Religion Inaction
Religion is a double-edged sword. It can help a person feel settled and secure. Faith in a higher power is reassuring because it convinces the individual that, despite all the bad things that can happen in life, there is something much greater to look forward to. Faith can help keep a person in line, serving to create a guilty conscience when intentions lean towards wrongdoing. And finally, faith can cause people to be nicer to one another, and to do good deeds.
But here's the problem: religion is an institution created by and comprised of humans. When an institution relies on human participation, it is subject to the fallibilities of man: greed, hypocrisy, and even downright evil. It basically is open to the seven deadly sins, just like an individual being. Take for instance the downfall of leader of one of the biggest Evangelical churches, the Rev. Ted Haggard. He admitted buying metamphetamines from a gay masseuse, who claims they had drug-fueled, gay sex. When he was not committing these acts, he was preaching against gay marriage and homosexuality. He exemplifies my point precisely. The Revs. Jim Baker (extortion and adultery) and Jimmy Swaggart (solicited prostitution) fell years before him.
But one does not have to go to the highest leadership of our religious institutions to make this point. What I want to know is, if all these religious organizations in this country are worshipping the same god, why is it that you don't ever hear of inter-faith fellowships, ministries, or simple get-togethers? We have the Church of Jesus Christ, the Chinese Christian churches, the Korean Christian churces, The Japanese-American Christian churches (by the way, I have attended all of these churches), Catholic churches, Presbyterian, Lutheran, Unitarian churches, Bible churches, Mormon churches, "non-denominational" churches, mosques, and so on. From what I can tell, these churches' congregations, despite sharing in common worshipping God, don't even bother to knock on each other's door to say "hello." They don't take field trips together and pray together. They don't join forces to help those who suffer. What does this translate to? To me, it says that church life is more of a sub-culture than it is a body of worship. People go to church to interact with like-minded people. Then they go home.
What I would like to see is leaders of the major churches, including the pope get together and make a joint statement about the millions of people in the world who are suffering from hunger, poverty and oppression. They should fire up their congregations and fulfill their roles as leaders to urge volunteerism, philanthropy, and altruism. Ask this of the public at large, not just church members. Put a rest to the sin and damnation sermons for a minute, and focus energy on the present situation. Focus on similarities between the multitudes of faiths, not the differences. Create unity. Buy television airtime and put out the message on a mass communications scale. This doesn't violate separation of church and state as long as the government doesn't foot the bill. But alas, I do not see this happening. There is a widening divide between the Muslim and Christian faiths not seen since the Crusades, and our religious leaders are strangely silent. It just proves my point that religion is not what it is made out to be.
So, as long as religious institutions fail to do their jobs, my advice is NOT to discredit faith or abandon the belief in God; but rather, worship and practice your faith on your own, in private. Keep faith that good will prevail over evil. Be wary of false prophets, including clergy members. Look within to find goodness; do your part in spreading it. Say a prayer, and mean it.
But here's the problem: religion is an institution created by and comprised of humans. When an institution relies on human participation, it is subject to the fallibilities of man: greed, hypocrisy, and even downright evil. It basically is open to the seven deadly sins, just like an individual being. Take for instance the downfall of leader of one of the biggest Evangelical churches, the Rev. Ted Haggard. He admitted buying metamphetamines from a gay masseuse, who claims they had drug-fueled, gay sex. When he was not committing these acts, he was preaching against gay marriage and homosexuality. He exemplifies my point precisely. The Revs. Jim Baker (extortion and adultery) and Jimmy Swaggart (solicited prostitution) fell years before him.
But one does not have to go to the highest leadership of our religious institutions to make this point. What I want to know is, if all these religious organizations in this country are worshipping the same god, why is it that you don't ever hear of inter-faith fellowships, ministries, or simple get-togethers? We have the Church of Jesus Christ, the Chinese Christian churches, the Korean Christian churces, The Japanese-American Christian churches (by the way, I have attended all of these churches), Catholic churches, Presbyterian, Lutheran, Unitarian churches, Bible churches, Mormon churches, "non-denominational" churches, mosques, and so on. From what I can tell, these churches' congregations, despite sharing in common worshipping God, don't even bother to knock on each other's door to say "hello." They don't take field trips together and pray together. They don't join forces to help those who suffer. What does this translate to? To me, it says that church life is more of a sub-culture than it is a body of worship. People go to church to interact with like-minded people. Then they go home.
What I would like to see is leaders of the major churches, including the pope get together and make a joint statement about the millions of people in the world who are suffering from hunger, poverty and oppression. They should fire up their congregations and fulfill their roles as leaders to urge volunteerism, philanthropy, and altruism. Ask this of the public at large, not just church members. Put a rest to the sin and damnation sermons for a minute, and focus energy on the present situation. Focus on similarities between the multitudes of faiths, not the differences. Create unity. Buy television airtime and put out the message on a mass communications scale. This doesn't violate separation of church and state as long as the government doesn't foot the bill. But alas, I do not see this happening. There is a widening divide between the Muslim and Christian faiths not seen since the Crusades, and our religious leaders are strangely silent. It just proves my point that religion is not what it is made out to be.
So, as long as religious institutions fail to do their jobs, my advice is NOT to discredit faith or abandon the belief in God; but rather, worship and practice your faith on your own, in private. Keep faith that good will prevail over evil. Be wary of false prophets, including clergy members. Look within to find goodness; do your part in spreading it. Say a prayer, and mean it.
posted by The Pragmatist | 8:42 PM
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