were to wake up tomorrow and try to convince you that I’ve seen the Lord, and that He spoke to me and told me that we should all live lives of sin and adultery and debauchery I would at the very least be laughed at. At the most, I’d be stoned. Yet we are told we need to believe. Not “should,” but “NEED.” And we bought it. We believed and by doing so, we allowed those and every other religious leader over time to succeed.
Once those leaders succeed we naturally find ourselves with a variety of groups who hold a diverse set of beliefs. Naturally, those groups will disagree. Rarely, if ever, do they “agree to disagree.” Mostly the disagreements lead to arguments, which lead to threats, which lead to mayhem. It is no accident that more blood has been shed over the last six thousand years as a result of religious diversity. Pharaoh’s Egypt, The Crusades, The Spanish Inquisition and Hitler. And that’s just the tip of the iceberg.
There is a place in our world that can be described as the most contentious piece of real estate in the history of man. It is approximately thirty six acres in size and today, it is the home of the Dome of the Rock and the Al-Aqsa Mosque. The place I speak of is the Temple Mount in the Old City of Jerusalem. Coincidently it is the same spot where Abraham prepared to sacrifice his son, Isaac. Even more coincidently, it is the site where some Christians believe the Temple will be rebuilt before, or concurrently with, the Second Coming of Jesus Christ. And even MORE coincidently, it is where the famous guardians of the Holy Grail, the Knights Templar, who believed it was the site of the Temple of Solomon, set up their headquarters in the twelfth century.
You know the old saying:
If it happens once, it’s an accident.
If it happens twice, it’s a coincidence.
If it happens three times, it’s a pattern.
If it happens four times, it’s a movement.
So we have a spot on earth where it’s happened at least four times. That place will be fought over, and fought for, till the end of time, because each of those coincidences yielded their own movements, each of those movements yielded their own religions, and each of those religions is organized and believes, in their hearts and in their minds, that the place belongs to them. How sad is that?
I am a Jew and I believe in God. I’ve had my faith shaken from time to time but in the end, I am a believer. It is for myself, and my piece of mind, that I believe. Not for my parents, not for my wife and not for my children. For me. I don’t need an organization to tell me how to believe, or what rules to follow in order to be a “good” Jew. I have my own ideals and my own vision and the fact that I love bacon will not get in the way of them. My moral and ethical values are generally in line with those ideals and I’m good with that. I say “generally” because I’m human and, from time to time, I slip. But when I do I learn and when I learn I am a better person for it.
I will also never, ever impose my ideals and vision on anyone else. That is not why I believe and it is not what I am here for. Sure, if I do it all correctly, live my life as a believer for myself, others might see that and use my example as a springboard for their own ideals and vision. But that is not, in any way, is an imposition on anyone. My kids? They’re going to have to make up their own minds. I can do everything in my power to help them make the right decisions in life but there is no way I can make those decisions for them or impose my beliefs on them.
The Rabbi of the synagogue that my family and I are currently members of has a very interesting way of looking at it. She is not shy about telling you how she interprets something; how she sees the religious conundrums we are faced with every day. But she will voice her own opinion, back it up with impeccable reason, and then allow you to make your own decision. Even more interesting is how she won’t criticize that decision. I don’t know this for certain, but I believe she feels that her job is to be more of a guide than a leader. Yes, a guide can be a leader at times, but a religious leader (see Sharpton, Al or Robertson, Pat) is more intent on inflicting his or her will on the masses. Not my Rabbi. She wants me to make up my own mind and I think that’s really cool.
So that’s how I work it with my kids. I will give them my opinion, with solid examples of reason to back it up, and allow them to make up their own minds. It’s how it should be. It’s how it is. Let it be written, let it be done.
What we need more of in this world are people who aren’t afraid to make up their own minds, people who resist being a part of the masses and who can lead their own way by thinking independently about God. It doesn’t have to be a fight over real estate or beliefs. I doesn’t have to be about blindly following rules and commandments that are either archaic or hypocritical, or both.
When I say that organized religion is a farce, it is because of the fighting, the imposition of beliefs and idea that in order to be a good Catholic, or Jew, or whatever, that we must follow the dogma that was set in motion by ancient men and women who believed they were acting for the common good of mankind. Patently ridiculous? You bet!
What it religion should be about is doing what feels right in your heart and what gives you the individual freedom to be who you want to be. If more people in the world were to do that there might be less bloodshed, there might be more compromise and, to be sure, a helluva lot more people would be eating bacon.
Comments