Religion

Roots of Evil

/ Joe Broadmeadow / 2 Comments

The recent attacks in Paris have triggered the usual expressions of sympathy which inevitably give way to calls for visiting great harm upon those who perpetrate these acts.

The sympathetic responses are, for the most part, sincere yet tempered by the calls for vengeance. In any case, they miss the point.

In the west, with its predominantly Judeo-Christian population, the inevitable attributing of the blame on Islam ensues. There are voices within these faiths that call for peace, but a significant number of the Christian faithful would gladly pull the trigger on a Muslim target, given the opportunity, simply because it is a Muslim target. Yet are shocked and quick to condemn similar behavior on the part of some Muslims.

These attacks, if they are promulgated on an interpretation of the Quran which mandates the elimination of the “Kafir”, or unbelievers, underscore the inherent dangers of religion.

Christianity is not wholly innocent in these matters. They had their Crusades. The difference being at some point the enlightenment took place. Relegating religion to a personal matter; slowly eliminating any dominant religious influence so as to have no place in government.

It took centuries for that to happen, yet I fear we still are plagued with the last vestiges of such influences.

I do not understand the rationale of those that insist on a Judeo-Christian based government here, yet fear a similar religious, albeit Islamic, based government somewhere else. The idea of government, with its inherent ability to impose restrictions on behavior, being based on any religious tenets is frightening.

What would our reaction be to a nuclear armed Islamic state? Abject terror, I have no doubt. Why? Because we fear they would use such power to further their cause.

Isn’t that what some “Christians” among us have urged our government to do?

Either way, it is not good for the world.

Those who call for visiting violence on others by virtue of their beliefs miss the contradiction in such an attitude.

Religion is not the problem or the cause of the problem. It is a tool. Used by some to maintain control. If all religion was taken out of the picture, these things would still happen; with some other motivation to spark them. The conditions are the same, the terms would be different.

Those that deny free and open discourse for all people do so to promote the power of one religion to control their people.  A religion they choose.

The west, through the availability of education (although less and less valued it would seem), has learned to mitigate the influence of religion to control the masses through the power of government.

It is an indisputable fact that the higher the educational level, the less religiosity.

I am not advocating the abolition of religion. I know many sincere believers who temper their faith with reason when it comes to interpretation of writings such as the Bible, the Talmud, and the Quran. I am advocating the application of reason to our response to violence in the name of religion.

Imposing the superiority of one religion over another does not solve the problem, it prolongs it.

If we are unwilling to address the underlying causes of the problem, i.e. poverty, unemployment, lack of education, treatment of women as property, we will forever be combatting the symptoms.

Our acquiescence to the conduct of our allies, such as Saudi Arabia and Israel (heresy I know, however because they are more aligned with the Judeo part does not make them blameless in their denial of civil rights), is a big part of the problem.

The issues here are not as simple as some politicians would have you believe. We do not own the morally superior ground here. These are complex issues, requiring complex solutions which will never happen if we ignore the reality.

It is not the correctness of any one religion that offers a solution, it is the willingness to accept all faiths as entitled to equal treatment.

Faith is not fact. Hold your faith as you see fit, do not deny others the same. If there is such a thing as one true faith, but you were led down the wrong path by parents or guardians or accident of birth, I think an all-powerful god can figure out the quality of your character without resorting to totaling up how many non-believers you tried to kill.

Those who committed these attacks, those who committed the attacks on 9/11, those who insist on imposing their way of life on others are the problem.

I am not naive. These attacks need to be met with sufficient force to stop them. However, the threat or application of force is not the solution to preventing them.

Open access to freedom of expression, freedom of religion, and freedom from religion is the only solution.

Changing someone’s faith, or eradicating such beliefs, cannot be accomplished  with bombs and missiles.

It can only be solved by tolerance, understanding, a willingness to listen

A Kim Davisian America

/ Joe Broadmeadow / Leave a comment

Let us take the position of Kim Davis, the Rowan County Clerk of Courts, to its logical conclusion. (I wonder if this is a revival of Rowan & Martin’s Laugh-in?)

What would this mean for America, should she be permitted to refuse to perform her civil job function based on personal beliefs?

Imagine the future…

The Police

Dispatch: Unit 21 respond to a reported robbery at 1 Gay Lane.

Unit 21: No can do, gay couple living there in sinful violation of the Holy Book. I cannot in good conscience assist in this abomination

Dispatch: Any available unit of a non-judgmental nature available to assist?

