I am looking for help . . . as I always am when I turn to your discussion board.
After reading the unbelievable news about the bestiality practiced by the governing body, I have been looking for a way to break the news in my local area. I would really like to have the newspaper to pick up the story so it could in turn provoke a discussion with my wife.
I was thinking an opinion / letter to the editor article might help in this respect, and so I wrote one up. I am posting it here to see if anyone has any comments or suggestions.
The Worship of the Seemingly Powerful
Decades ago, people felt that science would completely obliterate modern society’s thoughts about religion. It was generally accepted that people would become more and more cynical about the influence of God in their lives and would accept the ideas behind Darwinism – we are not special because God created us that way, but we are actually special because we are who we are.
However, this flight from religion has not occurred. Instead, we see religious fundamentalism and even cult-like groups arising from even more directions. Whether these groups have always existed and are just now being exposed is beside the point. The important item is that they exist, and they are not being lulled into accepting evolution and man’s concept of man.
When we look at the events of the past few months, we are frightened by the possibilities of people’s actions that result from their belief that they are right. The shocking events of September 11th, the tragic Waco incident as well as lethal attacks in Japan prove my point. Why do these groups decide that they must be so right so as to take the law into their own hands?
It surely cannot be their reading of religious texts. In my life I have never found a religious document that could be clearly read and understood that said ‘Thou shalt take the law of the Lord in thine own hand.’ Rather, religious texts are necessarily oblique and dense simply because their topic (the why of life) is so difficult to bring to light.
However, there does seem to be a common thread among religious and secular extremists. This thread is the existence of strong, authoritarian and unquestionable leaders. These leaders take the opinion of one and then offer it to hundreds, thousands, even millions in order to spread their ‘gospel’. We see Osama Bin Laden attracting young Muslims that perhaps have no better person to turn to and the Taliban taking up his cause. What do the people of Afghanistan think about the Taliban now? Faced with thousands of innocents dead, can they still believe that the Taliban has the right to lead them?
But today’s events are not the only examples of religious leaders and their shameful hypocrisy. True, Osama Bin Laden and his holy war to free people who do not necessarily want his help due to his inhuman practices is a glaring example. However, we see scandals throughout our recent history brought about by overzealous religious leaders. Priests who do not live up to their calling, ministers just seeking money and now an emerging scandal that could rock even one of the most fundamental of fundamental religious groups – Jehovah’s Witnesses.
Faced with decades of disparaging remarks against the League of Nations and the United Nations as a demonic body and one of the telltale signs of impending action by God, they have recently been rocked by allegations concerning their membership in, and therefore allegiance to, that same body of hard-working peacemakers. Does this mean that their religious doctrine is wrong? Not necessarily. What it means is that their spiritual leaders are no different than any others – misguided men who pursue their own objectives, and thus, their authority is questioned.
What is the common thread? People still long to belong to special groups that profess to be the ultimate truth. Perhaps Darwinism will conquer religion; however, will we begin to worship Darwin himself? People long to worship something, and perhaps we need to find something that is worth our time and worship. Maybe we should quest for peace – that all elusive entity that has no religious book dedicated to just it. Why must we worship organizations, people and unknown gods exposed only through cryptic passages? I propose that we worship peace, unquestionably.