Misjudging Your Community

One of the things I remember about life in the church was the feelings that acted to form and maintain the bonds between myself and the other members. Our community was created from strong sensations of loyalty, familiarity, and 'brotherly' love. I was proud of these fine qualities and promoted both their emotional and virtuous payoffs as badges of the religious faith I'd adopted and as evidence of the hand of God by way of manifest goodness in people's lives. As I grew from a tiny true believer into a young faithful it became clear to me that many expected that I would one day take on the path of leadership in the ministry. I was a natural orator, tall, booming voice, intellectually gifted, and most importantly I was a fanatic tempered only by my humanist sensibilities which Star Trek had fortunately sneakily provoked in my mind. Had I been asked about the potentially destructive nature of my community I would have been adamant that only anomalous violations of our divinely inspired and maintained collective peaceful nature was possible and any insistence otherwise would have been perceived and dismissed as defamatory attacks on the church and God. Cited historic atrocities were committed by the deceived or false Christians. Potential violence inherent in our spiritual culture? It could not possibly be so. It was unreasonable given what I 'knew' about God. It could not be true and, therefore, must not be true.

Earlier this month a blogger in Egypt began promoting a film now called "The Innocence of Muslims", an anti-Islamic movie. By this writing, only about a week later, there have been widespread riots throughout the 'Muslim' world. Attacks on Christians are common and there have been attacks on embassies of western nations, the US in particular. Government leaders and Islamic clergy have been unable to stem the violence despite calling on their followers to remember that their religion is one of peace and good order. Quoting the Quran and even appealing to a sense of general human compassion have been ignored nearly entirely while every minority within these regions live in fear as they witness the shameless barbarism that a cheap, poorly made movie has unleashed. Yes, Islam: The way of Peace. How is it that so many leaders within these Islamic communities are unable to issue any semblance of calm and rational perspective? Aren't they the teachers of the core truths? Aren't they aware of and in touch with the mind set of their own subscribers? It sure as fuck doesn't look that way.
I realize Sam Harris has fallen under serious criticism for his calls for Muslims to be openly profiled at security checks. Though I disagree with this violation of the core principles of modern constitutional law, both for being ineffectual and for the deteriorating effect on the very principles of human decency that we who oppose religious violence claim as our primary motivation, it should be remembered that such misplaced proposals arise from unpleasant realities that threaten to grow in destructive intensity as technology continues to proliferate weapons of mass destruction. Just as Harris' proposals to discriminate based on appearance are misplaced so too is the oft repeated view that Islam is not violent. History shows that all religions generate an ingrained mentality prone to a host of destructive behavior in its subjects which are far less often present apart from religious factors. Less often and less intense. Islam is not alone with its propensity towards violence, rather it is in good company with all religious systems. Isolated? The room is crammed shoulder to shoulder with dictators of divine code. When someone sneezes the others get upset. And globalization is only dumping more of these absolutist once-upon-a-time supreme rulers into an ever smaller turf. A real game of imaginary thrones.

The reason store burning mobs don't form over the release of poorly acted B movies in the 'Christian' world is not due to less emotional incitement indigenous to the culture but it is thanks to the weaker level of active belief in the central texts and traditions of the faith due entirely to the controls and benefits of the secular state. Centuries of torture and murder terrorizing those on the fringes of society was readily tolerated by ignorant desperate parishioners but a century of Christian enmasse gang warfare was simply too much to bear and, digging into our forgotten past we rediscovered our finer human qualities. These completely non-religious elements allowed us to elevate society where superstitions weighed it down. Islamic regions have not shared in this transformation, though they might be starting down the path, but this only explains why they are more prone to this particular display of inhumanity. From attempting to deny basic dignity, through equality regardless of sexual orientation or a woman's safe control over her own body, to wars raged against non-Christian nations, the west has simply moved further away from animalistic fury as we increase our distance from religious zealotry.

But the same excuses usher forth from our religious leaders when things get out of control. Clearly the disconnect is a universal constant stemming from a total ignorance of the true nature of the system they perpetuate. The cognitive dissonance is impressive. As cars burn, as children mourn their murdered parents clergy continue to be taken by surprise.
So this is a message to every member of every priesthood, everywhere around our shrinking planet, from someone who once thought just like you, saw things in the very same frame: The people you depend on to be good devotees are not what you think they are.
No sublime nature. No supreme decency from God.
They are humans. Disturbed humans. And you are the one fucking them up.

It's time to take responsibility.

Don't Bring Your Sword To A Gunfight

2 - Know your stuff

The inevitable tactic of virtually all religious folk who are active and read in their faith will be to turn discussions from the topic at hand to your own lack of faith. I know that ministers actually teach their congregations to practise this sort of strategy in order to convert unbelievers and authors who promote it certainly know what they are doing. Most church goers will not be able to reason out their faith coherently when tested by an informed mind and this tactic is chiefly designed to shield the average religious layperson from the appropriate level of doubt they should be experiencing. The important thing is to bring the discussion back around and let them know you are interested in exploring the issue rather than getting too far off topic.

