Tag: religion

Changing My Religion

Roger MitchellLeave a comment

Sacrifice for the benefit of others must be willing. If it is not willing, then it is not sacrifice, but coerced. Ask yourself, did the goats and bulls slaughtered in the ancient Hebrew religion volunteer themselves or were their throats cut and their blood shed without their permission?

“ Doubt is the origin of wisdom.” — Rene Descartes, ‘Meditations on First Philosophy’

In the movie, The Three Musketeers, the lovely, voluptuous, and decidedly evil character of Milady De Winter, played by Rebecca de Mornay, made a comment which, I believe, is far deeper in meaning than what seems to be the driving force of the moment. At a time when Cardinal Richelieu (Tim Curry) tried to proposition her with the threat that he could destroy her with a snap of his fingers, she countered by sticking the point of a dagger into his gut and replied,

“With a flick of my wrist, I can change your religion.”

In other words, according to this, one’s religion is based on circumstances, which, in our current economic, political, and philosophical climate may not be far from the truth. But, that’s another story.

I am not a dogmatic, stubborn, emotional believer in anything. I question everything and reject what doesn’t hold up as logical and reasonable. I have no problem at all with discarding something I once thought true if, after consideration, I found it to be rationally inconsistent with the basic premise of the argument. Religion is, after all, nothing more than a belief in a specific theological philosophy which seeks to explain the meaning of life, death, good, and evil, and raises one or more entities and law systems to the position of sovereign, over and above all others. All religions, including Christianity, are cut from this cloth and deserve, in my opinion, to be scrutinized closely to find the flaws and inconsistencies of the narrative which is supposedly “The Truth”.

End of argument. Except that it’s not.

A few months ago, I posted an article in which I said that I was having serious trouble with recognizing that a violent, bloody sacrifice was necessary to mollify God and to provide sufficient “payment” for my sins so that the Gates of Heaven could be opened to me forever and ever. I find it disturbing that one of the most brutal, murderous, and blood-thirsty “gods” of history, Yahweh, is still worshipped in a cleaner, more sanitized version of religion by the hundreds of millions of Christians who inherited their religion from the Hebrew Jewish tradition. In addition, not only do Christians, by and large, fervently support the notion of blood sacrifice as payment for sins, but many of them also fervently support the actions of the brutal, murderous and blood-thirsty State of Israel which claims that it, and it alone, has the God-given promise of being the “chosen people”, which means they think they can get away with anything and their Christian sycophants allow them to.

I was brought into this world against astronomical odds. It is staggering that I (or you) were even conceived. One specific sexual union between my father and mother, at one specific time, with 300 million sperm cells all competing to enter into one specific ovum, and only the one which actually “won” created the specific individual that I am. If this had varied by an infinitesimal amount, if another sperm had penetrated the egg cell wall before my own did, then I would not be here, but my brother or sister would. If my parents had not engaged in sex on that particular day, none of this would have happened.

To put it bluntly, life itself is a chance encounter. Should I be found guilty before God because I was conceived in a manner over which I had no control and which can be attributed entirely to chance, simply because Jewish and Christian tradition and teaching promote the idea that all of the sinfulness of humanity is derived from a decision by the first two people, Adam and Eve, who made the wrong decision, thereby condemning the rest of their descendants to a lifetime of misery and an eternity of torture? All because they made a poor choice?

That is a peripheral argument and does not play into my present dilemma, so I will say nothing more about it. What I am really struggling with is the idea that I must have, MUST HAVE, some entity, animal or human, killed in a bloody, violent manner to atone for my own personal failings and flaws, so that God will be satisfied with the “payment” and my relationship with God can be restored. This is what MUST HAPPEN according to the accepted and cherished beliefs of most of those who call themselves Christian.

I am going to go out on a limb and saw it off!

I have come to the understanding that this is bullshit. It is nothing more than an extension of an ancient religion which taught that God, whatever or whoever God was or is, can be placated and bought off by the destruction of a part of His creation and, as a consequence, will extend mercy and forgiveness to those who are attempting to purchase a “Get out of jail free” card. Since I have gone this far and see no good reason to recant and confess my unbelief, I might as well go all the way. Christianity, at least the way it has been taught for millennia, has always been based on fear. People live in panic-driven fear that they will “go to Hell” if they do not accept the premise of the faith, being that God, Yahweh, basks in the “sweet savor and aroma” of spilled blood to show humanity that they are incapable of attaining righteousness on their own.