RADIO SILENCE

Unit 21: I think the one gay officer we were forced to hire, against the Chief’s long held beliefs and the Bible, is working tomorrow. I will not assist him in any way and refuse to work alongside him. Have them call back then.

Fire

Dispatch: Engine 1 Ladder 2 respond to a reported fire 1 Rabinowitz lane.

Engine 1: No can do, all Christian crew and that location is a synagogue. They killed Jesus. I think Engine 5 has some Jews aboard, call them

Engine 5: Yes, but we are Orthodox and it is the Sabbath, cannot work today. Tell them to call back.

Restaurant

Hello, my name is Joe and I’ll be your server today. Before I can release our menu to you, please answer the following questions;

  1. Do you support abortion?
  2. Do you believe in same-sex marriage?
  3. Do you support the separation of Church and State?

 If you answer yes to any of these questions, please leave. My beliefs do not allow me to serve you. We don’t cater to heathens.

 I cannot understand why this is such a difficult concept. If a person feels so strongly about their personal beliefs, do not accept a position which requires adherence to civil law.

One cannot refuse to perform a job function because they disagree with the law; to do otherwise would be chaos.

How Davis chooses to hold her beliefs and profess them is of no concern to anyone. We can disagree, mock, or support them. However, no one can demand or impose his or her personal religious beliefs on anyone else through a position held under civil authority. (No matter how much she credits Jesus for blessing her election.)

If she wants to deny marriage licenses to same-sex couples, go work for a religious organization. Plenty support her nonsensical beliefs and hypocrisy.

She is just another nut-case cherry-picking Bible quotes to suit her current beliefs and expecting the Government to support them.

We have already devoted too much time to her. She is in jail; the law has prevailed. Time to move on.

Unless we are smoted (if that is a word) and the world does end at the hands of the offended divine (but loving) god of the book she fervently holds dear.

Meanwhile, let us hope she is enjoying her martyrdom. Perhaps she will be out in time to celebrate the anniversary of some of the Same-sex marriages happening over the next few days in Kentucky.

I suggest she be released for the Golden Jubilee Celebration.

Where Do We Go, From Here?

/ Joe Broadmeadow / Leave a comment

There are as many ideas and concepts about post-mortal existence as there are people on this planet. In the vast universe, the conceptualization of what happens after death is likely, well, universal.

We hold onto our life. We sometimes go to extreme means to prolong it. And sometimes, we choose to end it by our own hand.

Regardless of how it happens, we all will die. Cease to exist in this particular form and manner.

So, naturally we wonder, where do we go?

Is it me, or my idea of myself, that exists outside the corporeal me?

Is it some ethereal existence, sans a physical form?

Or is it merely the atoms that once took my form follow the rules of physics and bind into another?

Where do we go? Where have those that have gone before us got themselves to?

No hard evidence exists of anyone ever coming back (despite the Bible or Shirley Maclaine’s claim to the contrary).

So, where did they go?

Is our composition of stardust our only path, reverting to that molecular essence?

I hope we do return to the stars. Taking on forms in locations we can only dream of. Becoming, once again, a living part of the universe.

Those that would have us ascend (which way is up by the way? It changes as we rotate in our current world) to heaven or descend (same direction issue) to hell show signs of self-limiting human thought.

I imagine a different ascension.

While my human self-awareness may end, each of the atoms and molecules of my brain that power my consciousness will continue.

Matter can neither be destroyed or created.

The law of conservation of mass, or principle of mass conservation, states that for any system closed to all transfers of matter and energy (both of which have mass), the mass of the system must remain constant over time, as system mass cannot change quantity if it is not added or removed. Hence, the quantity of mass is “conserved” over time. (Wikipedia definition)

Hence, while I will die, the matter that is me will not cease to exist. And since no one has ever come back, there must be something to it.

Now, understand something, this is no death wish. I intend to continue on this level of existence for as long as I can. There is much to do, much to experience, many things to live for.

As things come into my mind, compelling me to write, one of the things I contemplate is the end of life. As you age, it becomes more apparent that each day brings you closer.

By thinking about the realities of our physical world, by trying to understand the concepts of physics and all it’s weird possibilities, multiple universes, string theory, quantum theory, by the simple act of looking into the night sky and seeing the immense universe, one cannot help but imagine the possibilities of existence after this human experience.

So, where do we go from here? No one has the answer. Religions have tried to corner the market by selling a guarantee on the post-human experience. While many are well-intentioned, I think they lack true imagination.

Our minds, our ability to dream, our ability to think is our most precious asset. If we can imagine it, we can do it.

