This week, surprisingly, I went to church. There was a time you could have found me in church, but it’s typically not a place for me anymore.
On this particular Friday night, I was invited by my friend Ryan for an Arabic food dinner, and though the church is a Protestant one, my understanding was this was supposed to be some sort of celebration for Ramadan. Ramadan is the Islamic month of fasting, and Muslims practice self-restraint, extra time in prayer and concentration on spirituality.
How Christians Celebrate Ramadan
Free food had attracted a rather diverse group of folks, and I’m fairly certain I wasn’t the only one there who’s not a normal churchgoer. I thought, hey, this is typically a pretty progressive, cool community of Christians, and hey, how cool of them to get together to talk about what this important religious holiday means for another faith community.
Someone, apparently not the normal pastor, stood up in front of the group and started off telling us about how deep a Muslim’s faith runs. The call to prayer, about God’s greatness and how Muhammad is his messenger, is the first thing that a father says to his newborn child and the last thing people recite over your body before they put you six feet under. It can be heard five times a day being chanted from every mosque across the globe. I give them great props for how central they make that in their lives. (Actually for folks who believe in a supreme being, I think Christians could learn a thing or two from many of those ceremonial practices.)
Then the propaganda leaflets started coming out. The speaker started talking about how much of a “foothold” this gives the Islamic religion in people’s lives. And how only we can save them and show them the light. Alright, I thought, so this is how this is gonna go. Y’all are gonna rag on Muslims, talk about how they’re wrong, and then have the gall to eat their food! And that is how you celebrate another culture’s great tradition.
After listening to about one minute and fifteen seconds of this, I stood up and dismissed myself. Although I don’t think my friends share the same sentiment as the group leader that night, I later related to them:
The word Muslim means “servant of God.” They believe in the same damned god as Christians and Jews. Asking them to give up something that is so central in their culture and their identities is akin to asking someone to change the color of their skin. That’s not my idea of a celebration of Ramadan, and it’s certainly not a celebration of any of the extensive shared heritage of these two belief systems.
Most people are ignorant and uninformed (or misinformed) when it comes to other religions. I think it would behoove Christians to learn more about the facts about Jesus’ role in Islam. His name, ‘Īsā, is found 25 times in the Qur’an.
Herman Roborgh, PhD in Islamic Studies, in an article on the paradoxes of Christianity and Islam, states:
Christians and Muslims regard their own faith as the true way yet also affirm the truth of other paths.
It is clear that, for Christians, Christ is the Way to God. Yet Jesus is also presented as saying, ‘many will come from the east and the west to take their places with Abraham’. The Catholic Church acknowledges that those outside the community of the Church can attain salvation, thereby recognising the value of other paths to God.
Similarly, the Qur’an says that God has chosen Islam as the true religion: ‘Today I have perfected your religion for you, completed my blessing upon you, and chosen as your religion Islam.’ But the Qur’an also acknowledges the faith of those outside the community of Muslims: ‘The (Muslim) believers, the Jews, the Christians, and the Sabians—all those who believe in God and the Last Day and do good—will have their rewards with the Lord.’
We Need to Find Common Ground
I spent my time at university studying religions, history and humanities: comparing the fundamentals of Theravada Buddhism (prevalent throughout Southeast Asia) and Christianity, Qur’anic schools of jurisprudence, Calvinist and Catholic theology, orthodox Christian dogma versus liberal Biblical criticism. For my senior thesis, I wrote a historiography of Dead Sea Scrolls scholarship and examined how those manuscripts have impacted the study of rabbinic Judaism and early Christianity.
I was always looking for commonalities, but it still seems that the loudest voices in every religious community are always shouting and bickering about differences.
Sam Harris, a leading atheist and author of The End of Faith, says that people must embrace rationalism, not faith—otherwise they will never overcome their differences:
On the subject of religious belief, we relax standards of reasonableness and evidence that we rely on in every other area of our lives. We relax so totally that people believe the most ludicrous propositions, and are willing to organize their lives around them. Propositions like ‘Jesus is going to come back in the next fifty years and rectify every problem that human beings create’—or, in the Muslim world, ‘death in the right circumstances leads directly to Paradise.’ These beliefs are not very contaminated with good evidence.
