We Don’t Talk About That

They say that in polite company, you don’t talk about politics or religion.  Well, I’ve already talked about politics in this blog site, so I guess it’s time to talk about religion.

Let’s start by acknowledging that I consider myself a religious man; a Protestant Christian in fact.  The fact that I don’t attend any church has more to do with my issues with organized churches than any lack of religious conviction.  I read quite a lot about religion, both its chronological and spiritual history.  I read about religions other than Christianity; primarily Judaism and Islam, and the relationship between the three. I also read what the skeptics say as well; those who claim there is no God, or God is dead or, as Karl Marx said, “Religion is the opiate of the masses.”  None of that has shaken my faith.  But you didn’t come here just to hear about me.  The previous bit was for background.

So, let’s concentrate on the three great monotheistic religions: Judaism, Christianity and Islam.

The interesting thing about the three is that they all hark back to the same ancient Biblical person, Abraham.  To some degree, all three were built one upon the other, but Judaism is the most ancient and the first to espouse monotheism.  When Jesus arrived on the scene, Judaism and the Jewish state were in turmoil.  Internally, there was an ongoing struggle between two factions: the Pharisees and the Sadducees.  Think of them as the political parties and religious factions of the day, because they were both.  He who ruled the Temple ruled the population.  In addition, there was the cultural struggle between the Jewish culture and the growing influence of Hellenism, the Greek culture.  Throw on top of that the fact that the Jewish homeland was ruled by the Romans.  Jesus, I believe, saw his role as reforming Judaism, not starting a new religion.  Christianity grew out of the teachings of Paul who was trying to export the new teaching to the non-Jewish gentiles.  Similarly, Islam grew out of an attempt, largely successful, to integrate a part of the Middle East that was still full of small monotheistic and pantheistic groups, what we might refer to as cults. 

The Jews, as with many communities in those days, were ruled as a Theocracy.  The church was the state and the state was the church. Laws were only considered legitimate if they were issued by or with the endorsement of the church. This might seem at odds with my statement above that Rome ruled the Jewish homeland, but it is the difference in ruling the land and ruling the people. Rome ruled the land.  The Jewish leadership ruled on the day to day activities of the Jewish people, wherever they may be.  Hence, many different dos and don’ts were captured in church (and hence state) law: dietary restrictions; dress codes; laws controlling social interaction; and laws controlling interaction with other peoples.  This theocratic legal system was passed on to early Christians in the Roman Empire because this was, to some degree, what they were used to. Roman rule by this time was based on the concept that the Emperor was a deity. The result was that a lot of things have come down to us as “God’s will” that have nothing to do with religious spiritualism. Pure religion is the quest for the spiritual not the temporal. This is true to some degree or another for all three religions.  It was this tension between the temporal and the religious that prompted Jesus’ admonition to “give unto Caesar that which is Caesars and give unto God that which is God’s”.  It was the first statement of the separation of church and state.

Religion has been blamed for a lot of things: abuse; wars; terrorism; misogyny; even slavery, to name just a few.  And yet nothing in the basic teachings of any of these religions sanctions such things.  It is all caused by misunderstanding or purposeful misreading of these teachings.

Religion, or the perceived threat to “your” religion, is one of the most powerful motivations to get ordinary people riled up enough to go to war, or to carry out unspeakable acts.  It is not usually religion that causes these wars, it is the will of the powerful to protect or enhance their power. Ethnicity, religion and loot are the three great motivators for the people.  But the promise of loot can only go so far, for once people have it they no longer want to fight, but now want to enjoy it.  This leaves the other two motivators which are quite often intermingled since ethnicity and religion usually go together. 

Religion does not usually get recognition for the good things it accomplishes.  Its teaching of equality enhanced the idea of democracy.  Its teaching of community and compassion brought forth charity and help for the less fortunate.  Its teachings about respect (a word I prefer to “love” as it is used in the Bible.  In the lexicon of today, respect one another is probably more meaningful than love one another) brought forth the ideas about the worth of others, even enemies. Christianity, as it was first conceived, was a very socialistic message.  It is therefore strange to hear so-called Christian right-wing conservatives try to use the Bible to foster individual wealth and individuality.  These were the very traits that Judaism and Christianity preached against.

God, by whatever name, is often accused by individuals of allowing heinous acts.  Why would God allow earthquakes or floods, pestilence or massacres?  How is God going to solve our problems?  But that is not God’s role.  What our religion, our spirituality, does is show us how to rise above these tragedies; how to fix the problem ourselves; how to overcome the heinous acts of others.  Spirituality gives us the strength to persevere, to act wisely and compassionately, and to overcome our diversity. 

So during this period when we traditionally celebrate Christmas, Hanukkah and Eid, let’s try and remember what our religions really mean.  Let’s stop using them as excuses for temporal acts and start using them for the inner strength and compassion they were meant to achieve.

I hope that I have not shocked or upset anybody with this post.  It was not my purpose.  I just wanted to get us thinking about what religion really is or is meant to be during this season of religious celebration.