By using that same ingenuity in contemplating our post-human experience, I believe we can see the infinite possibilities of our continued existence.

While I enjoy this level of existence, I believe there is something to look forward to when the time comes.

Dying by Choice

/ Joe Broadmeadow / Leave a comment

While the Ebola panic dominates the news, an equally important story goes almost unnoticed.

Brittany Maynard, 29, suffers from a rare, untreatable, and 100% fatal brain cancer; diagnosed with grade II Astrocytoma, the most aggressive form.

The prognosis for the progression of the disease is one of rapidly decreasing quality of life and a painful decline to death.

Ms. Maynard chooses to end her own life, on her own terms, after living long enough to celebrate her husband’s birthday.

The real tragedy here is that we may have already had a cure if we had prevented religion from interfering in the funding and course of scientific research.  I am referring to stem cells and other promising medical research.

Whether or not it would make a difference in this matter, no one knows. 

We do know that prohibiting the research did make a difference.  It condemned her to die.

Another argument, once again fueled by religious zealotry, would prohibit her access to choose the time and manner of her death.  There are only four states in the country where this choice is available.

They argue it should be left in God’s hands.

That would be the same God who, if he did not inflict the disease on her, at least let it happen. You can’t argue this point.  Omnipotence is pretty specific. God either chose to allow it or inflicted her intentionally.

Sad state of the world when this country would turn its back on suffering and slow, painful deaths based on Bronze age writings manipulated by a powerful, self-sustaining organization propagating a myth.

The other side of this story is one of courage and hope.

Courage. This young woman shows remarkable courage in choosing to die with dignity, in her own time, without subjecting her family to the agony of watching her prolonged and painful death. 

Hope.  There is hope that her decision to end her life in this manner will spur people to demand medical research guided by thoughtful, knowledge based, and scientific methodology.

Not restricted by religious nonsense.

Let’s hope that Brittany Maynard’s courage will inspire others. We must all take action to insure her willingness to share the choice forced upon her, and her dealing with the reality of death, is not in vain.

I wonder how many of us would have the courage to do the same.

For (which?) God and (whose?) Country

/ Joe Broadmeadow / 6 Comments

I just read the New Yorker report on the raid that killed bin Laden.

(http://www.newyorker.com/reporting/2011/08/08/110808fa_fact_schmidle)

I took a few things away from it.

1st. There is no military organization in the world that can even come close to matching the courage, determination, ability, and competence of the armed forces of the United States.

This is compounded by the willingness of the American people to pursue Justice.

You can hate President Barrack Obama’s policies and politics, but you cannot doubt his courage, his willingness to make difficult decisions, his admiration of, concern for, and confidence in the military.

He risked his Presidency on doing the right thing.

2nd (and this is more troubling)

The article reports the following transmission was sent to confirm contact with bin Laden (known as “Crankshaft” by JSOC group and referred to as “Geronimo” in the broadcast”).

Inside the compound the Seal team radioed;

“For God and Country, Geronimo, Geronimo, Geronimo”

This was immediately followed by the words “Geronimo, E.K.I.A.” (Enemy Killed in Action) to confirm he was dead.

The article goes on to describe the tension in the White House situation room.

At one point the article points out “as they awaited word, VP Biden nervously fingered his Rosary”

I was struck by the incongruity of these statements.

It was blind, nonsensical, religious belief that triggered the situation in the first place.

What was the difference? Our praying to a different invisible “God”?

One God sent planes into buildings.

One God guided forces to a house in Pakistan.

Taken in the best light, I guess the “Christian” God is more “surgical” in his vengence.

To borrow a line from a t-shirt I once saw;

“Science flies you to the moon, Religion flies you into buildings”

I do not begrudge people their religious beliefs. I do not doubt their sincerity. As long as it is personal and private.

I am troubled by any of our governmental actions, our elected officials, our powerful military being guided by any religious tenets.

Morality, honesty, and integrity do not exist because of religion, they exist in spite of it.

Studies show humans are evolutionarily “designed” (now that’s Intelligent!) to be moral, empathetic, and ethical.

Religion compels a certain behavior out of fear of eternal damnation or reward of a blissful, eternal life (especially with Seventy-two Virgins).

Humans have an innate sense of right and wrong and most follow that path. Religiosity, a by-product of our evolutionary development, is unnecessary.

If those Seals want to pray to thank God, if the Vice President wants to recite the ‘Holy Rosary’ and go to Mass, if the President wants to acknowledge God’s help in making the decision, I fully support their right to do it, privately.