Well, that last part, at least, is true. I cannot become righteous in my own efforts, even by religiously obeying the commandments laid down to the extreme jot and tittle. There is no doubt in my mind that I am imperfect, flawed, mistake-prone, and, yes, sinful, to use the term as a descriptor of the distance between myself and the perfection of God. But this is where the Spirit of God comes into play–teaching, showing, persuading, influencing my daily thoughts, decisions, words, and actions to bring me closer and closer to the ultimate ideal of godliness, holiness, and righteousness. What I have to do is admit my own failings, confess my own need for assistance and guidance, and accept that God, Who loves me, will enable me to emulate and experience His nature while I am on this planet.

“He has shown you, O man, what is good: And what does the Lord require of you, but to do justice, and to love mercy, and to walk humbly with your God.” (Micah 6:8)

You can’t beat something with nothing.

Certainly, the Christian belief in the atoning death of Jesus is something and I do not discount that at all. Not the least bit. The issue here stems from the belief that it was necessary to restore man’s relationship with God, Who demanded that something or someone die to compensate for man’s sins, and that this death be violent and bloody. I do not accept that any more, therefore, it is incumbent on me to produce something better and it is my intention to do so. I do not expect to cover this in one singular posting and I still do not have a firm grasp on the concept myself. It is a work in progress, compared, Biblically speaking, to the beginning of labor pains and the “child” which is birthed from it may be beautiful or it may be a monster akin to the Hunchback of Notre Dame. I simply do not know, but I have to push, push, push, anyway, no matter the pain of the moment.

The End of a Bloody Religion: Burn Me at the Stake!

Roger Mitchell4 Comments

Previous civilizations often understood history as cyclical, unstable, and prone to sudden reversal. Empires rose and fell. Religious systems fragmented. Political orders disintegrated. Periods of stability often concealed exhaustion beneath the surface. Historical permanence was generally viewed with caution rather than with certainty. — https://unbekoming.substack.com/p/the-speed-of-historical-reversals

Religious systems fragmented. If mankind is able to make it through another two thousand years without destroying himself and his world, what will history say about Christianity? Will Christianity even exist in the form we know it today? I find that doubtful.

What I am writing here is controversial and many will immediately, emotionally, and instinctively recoil because I am seriously questioning the religious system which I was born into and have always been a part of. Well, that was then, this is now, and I cannot close my eyes to what is unfolding in front of me just because my parents taught any one certain doctrine or because it goes against the grain of accepted belief. 

"With what shall I come before the Lord,
And bow myself before the High God?
Shall I come before Him with burnt offerings, 
With calves a year old?
Will the Lord be pleased with thousands of rams,
Ten thousand rivers of oil? 
Shall I give my firstborn for my transgression,
The fruit of my body for the sin of my soul?"

"He has shown you, O man, what is good;
And what does the Lord require of you
But to do justly, 
To love mercy, 
And to walk humbly with your God?"

Micah 6:6-8

Tension. Decision time. One way or another. Either we try to buy our way out of jail or we simply follow the example set before us.

“However, truth will out in the long run,…” — from the next-to-last paragraph in Douglas Reed’s book, The Controversy of Zion, Chapter two.

I got through about three-quarters of Reed’s book, then put it down for some reason without finishing it, but am going to pick it up again and complete it. However, since I have forgotten most of what was previously read, I will have to start at the beginning, taking better notes this time. No doubt the second reading will reinforce the “heretical” thoughts which are roiling around in my mind, beginning with this one.