[…] this whole style of believing and talking about beliefs leaves us powerless to overcome our differences from one another. We have Christians against Muslims against Jews, and no matter how liberal your theology, merely identifying yourself as a Christian or a Jew lends tacit validity to this status quo. People have morally identified with a subset of humanity rather than with humanity as a whole.
[…] Unless we can erode the prestige of that kind of thinking, we’re not going to be able to undermine these divisions in our world. [Emphasis added]
Religion is responsible for a majority of the wars, genocides, and other atrocities that have befallen us throughout all of human history.
We are still doing the same thing. We think we’re so advanced, so evolved. But we haven’t learned a damned thing from thousands of years of history. When are we going to grow the hell up?
Steve Pavlina, a trusted authority in the blogosphere and personal development circles, says that we must graduate from Christianity:
To its credit Christianity does a decent job of stressing the importance of Love. Jesus’ teachings are all about unconditional love. “Love your neighbor as yourself.” “Turn the other cheek.” Those are worthy messages. Unfortunately the Church doesn’t do a good job of modeling this ideal in practice. It encourages separation between Christians and non-Christians. It creates division instead of promoting unity. You’re either saved or you’re not. Many Christians are raised to be rather unloving toward non-Christians, including the priests themselves. That is unfortunate because this is not at all what Jesus taught.
Christianity does a poor job of embracing Truth. It claims to value honesty and it does promote some degree of self-awareness, but that’s about it. Beyond that it markets a variety of fictional stories as indisputable truth. It doesn’t teach people to accurately interpret and accept what their senses tell them. And it largely ignores the importance of prediction. The lack of Truth-alignment is why many Christians find this belief system largely unhelpful in their day-to-day practical lives. So they’re Christians on Sundays but not on weekdays. Because Christianity is disconnected from Truth, it’s out of touch with reality. If you want to grow in your career, finances, or health while maintaining a strong spiritual focus, you’re basically on your own.
Christianity falls flat in the area of Power too. It teaches people to become dependent on the Church for spiritual guidance instead of cultivating real power as independent conscious beings. It promotes fear and timidity instead of courage. It teaches you to give your power away to an external authority instead of developing your own authority and creativity as a conscious being.
If you want to create an effective moral code for yourself, it must be solidly grounded in reality (aligned with Truth), it must help you cultivate a sense of unconditional love and connection (aligned with Love), and it must empower you to grow (aligned with Power). If it fails to satisfy any of these conditions, then your moral code is ultimately turning you away from conscious growth.
My Experience with Religion
I was raised with a mixed but fairly religious background. In college, I read the Bible cover-to-cover. I was closely involved with a Christian fellowship group: I lead Bible studies, I contributed to an online publication, I even became a vice president for the campus organization. I thought I had “found” religion for myself, and I wanted a deeper understanding of my own faith and that of others, so I chose to major in Humanities & Religious Studies. I spent three years desperately seeking to understand, to believe, and to be accepted within that community of believers.
When my good friend Chris died in 2004, people who think this way told me that he would burn for eternity in hell because he wasn’t a Christian. That was an absurd idea which didn’t align with my experience and will forever stand out in my mind, because my best friend was a far more caring, thoughtful person to me—a true brother—than any member of this new faith community I was striving to be a part of. Chris would have given anything for me.
I could never believe in an angry god like that. I have my own ideas about the transcendent—some form of higher power that could never possibly be understood by our little human brains but that one could label “God”. And I have my own sort of spiritual practices: I find God in the sublime—the great, powerful, beautiful forces of nature and the outdoors.
I pay my respect to that higher power by pouring my love into other people: by striving to be a decent person, a helpful, loving friend, and by giving back to those in need.
People Make the World What It Is.