But not as Officials of the US Government and not using any resources of that government.

I believe the decision to send bin Laden’s remains into the ocean, with appropriate Islamic burial protocols, was a brilliant tactical decision. Equally so, the offer of the remains to the Saudi Government (who wisely declined). But I don’t think they are an endorsement of the efficacy or effectiveness of the religious procedures. Nor should they be.

In the interest of full disclosure and if, in the unlikely event I am wrong and God does exist, Osama bin Laden’s passage into the eternal was dependent our exact adherence to Islamic protocols, I pray we fucked it up!

This will be a better world when the world adopts the “Don’t Ask, Don’t Tell” approach to Religion.

Prayer in School IS the Answer

/ Joe Broadmeadow / 15 Comments

Putting prayer back in schools may in fact BE the answer to our problems. I have thought about this and have changed my mind, perhaps it is time to do this.

Now, in the interest of full disclosure, I am an Atheist or more correctly an Anti-theist. On this I have not altered my feelings or convictions.

But, in light of the many tragic events that have occurred, we have nothing to lose. Of course, this flies in the face of the stubborn fact that there has never been a scientifically valid study demonstrating the efficacy of prayer, no repeatable experimental process unequivocally showing a direct effect of prayer, and no consensus on what form of prayer works best, or at all.

Then there is the annoying secret agenda driven US Supreme Court that obviously wants to turn us all into Marijuana smoking, same sex couples, with full health care.

They consistently shoot down any attempts at reintroducing prayer in the public classroom.

But I have a solution.

We introduce Prayer as part of the educational curriculum. Each day we have every student in the United States recite a different prayer, from all 22 major religions, and the thousands of sects, off-shoots, and myriad of minor religions. We have perhaps two fifteen minute Wikipedia style lessons daily explaining the tenets, doctrines, and precepts of the religion to educate our children.

There is a risk here.

Studies show the religiosity decreases with higher educational levels. We risk unveiling the faults, fallacies, and inconsistencies rampant in all religious doctrines. If you have ever read the Bible, or the Koran, or any other “God inspired” document, it can be troubling.

The other problem will be the resistance from within the religious organizations themselves. They support prayer in school now, but what if it were all prayers and all religions?

In a document written by Cardinal Joseph Ratzinger, now Pope Benedict XVI, entitled “Dominus Iesus“, he essentially says the only true Church is the Holy Roman Catholic and Apostolic Church.

Pope Benedict, as then Cardinal Ratzinger, encourages embracing all religions as having “some” benefit in directing men to the true God. Yet he clearly states all other doctrines are wrong, but tolerable, in as much as they provide some benefit to finding the true path, as long as everyone knows the Catholic Church is the one and only true faith.

I am afraid such teachings illustrate the true message of the general attitude in the United States toward prayer in school, it must be the “right”, meaning Judeo-Christian, one.

This invites interference from the heathen Supremes once again.

But education, that is a worthy, Constitutionally friendly, goal.

Let’s teach them about all religions. Let’s pray in all faiths, all languages, all doctrines, to all the “Nine Billion Names of God” to borrow from the title of the Arthur C. Clarke classic.

It would be the biggest test of the effect of prayer on the world. Schedule one or two sessions per day. 180 days per school year. By the time all public school students graduate high school we would have generated a significant number of prayers.

Perhaps it would change the world, or maybe it wouldn’t and we could move on to other solutions.

Blaise Pascal, a brilliant philosopher, once proposed what has come to be known as Pascal’s Wager.

“God is, or He is not”

A Game is being played… where heads or tails will turn up.

According to reason, you can defend either of the propositions.

You must wager. (It’s not optional.)

Let us weigh the gain and the loss in wagering that God is. Let us estimate these two chances. If you gain, you gain all; if you lose, you lose nothing.

Wager, then, without hesitation that He is. (…) There is here an infinity of an infinitely happy life to gain, a chance of gain against a finite number of chances of loss, and what you stake is finite. And so our proposition is of infinite force, when there is the finite to stake in a game where there are equal risks of gain and of loss, and the infinite to gain.

(http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Pascal’s_Wager)

To summarize, if you believe in God, and he exists, you win, if he doesn’t you’ve lost nothing, if you deny the existence of God, and he does exist, you lose.

So for the investment of a few hours on Saturday night or Sunday morning perhaps you buy yourself some Eternal Salvation Insurance. Besides, there is no football on then anyway.

