If anyone says the word “church,” the first concept that comes into our heads is that this is a group of people who are pious, respectful, humble, moral, hard-working, and stellar members of their communities. We get the idea that they all meet together at one place to hone their humility and morality. They are people to be respected. We wonder how we would remain a moral society without our churches and our ministers to remind us to behave, and reflect on age-old principles of good conduct. We are proud of our society because we are a society of churches. Our country was founded on the principle of freedom of religion. The best society, we believe, is a religious society. We feel good about ourselves when we belong to a church and regularly communicate with other people who have our same moral values. It keeps us leading a good life and keeps us from sinful acts. We suspect that any society which does not have many churches is probably not a highly moral society.
Well, maybe. We believe it is true that most of the above things can be said about churches with honesty. We believe it is a great blessing to associate with any group in which moral values are stressed. We believe that freedom of religion should remain part of the Bill of Rights. We are grateful to live in a nation which stresses morality in its churches and other institutions. We do not wish to denigrate in any way these church values. But there are two sides to every coin, and the other side of churches is pretty dark and sinister. After looking at that dark side, one has to wonder if we would not be better off without churches completely. We do not advocate such; but it certainly does make us wonder.
Sadly, the history of the church is pretty evil. The early churches were congregations of men and women who joined together for mutual support and to explore the mystery of life, and the mystery of their existence. There was a lot they simply did not understand. They came seeking guidance in this sometimes punishing world of demands, disease, loss, disasters, back-breaking labor, heart rending loss, and unending injustice. They found solace in numbers, and guidance for life. When they had no other place to meet, they met by the river. Then came the priests. They fought for power; they fought for any means of establishing control over the people. The early Christian church was a hotbed of intrigue, slander and forgery. Faction fought against faction, until all of the gnostic gospels were thrown out by the Nicean Council. They were probably a more accurate reflection of Jesus’ teaching and thoughts than any other documents, but were discarded by the priests because those documents did not reflect their political agenda. Their primary goal was to establish control over the population, and allow access to “the kingdom of heaven” only through them. If parts of the gospels did not meet their political needs, they added to them or changed them to meet their political agenda. Not much has changed in politics, has it?
The subsequent history of the church has been dismal and much of it atrocious. The stoning to death of non-believers, the tortures of the inquisitions, the crusades and the massacres of innocents, the abject poverty of millions in order to pay into the wealth of the church, the horror of burning innocents at the stake, the witch hunts, the bombing of protestants against catholics, the bombing of Jews against Muslims, the bombing and hatred of Muslims against Christians, the bombing of Christians against Muslims, the sexual perversion of priests against innocent young boys have all followed. And it is not just that. It is the acquiescence of the church with whatever malevolence their government wishes to follow at that time. For an institution that professes to be moral, the churches are not only dismal failures, but examples of total impotence when faced with evil.
And unfortunately, there is more. We have observed that whenever any church has to decide between moral values and property rights, they always choose property rights. We have observed churches denying access to a children’s preschool program, because it might increase their insurance costs. We have observed churches buying up expensive property next door to have a few more parking spaces at exorbitant costs, when there were other great crying needs in their communities. We have seen churches preach about supporting wars when that war is blatantly unjust. We have seen churches do whatever it takes to survive, even though the ways they have done so have completely avoided any moral needs of their communities. In short, churches have been evil, morally bankrupt and impotent, in various combinations at various times.
We have this concept that religion and morality are one and the same. What a mistake. Religion is a set of beliefs in myths that cannot be otherwise substantiated by scientific fact. Morality is a set of beliefs that this is the best way we can behave if we as humans are to survive and be able to live together in harmony. We have no quarrel with religion. Every person should be able to have his or her own beliefs. One of the fascinating aspects of life is being able to compare one belief system to any other and see what comes out. We should mutually respect and protect each other’s belief systems. And it is true that moral systems are an integral part of a healthy society. Having said that, why do we have churches? Is it only for the glorification of rabbis, priests, ministers, and mullahs? Is it only to protect the property rights of those churches? Is it only to have a place to go to on Sunday so we can feel smug about our morality? Is it a place we go to in order to find justification for our inhumane acts against other humans? We vainly hope not, but suspect that much of this is so. We wonder when those churches that exist will consistently practice the examples of Jesus rather than consistently protect their property rights.
Jesus rebelled against the church of his day. He found it corrupt, aloof, pompous, bigoted and alienated from the needs of the people. If we want to follow the example of Jesus, we will rebel against the churches of our day, until they become more interested in morals than in property rights.
“In every country and in every age, the priest has been hostile to liberty. He is always in alliance with the despot, abetting his abuses in return for protection of his own.”
– Thomas Jefferson
“I have never united myself to any church, because I could not give consent to the long complicated statements of Christian doctrine and dogma which characterize their articles of belief. When any church will prescribe over its altar…as the sole qualification for membership, only the Great Commandment to love God and neighbor, that church will I join.”
– Abraham Lincoln
“What influence in fact have Christian ecclesiastical establishments had on society? In many instances they have been upholding the throes of political tyranny. In no instance have they been seen as the guardians of the liberties of the people. Rulers who wished to subvert the public liberty have found in the clergy convenient auxiliaries. Just government, instituted to secure and perpetuate liberty, does not need the clergy.”
– James Madison