Whether you believe in God or not, we have to take responsibility. We can’t hold some god, nor devil, or ghosts or spirits accountable for how messed up things are. Nobody is accountable for the sins of his father, but we all screw things up in our own way. We are the ones who fail to sell all our belongings and give our money to the poor, the ones who don’t love our neighbors, don’t turn the other cheek, who can’t be bothered to ensure that the innocent children of the world are given access to decent health care. Nobody is innocent here, no church, no faith—not in my book.
I have the utmost reverence for people of all faiths, and complete respect for an individual’s personal beliefs. But organized religion perpetuates the differences that divide us, it perpetuates hate, it stagnates progress and peace. Religion encourages xenophobia: irrational fear of foreign or different ideas and people. And these are beliefs which I do not and can not ever share.
We must take personal responsibility for making things right—we can’t leave it up to some higher power to make the world a better place. And we must overcome divisiveness and unite humankind as a whole.
Further reading:
- Jesus in Islam – Wikipedia article
- Paradoxes of Christianity and Islam – Herman Roborgh
- How to Graduate from Christianity – Steve Pavlina
- Why Religion Must End – interview with Sam Harris
Great Thoughts Cody!
I couldn’t agree more. I grew up catholic and went to catholic school through high school. I always questioned everything which the nuns hated. It was until college that I became an atheist. I don’t mind people practicing their faith, but I do mind when it is pushed on me personally or in politics. Thanks for standing up and saying something ballsy. Not enough people do.
Dave
LifeExcursion
Christians who look at Jesus and their purpose in life as some soul-catching numbers game likely miss the larger point.
“I pay my respect to that higher power by pouring my love into other people: by striving to be a decent person, a helpful, loving friend, and by giving back to those in need.”
A Christian is, by definition, one who is Christ-like and in that respect you blow away the hate-spewers, the Bible beaters and the intolerant hellfire-and-brimstone fundamentalists.
I, myself, am a Christian. I’m also an inclusivist (in the same vein as John Wesley, Rob Bell, C. S. Lewis, etc) in that I firmly believe that every bit of truth belongs to and comes from God, whether it’s present in this system of belief or that. This means it’s very likely that those who don’t know the name of Jesus or even the biblical narrative, but who act as Christ acts would in fact be “Christian” even not knowing it.
I could go on and on about all of this but I’ll spare you. Great post and many lessons some Christians would do well to pick up on.
I’ve never really understood the need some people/religions have to try to convert those outside their little world. I strongly base my beliefs on my own rational but I also acknowledge something beyond the rational. That’s me, if I were to spend my life trying to convince people to follow my path it would result in a life of frustration.
I like the Buddhist analogy of a lotus pond, some flower, some harvested, some never break the surface they each have their own destiny, people are the same.
Quite timely because I recently left this comment on Digg article:
“…whilst being raised as a Catholic I was continually force fed how “right” we were and eventually I believed whole heartedly that I just happened to be born into the correct religion. I’d become so brainwashed I felt sorry for everyone else and their false beliefs.
Luckily I grew out of that in my mid-teens, but it worries me that I could be so close minded even though our family was never that religious (we attended Church like 5 times as a family, and that was really only at Christmas).”
That’s my major beef with religions, that they can result in such segregation.
These days I refer to myself as a Buddhist, but that’s mainly because I don’t want to go as far as saying I’m an Atheist, because it feels too conclusive to me. I don’t know if there isn’t some greater being although I agree with you Cody in that if there was it’d be beyond human comprehension.
I haven’t come across anything in particular I disagree with in Buddhism and it’s even encouraged to question the teachings, that’s what mainly drew me towards it.
First of all I want to recognize your courage in putting your beliefs out there, I do recognize your faith and that is good, but I feel you end up a little too harsh in your judgments. While religion at its worst has been “responsible for a majority of the wars, genocides, and other atrocities that have befallen us throughout all of human history.”, at its best it has been responsible for some of humanities greatest creations, look at the Sistine Chapel, the Taj Mahal or even the Pyramids of Egypt all of which have grown out of organized religion, not to mention how many worthy charities have come from religion, you don’t need to look any further than your neighbor hood food shelf or soup pantry, Catholic Charities, Lutheran Social Services, Red “Cross” or “Crescent” this list could stretch on. At the end of the day religion is no better or worse than its members none of whom are with out sin.
