The Problem With Religion
Deborah Venable
08/23/10
Let’s
see if we can complete this little exercise, shall we? The goal is to take a very broad subject,
religion, and whittle it down to laser focus on “the” problem with it. Sounds daunting enough, huh?
This web page takes on the multiple problems with simply
trying to define the term, religion.
This is done in a very succinct way, so I encourage you to take a look
at this one page attempt at definition.
You will see instantly that there is really no consensus in defining the
very word, religion.
Karl
Marx once said that religion is the “opium of the people.” Of course if you know anything about Marx,
then you know that he had very little regard for people, no matter how he tried
to spin his philosophy, to come up with totalitarian control of people. Many have said that communism is indeed an
example of religion. Ironic, huh?
Some
great minds, (in attempting to answer the question of what is religion?) have
actually postulated another “which came first” theory – the chicken or the
egg? Did man invent it to explain the
unexplainable or is religion the supernatural explanation for all man’s
questions about what he doesn’t understand?
Well, I’ve always come down on the side of the chicken, and in total
alignment with that – God to answer such which came first questions. But that’s just me.
Many
people make the mistake of trying to skirt the whole issue of religion as
completely unimportant in their lives, therefore irrelevant in the much more
important scheme of things. They had
much rather worship at the altar of science (totally explainable) than even
admit that there are things that may never be explained by man. In other words, we can be free from the
whole concept of religion if we only rely on what our senses tell us. We make and follow our own laws, and thus we
adhere only to that which is explainable.
The
truth is that in our country we are allowed to choose what and how and even if
we want to worship. At least that is
how the country was set up. The problem
is that this choice has been compromised.
Recently,
you might have heard a big hubbub about the difference between freedom of
religion and freedom of worship. Our
Constitution distinctly protects one but not necessarily the other, however,
our president and members of his cabinet went on record trying to meld the two
to mean the same thing. I have a
problem buying into the stated differences between being free to worship and
being free to choose and express a religion.
I think a very important point is being missed. Freedom of worship is simply a “don’t ask,
don’t tell” version of religious freedom.
By that, I mean it is only meant to limit proselytizing - in the
broadest sense of the word of course.
I
see this as just one more roadblock to individualism and a detour into a
collectivist mindset that is much more controllable. Some may say that this is a step in the right direction to try to
control the growing threat of Islamic domination in America. Let them know they can have their mosques
and pray in them, but they can’t take it to the streets. That certainly isn’t what we see in reality
though, is it? Any individual or group
of individuals that may try to point out the inconsistencies will find
themselves in immediate danger of restrictions on their freedom of religion. Ask any Christian who tries it.
Political
correctness is the new religion that seeks to dominate and control all the
others. It has no walls that confine
its worship and it tolerates no opposing view.
Further, it does not allow for individual thought or expression. The real proselytizing on that one has
already been very effectively carried out, wouldn’t you say?
The
American people have spoken volumes lately in an attempt to right the sinking
ship that is a “free” country. For their
trouble, they have been castigated, their character impugned, their religion
maligned, and their voices all but ignored by the all-powerful government
elitists from all three branches.
How
is this possible in a Constitutional Republic that emphasizes a democracy
component? Simply because the religion
of political correctness is running the show, quashing the debate,
compartmentalizing the issues into a tight little box called, religious
bigotry. That shuts down reason and
common sense of so many arguments. If
your reasons for speaking out against such things as changing the meaning of
marriage to include aberrant relationships, defining abortion as murder, or
shining the light on the destructive nature of Islamic law in a Christian
nation can be packaged and sold as religious bigotry, your argument is moot in
the eyes of political correctness.
Perhaps,
then, this is the arrow that has landed in the heart of religious freedom. Unless everyone is “free” to base their
political opinions on their most personal beliefs, discuss these opinions
freely without fear of ungrounded ridicule, and recall the facts of our history
– that, indeed, the Founders actively sought Divine guidance in their efforts
to establish the greatest nation on earth, religious freedom is already dead
and buried.
Freedom
in all other things human will not be far behind.
The
underlying message in this attempt to find “the” problem with religion is
this: If you think of yourself as
Christian, you do not have the luxury to deny your faith behind false walls of
political correctness. This is done all
the time with such viewpoints as “libertarian” or “social liberalism” and many
Christians have become quite comfortable in doing so. They will staunchly defend a “fiscal conservative” viewpoint and
hang the social issues out to dry. They
do not even recognize that they are actually feeding the monster that is
devouring religious freedom.
Once
the void caused by the absence of religious freedom in this country is large
enough, you can rest assured that it will be filled. Whether it be the creeping evil of Sharia Law, the imposing
tyranny of international law, or the unrestrained exercise of paganism, you can
rest assured that none of them will facilitate individual freedom in any way akin
to Americanism. The problem with
religion is personal – the absence of it is collectively impossible.