If, as Reed contends, the Judaic religion stems from the Levitical priesthood and the practice of blood sacrifice as compensation for sins and, since Christianity is based on that religion, doesn’t this make the belief that Jesus Christ, as the ultimate blood sacrifice, little more than an extension of the ancient Hebrew religion? Does this fact make it suspect and are we allowed to argue whether it is true or not? It is, after all, a belief which cannot be proven nor disproven.1 If God “desires mercy and not sacrifice, and the knowledge of God more than burnt offerings…”, then wouldn’t this negate the idea that sinful man still needs to go through a more-sanitized, more-spiritualized, more modern and genteel ritual in order to be “saved”? Why do I need to bow down to a bloody, religiously-formed doctrine as “payment” for my sins to a God Who also proclaimed through the Scriptures,

“Dear friends, let us love one another, for love comes from God. Everyone who loves has been born of God and knows God. Whoever does not love does not know God, because God is love.” — 1 John 4:7-82

It’s pretty hard to get past that statement that everyone who loves is born of God and knows God. Well, isn’t it?

I admit to my God, to myself, and to one and all that I am flawed. I am not perfect. I have my failings. Yet, I recognize that my imperfections can be worked out and overcome IF I rely on the power of the Holy Spirit to enable me AND I follow the path shown by Jesus the Christ who surrendered His own will to that of the Father. Is it an absolute necessity that my sins be washed away in a torrent of warm, oxygen-rich blood for me to gain a ticket to heaven? Hasn’t this Levitical/Judahite/Pharisaical religion of law been superseded by a better way? Can I move beyond that and acknowledge that the true way to total communion with God, Who is love, is to love my neighbor as I love myself? Love my neighbor and my enemy at least as much as I love myself. (Galatians 5:14)

Heretical? You bet. There are many, some close to me, who would tell me emphatically that, if I do not abandon these thoughts and hew to the “party” line, then I am on my way to Hell without any chance of forgiveness. However, in that, all they can do is parrot the idea that a blood sacrifice MUST be presented on my behalf and that I MUST accept it as truth.

Who is right? As Reed mentioned, the truth will out in the long run. All I can do is pursue it wherever it leads. Or, to paraphrase Ecclesiastes 12:12, on the asking of questions, there is no end. Since we do not have all the answers, but are encouraged to know God, Who is omniscient and does have the answers, I sincerely doubt that God will destroy me for asking questions. Instead, I expect that He will be more than willing to help me overcome my ignorance.

“You shall know the truth and the truth will set you free.” — Jesus Christ, quoted in John 8:32

I began thinking about this some six or eight months ago. In my whole lifetime, even in my early years, I have never been comfortable with the religious doctrine that God requires the blood of an innocent (whether person or animal) be spilled as a vicarious payment for the condition I was born into without a choice. After 67 years of searching and learning, I am just about ready to drop it entirely. However, I am still working this over, trying to make sense of it reasonably. Where will it take me? I do not know and, in this, I am taking the tack that God will lead me to the truth on the path ahead, in spite of the murkiness and darkness. My faith in His goodness is not at question nor wavering, but is actually stronger than ever, and I have no doubt that He will guide me through to the end because His main attribute, from which everything else originates, is love. Pure, uncompromising love which I am slowly coming to grips with and it is that understanding which is setting me free. And, unlike the devil, I am learning gratitude, real and honest gratitude, that I have been kept relatively safe for long enough to learn what that love means.

“My best feelings, gratitude, for example, are formally forbidden solely because of my social position.” ― Fyodor Dostoyevsky, The Brothers Karamazov

Am I to be condemned? Well, according to some people who may have never had an original thought in their life, absolutely! However, I am quite glad that my future and eternity rests, not on a religious acceptance of what MIGHT be a flawed doctrine, but entirely on the judgment and mercy of the real Supreme Court, to which I will eventually be haled in front of and ordered to present my case.

I am at peace.

  1. In this respect, all religions, including Christianity, are like science which is never completely settled, but is always questioning and pushing beyond the traditionally accepted boundaries. We saw this in the Era of Covid where the “science of true belief” was propagated and extolled over the reality of truth. In discussing the issue with one of my erstwhile friends who constantly pitched the “fact” that 97% of all scientists were in agreement, I made the comment that, “Correlation does not equal causation. Neither does consensus.” Just because everyone believes something does not make it true. See Galileo and the theory that the sun revolves around the earth, for example. Athanasius contra mundum, for another. And this–https://poorrogersalmanac.com/2021/06/21/the-science-of-true-belief/ ↩︎
  2. This brings up the question that has never been adequately answered, in my opinion. What about all those people who have been born and died, and are destined to Hell because they never heard about the sacrifice that Jesus made for them and have never been given the opportunity to accept it as payment for their sins? More on this later. ↩︎

A Potential Blessing from Hurricane Helene

Roger MitchellLeave a comment

Faith in government is a religion.