David Turnbull: You could always label yourself as agnostic.
Religions make a lot more sense if you view them as cultural memes that are spread in order to help people bond within a group. The side effect of this is that those don’t share the same meme are often dehumanised in order to make the process of fighting (exterminating) them more palatable.
I think it will take a long time before these memes die out, if ever, since they just get replaced with other ‘religions’, consumerism, nationalism / patriotism. Philosophers have been trying to advocate logic and reason for the past 2,500 years. So best not to get too worked up about it.
Recovering Catholic here, and though I think there is something positive to be gained from any religion, I agree that they just don’t pass muster when it comes to rational thinking.
Religions give people the excuse they need to do just absolutely terrible things, and although some people use it like a scalpel, using it to help remove some of the bad in the world, most use it like a gun, waving it around and scaring those that choose not to pack heat and other carriers alike.
@Dave: It’s never easy to take a different stance, especially when you know your opinion is bound to upset some people, particularly close friends. Thanks for the word of support man.
@J.D.: I think I’m actually quite on the same page with you from the sounds of it. Thanks for bringing your input JD!
@David Turnbull: I love a lot of parts of Buddhism, I love some parts of Christianity, and I think a bulk of most theologies is actually quite compatible when you really examine the scriptures, not the dogma. But also, don’t feel a necessity to label yourself. I love the quote by Albert Einstein to this effect: “I do not believe in a personal God and I have never denied this but have expressed it clearly. If something is in me which can be called religious then it is the unbounded admiration for the structure of the world so far as our science can reveal it.” Einstein has many interesting thoughts on religion & theology.
@Luke: You are right in that churches has been some of the most effective organizers for good causes and have commissioned incredible, invaluable pieces of cultural history. But I would argue that this is mostly because of the amount of $money$ and power they have had at their disposal. But to illustrate my point: the Church has long commissioned great artists like Michaelangelo—a possibly bisexual painter who saw inspiration as something that came from within the artist, not divinely inspired, and who later resented his participation because he saw the Sistine Chapel as a symbol of the Vatican’s grandeur.
@NomadicNeil & Colin Wright: I think just like any ideology, there are a lot of great things about religion, but when you condition any large group of people to think the same way and reject outside voices, you’ll get corruption, abuse of power, and/or mob rule.
Very insightful post.
I myself am a Christian, and I take my faith seriously. But, I have a lot of issues with how things go in Christian churches. The main thing that bothers me is that as Christians we are supposed to love others, but people in every church I’ve ever been to are the most judgemental, and in most cases mean, people I’ve ever met.
I’ve recently stopped going to church, and now I take time every morning to read and study the Bible independently. It’s going much better.
I’ve always been the type of person to ask WHY to everything, and that hasn’t made me too many friends in the Christian community. I prefer to evaluate things and make my own decision about them, rather than just be told something by someone who is more “knowledgeable” than me.
Great post!
Nate, thanks so much for your input my man. Sounds like you are a decent, hard-thinking Christian and I can totally respect and get behind that!
Actually, judging from your experience, you will probably find Steve Pavlina’s post really interesting if you haven’t read it.
I certainly don’t advocating giving up your faith, but sounds like you are on a serious mission to have a well-developed, ration-based personal relationship with your faith. Take some of it and leave some of it, but Pavlina has some excellent thoughts.
I’m going to take some time to read through that, thanks! Just from skimming it there is a lot I agree with, and a lot that I don’t haha. But interesting for sure
Very interesting and insightful post. I label myself a professional heretic. I have spent way too many years trying to figure out what I don’t know in order to “know” it. I have worked in several Christian churches and while the original message is very appealing, it is also weighed down by so much drivel it gets lost in the din. I also incorporate a lot of Buddhist, Taoist, Celtic Pagan, and other thoughts behind my personal spiritual stand. This give me something to think about in engaging my fellow travelers.