My point here is that there is a significant number of people in this country that BELIEVE prayer would make a difference.

We can pacify the multitude, test the premise, expand understanding of different faiths, and, as Pascal is intimating, play the odds.

If it works, great, if it doesn’t we can move on to a more intellectually sound, scientifically established, rational approach to preventing tragedies.

And taking all the guns, as promising as it sounds, is equally untenable.

Pray hear me, I beseech thee.

Unrealistic Expectations

/ Joe Broadmeadow / Leave a comment

Unrealistic Expectations

Here are some of our expectations for those who would hold Political office up to, actually in particular, President.

Clairvoyance

Infallibility (even the Pope has a hard time with this one)

Omniscience

Perfection in character

Embracing “Middle” Class sensibilities with no, or little, actual experience

But the most troubling is the following requirements we demand of our political leaders (in particular the President)

You must espouse an unwavering belief in an invisible, unprovable, and omniscient being that takes a direct and purposeful interest in our success.

You must acknowledge that this Being is clearly of the Judeo-Christian tradition AND has interceded on our behalf during the many crises we’ve endured. You must ignore the Islamic portion of this mono-theistic tradition

This Being did not inspire martyrdom on 911, that was the wrong god or a miscommunication. (This is where leaving out the Islamic part of monotheism really comes in handy)

You must “openly” embrace all faiths, even the non-Christian ones (wink, wink, nod, nod)

You must acknowledge direct communication and guidance from this being. This is a requirement even in light of the fact that we lock up and classify as delusional others (meaning non-politically motivated) that claim divine guidance for their actions.

You must finish every significant address to other political beings with “God Bless the USA” (leaving unsaid, but inferred, “and send the rest to Hell”)

So, in spite of the fact that our psych wards are full of people “talking” to God, we make this a benchmark of suitability for an elected leader.

If there ever comes a time when a country or group, particularly those trapped in the mindset of the 15th century with all its rules of behavior, divine commandments, and holy guidelines, acquires the ability to launch a nuclear weapon at the US do you want a President who will drop to his (or her, well perhaps) knees and pray to God to save us?

Or do you want a President that will invoke the power of our own making and eliminate that threat?

Any weapon launched in God’s name underscores the fallacy of relying on another divine being to intercede. My God can violate all the rules of the universe better than your God.

The Real Victims of Religious Persecution

/ Joe Broadmeadow / Leave a comment

There are many candidates for the office of most persecuted. At various points in history, Christians, Jews, Muslims, Atheists, Buddhists, Evangelicals all were the victims of religious persecution. Generally, at the hands of another Religious sect.

But there is one universally persecuted class of living beings that have been consistently, unremittingly, and extensively put upon by all religions.

Snakes.

Just the very mention of the word makes many people’s skin (no pun intended) crawl.

The sight of even the most harmless snake can send adults and children alike into panicked flight or overwhelming, and entirely out-of-proportion, response.

Generally always to the detriment of the snake.

For some reason yet undiscovered mythical evil intent and purpose has been attributed to the snake.

Snakes have come to represent the essence of evil temptation.

Eve was coerced by the snake into eating of the Tree of Knowledge (I never understood why the Apple hasn’t retained the same evil connotation).

Interestingly enough, Eve’s prior contact with the snake must have been at worst, benign, or we can only assume she would have either run to Adam, screaming, or taken a stick and beaten the snake to death. Why trust advice from a snake?

But the point being that there is no rest from Religious persecution for the snake. Unless the snake happens to come upon snake neutral Buddhists (who hopefully adhere to their tenants of the sanctity of all life).

Throughout history snakes have always generated fear, hatred, loathing, and in some cases, pretty good recipes.

So while persecution solely on the basis of any religious doctrine is abhorrent (we don’t kill children for believing in Santa Claus for which equally compelling evidence of actual existence as any God or Gods can be found), snakes deserve an apology from all.

It seems random chance in the snake being chosen as the instrument of evil has doomed this amazing species to eternal damnation.

Think about it, snakes have been characterized as evil, vicious, and slimy. But environmentally speaking, they occupy an important and beneficial niche in the world.

Chipmunks, on the other hand, are destructive, prolific, and a nuisance. Everyone thinks they are cute. You know the reason why?

Walt Disney.

If Disney had chosen to make snakes lovable and cute, instead of Chip and Dale, we’d all love them and no religion in the world would dare demean a Disney Character. Well, probably the Westboro Baptist lunatics but that is a whole different matter.

So to all the snakes out there, we owe you an apology.

Slither on!