Since the birth of the nation-state, at the least, and the Enlightenment, many people have sought after and promoted the idea that government (State) is the highest form of authority and power. They have attempted to build systems to bring everyone into the system, which would become all-encompassing or to dispossess and destroy those who refused to bow before that authority. The Soviet Union (1917-1989) is the premier example of such a system.

Religion is inevitable. Everyone has a religion, even those deluded souls who claim that they don’t, because religion is nothing more than a belief system which informs and directs a lifestyle. Everyone believes in something and, at the very apex of that belief is something (someone) which is viewed as the most supreme. God, in other words. Those who believed (many still do) in the Soviet Union’s Marxist principles held it up as the highest pinnacle of achievement that man could reach. The total State was to become everything and everything was to become the State’s property.

In the United States, government has been constantly growing ever since the birth of the nation in 1787, when the Constitution was signed after a successful rebellion against the Crown of Britain. Americans, of all stripes, have continuously advocated for, worked for, voted for, and accepted a government which could become all things to all people. Today, of course, after nearly 250 years of incessant grasping for power, the US government has become a monstrosity which threatens to out-do the now-defunct Soviet Union. It has, for want of a better description, nearly achieved the status of God in the eyes of its followers, adherents, and groupies.

Circumstances, however, have a way of destroying people’s faith in government. For instance, in the aftermath of Hurricane Helene, which devastated much of the southeast, especially in the rural areas of Appalachia, there have emerged reports that the federal government is actively blocking and prohibiting private endeavors from helping and assisting those hardest-hit. Many have lost everything they owned. Many more are literally without food or good water, yet FEMA, the federal agency tasked with working to restore society after a disaster occurs, has admitted that it is broke, out of money, and unable to perform its tasks and responsibilities.

Broke! With the modern ability to move a decimal point on a computer screen, push a button, and inject trillions of dollars into the economy on a whim, how can FEMA be broke? The obvious answer is that the money is available, but the powers-that-be have decided not to use it. In this situation, the real intent is not just to ignore the plight of those harmed, but to actively and deliberately destroy any and all opposing forces, however small, which would seek to take action on their own—WITHOUT the blessing of the State. This is a deliberate attempt to eliminate competition to the State and to force everyone to become totally dependent on the State.

The State gives and the State takes away. Blessed be the Name of the State!

The major problem with this is that the blatant contempt which is shown causes individual people to change the way they view government. People used to see government as “good” and necessary to the smooth functioning of society, but that attitude is rapidly changing and the response to Helene has probably given it a huge push forward. Those in Appalachia who clamored for decades for government “assistance” when they didn’t need it are now finding out that it is nowhere to be found when they are desperate.

Civil government is losing the trust of its citizens and with that loss, its authority to rule. Trust in anything must be built up over time and is based on the perception of reliability, but if it is once lost, it is almost never regained and the whole relationship changes. What was once given freely will now be withheld. Governments collapse and disappear because of the widespread loss of trust its citizens give it and it is quite possible that this one will not survive. Hurricane Helene may be the straw that breaks the camel’s back. If so, it will be seen in history. If not, it has added measurably to the load.

Who do people turn to now? When it is evident that their god has failed them, they change their religion. Many people will transfer their trust and faith in government and the State to some other authority which will be someone they are at least somewhat familiar with—Jesus Christ. This is, after all, the Bible Belt. They will take this message to heart:

“IF My people who are called by My name will humble themselves, and pray and seek My face, AND turn from their wicked ways, then I will hear from heaven, and will forgive their sin and heal their land.” — 2nd Chronicles 7:14, emphasis mine.

This is a conditional promise. If, then. Time will tell what happens in the hearts and minds of men and history will record the result.