More important is the sense of well being you deserve to experience with a well rounded and constantly expanding education not hampered by fear or guilt ridden superstition. The following is a handy list of authors you may want to check out.

http://www.cobourgatheist.com/index.php?option=com_content&view=category&id=30&Itemid=44

More than any other author I highly recommend Bart D Ehrman, who is not listed there, a bible history scholar of world renown. He lost his own faith as he studied the physical bible through history and studied the actual manuscripts the modern day bible is based on. his work is earth shattering to ministers attempting to control a discourse. In fact, many have already been taught about the mistranslations, added stories, forged authors, etc but chose to hide this knowledge from average church goers. If they have formal education at all, that is. You will find that without the bible or equivalent holy text to their particular religion, religious promoters and apologists have nothing much to offer. Here is his page, all his work is excellent.

http://www.bartdehrman.com/

For science, particularly evolution, i most recommend reading Richard Dawkins. Though he addresses a wide range of issues from the perspective of an atheistic perspective i find his ability to clearly lay out the facts of science in a way both uniform and understandable to non-scientists like myself. Dawkins has earned his reputation as a tireless advocate for reason and decency around the world and his multi platform material will peel back the layers of false assumptions impressed upon you. There is a reason he is so widely reviled in religious circles and those are the only good reasons to be reviled. Courageous honesty, and humane integrity. A good starter would be his "The God Delusion." Here's his site.

http://richarddawkins.net/

For social philosophy I highly recommend the late Christopher Hitchens. Again, this author and speaker covered a great many issues in his work but unlike the other recommendations I have made Hitchens forged his reputation and developed his ideas on life not just in the classrooms of his extremely good education but most notably in the field of real life. A few highlights include meeting Fidel Castro during the Cuban revolution while still a student, losing his mother in a horrible suicide after she joined a cult, and running for safety in live urban battle zones, giving a frightened woman his flak jacket as they ran. This is the guy who lived the life that would make most intellectuals shit their pants. Yet, an intellectual he was. "God Is Not Great: How Religion Poisons Everything" is amazing and "Hitch 22" is his impressive autobiography. This is an unofficial site for his works.

http://www.dailyhitchens.com/

Finally I'll give Sam Harris. He's the brain man (neurology ;) but his intensive and often overwhelming reason have made him one of my favourite atheist Authors and speakers. You will need to read his work more than once to grasp the fullness of his extensive exploration of the topics he addresses. No one covers the human psychology of religion as well, though some of his social views have been found controversial. I plead with you to read "The Moral Landscape" and check out his site.

www.samharris.org
There. A few good bullets for that intellectual gunfight. Remember these are just a few of my own favourites.
I'll give more next time!

Rules Of Engagement

I have been quite distracted with an unexpected number of troubles with believers for the last few weeks. It should not be underestimated how many people will strike at you for not conforming and refusing to be silent. It was still surprising. With family there were misunderstandings to be cleared up. With my old pastor there was a snub and refusal to discuss minor points of his public teaching. And a friend caused me a great deal of pain. An atheist who strangely judges me for speaking out about my views. But I guess we all have our difficult times and judgement can arise from anywhere.

Perhaps this is the best way for me to proceed, then, is to lay out the most significant issues to be aware of as one comes to question religion. Besides the fact that people will get upset, that is. Let's begin with this;

1 - They Have No Authority Over You

Religious people may seem lovey dovey at first but one of the very first things they will do is begin to establish a sense of authority over you. It is rarely spoken of openly but it is essential for any religious movement in order to maintain control over it's members. This was brought to mind by the "I'll pray for you" response from the man most responsible for the internal torments of my childhood this week. So why would he not discuss basic issues around his most repeated and publicly condemning messages? Like most religious leaders he is actually not used to being challenged. There is no need to explain beyond the rules of dogma because they have already instituted a system of religious authority. He resorted to asking if i was a good believer "right with God" and then refused any further discussion.

In other words, if you ask too many questions they accuse you of being unfaithful or even blasphemous. Notice that this is an excellent way to never apply rational examination to any belief or explain why these beliefs are healthy, let alone true.

As in my situation, they often use the "love you" language while side-stepping your questions and demeaning your value as a fellow human being just as capable of intelligent thought and just as entitled to good reasons for beliefs. Especially if you have been a participant in, or raised under their religious institution, you have every right to some answers. If they will not give them, the answer is that they disregard your value as a fellow human being.

I suggest the following;

 -Try to remain calm, but do not use timid language. You are equals.
(I called my old minister on using blatantly deceptive misinformation on his public blog, and informed him that without further explanation I would have to consider it to be lying)

-Do not accept their statements that you are defying religious authority as substitution for real explanations.
-Don't let them side track the discussion. Always be prepared to bring it back to your question.
-Do not harass. If they are uncooperative, eventually you need to walk away. It isn't worth it.
-Be prepared. Do your own reading and research before this confrontation. These people can be very convincing and at times belligerent.
-Probably best to do 1 on 1. No good being overwhelmed by their numbers. It's the discussion that is important. The issues.

Remember, you are not alone. The questions you are asking are very healthy and can only lead to better knowledge and understanding.

Be good. Do good.

*in the future i will post some good sites for resources and materials*