It’s been a nasty ride so far this year. We began with the common myths of Judaism, Christianity and Islam, then discussed how each of those religions has added their own myths on top, to establish their individuality. We talked about why religion seems to be one of the necessities of human life and how this has become entwined with our sense of right and wrong. We explored how this value system, based on religious myths, has developed false directions. We examined the bipolarity of our religions, and how their punitive poles have become dominant in our world today, We looked at the violent expression of that religious intolerance in our one world, as we have all been thrown together in juxtaposition. We remarked at how senseless that violence is, since it is us, as a human species, trying to survive in a universe which doesn’t care. We exposed the chilling consequences of entering an era in which an enlarging number of nations have access to atomic warfare. We have wondered how much longer it will be before the apocalypse hits.
Surely there must be a better answer than that of seeing mushroom clouds sprout over the face of the planet Earth, followed by deadly radiation, raining down upon those remaining humans. Surely there must be some way we can prevent the impending demise of the human species and the beginning of the cockroach era. If we are intelligent enough to create these weapons of mass destruction, we must also be intelligent enough to figure out how to use that power for peaceful purposes, rather than use it to commit suicide. If we are able to show love for our children and feel empathy for other humans who are suffering, there must be a way to bring those qualities of kindness and understanding to the fore, rather than those qualities of belligerence and jealousy we are now advertising. Surely it must be time to come to the realization that our value systems need a different base, and need a different direction.
There appear to be at least two different ways we need to redefine our misdirected morals. The first is to realize that our religious beliefs are myths and not facts. It is greatly comforting to think that we were put here on earth for a purpose, that we are partly divine, that we can communicate with our Creator, and that we will live forever in peace and happiness. This panacea for all human suffering has brought some measure of acceptance to all those are in pain, tortured, deprived and heavily laden. It would have been difficult for many to continue their troubled and painful lives without these comforting myths. They have, in that sense, served their purpose well.
Unfortunately, they also lead us badly astray. The best evidence we have is that life began by chance, and that human life has evolved through a process of natural selection, without a plan or a purpose. It is impossible for us to look like the Creator of the entire universe. We are not highly important creatures who were given charge over all the universe. We are so insignificant a part of the universe, it cannot be measured mathematically. We have no evidence that there is any life after this life. Whatever good or evil we accomplish while we are here is all that will live after us, and nothing else. We make terrible decisions as to other humans when we are driven by these religious myths, which promise a grand purpose, partial divinity, superior beings in control of the entire known world, and an everlasting life of pleasure. We can make rational and loving decisions about each other only when we realize we are insignificant, all fighting together for survival in the universe, and highly mortal.
The other major change we need to take in our human morals is to understand that we are all different. There are no two humans who are exactly alike. Likewise, there are no two humans who have exactly the same beliefs. We each have different genetics, different experiences in life, different ages, different societies, and each of us has sorted through all the events in our lives to figure our how we can best dealt with those threats to our survival. Granted, there are often a base set of beliefs that are shared by thousands and millions. Dig far enough, however, and each of us has a different faith. That individuality should be respected. We should each be allowed to carry that faith which best sustains us. None of us should be forced to believe certain myths, or be punished for our faith by dispossession, imprisonment, torture, dismembering or death. None of us should claim to have the only correct answers to life’s dilemmas. Each religion should be willing to say of any other religion, “Your stories are as good as our stories. We respect your myths and ask you to do the same for us. Each of us should take comfort in each other’s faiths, rather than fight about them. We are at all times willing to share what is Holy to us with what is Holy to you. We need to emphasize our morals, and not demand allegiance to our myths, when we deal with you.”
Thomas Paine, Thomas Jefferson, John Adams and George Washington understood this moral need all too clearly. Their writings unequivocally state their realization that they could not allow any religion to have any part in a democracy and expect it to survive. They specifically found Christianity to be a bigoted, misdirected religion, which had no place in American democracy. Our executive, senatorial and congressional leaders have lost this high degree of enlightenment. They have led us into a devastating war on the basis of darkly misguided religious myths. Muslims and Israelis commit violent acts against each other on the basis of deeply intolerant religious myths. We are coming to the brink of nuclear war because we adhere to the intolerant punishments of our religions, rather than emphasizing their morals.
We have lost our way. We appear to need our religions. The only way we can keep them healthy, however, is to not only have freedom of religion, but to also have freedom from religion.