Great post. A few bullet points:
* The “you will burn in hell” types obviously missed the message of Mercy (Islam, Judaism) and Forgiveness (Christianity).
* All religions are subject to cultural conditioning — whatever is revealed from a higher power (or His/Her/Its agents) gets influenced by the fear-based tribal practices of the culture. Thus stonings, witch burnings, etc.
* William Blake said, “All religions are One”. That is all.
Well, that is not all he said, but it was a remarkable insight that many have still not grasped.
@Cody – I’d agree that it’s unnecessary to label myself, but I still have plenty of years left to work out my beliefs. Right now Buddhism works for me, and I’m proud to be associated with that label (much in the way you consider yourself a lifestyle designer etc).
There was a great post recently that showed that there is a strong correlation between social deviance and religiousness. (I did a quick search but I couldn’t find it. I will try to find it again later.)
The most religious areas of the world have the highest incidences of teenage pregnancies, unemployment, incest, child abuse, etc. Is that just a coincidence?
Heya Cody!
Religion is such an interesting topic. I have spent many many hours discussing and debating it with my friends.
I think everyone should be free to believe what they want, but I do not think it is correct to be indoctrinated with religion from the day you are born. You should have the freedom to experience all walks of life, see what each religion is about, and choose the one you are most aligned with.
Thanks for the interesting post!
Cheers
Diggy
“I find God in the sublime—the great, powerful, beautiful forces of nature and the outdoors.” I like that. Indeed, “God’s” invisible quality are to be shown through the world and it’s not more “right” or “better” to see or honor God in that way or in a church, or in your mind.
Thanks for posting on religion, it’s such a fiery topic, but one to be addressed. I fall in line with JD and Nate. I myself am a Christian and believe strongly in my faith, but the connotations the mere word brings up for most people is not really anything I’d like to be associated with. The Catholic church, the different divisions, it’s all very fuzzied by time and organizations. I try to stay true to the history of who Jesus was and what he did for people. He ministered exactly the way you do, or how any friend would. It’s upsetting when meetings turn to indoctrination. Christ should be shared through relationship. His archetypal story for our world is simply one I most agree with in my experiences of the world I live in. I would only “put” that on someone if they asked me about why I was the way I am. Doesn’t mean I won’t live in a way to have people ask though. Indeed I’m sorry you’ve experienced what seems like people pushing Jesus not living him out. Great post, respectful and challenging.
Cody,
I definitely enjoy reading these types of posts from you. I think you would enjoy reading The Third Jesus by Deepak Chopra. Check it out if you can!
Hope all is good man,
Ronnie
It’s very disturbing how religion has divided mankind. I agree with your last statement, we are responsible to make this world a better place.
Oh Christ Almighty, I read until “Then the propaganda leaflets started coming out.” and knew I agreed with you.
I grew up (unfortunately) in a Born Again church and I got one thing to say to that lot: “Step off”.
Cody this post is amazing.
I am left speechless however full of thoughts and energy.
An absolutely terrific piece of writing and thought.
My parents did not force a religion on me. I grew up not believing in a God.
However, when people in High School asked me if I believed in God, I would always answer “Yes” because I didn’t want to be the outcast.
Personally, I feel the same way as you Cody. I feel that organized religion has caused many wars and hardships.
The topic of a “God” is out of the scope of this post but is one that I constantly wonder about. I have yet to see or witness anything in my life that has made me conclude that there must be a God. Until, I see no reason or evidence to believe in a supreme being.
- Jun
Hey Cody, it was really good reading your article. Well written and had some good points. I have really been thinking about this issue lately since I have been pursuing a relationship with a really Christian girl. Its hard because I was raised without religion, and most of the time I just feel like religion just separates us. I really identified with that quote about religion making people relate to a subset of humanity, rather than humanity itself.
Cody..I couldn’t agree more about the lack of responsibility that goes hand and hand with organized religion. I wasn’t brought up under an specific faith and I think it allowed me to then make up my own mind as I grew older. Now I find that I side more with Taoist philosophy more than anything. Religions are just ideas and philosophies in my book. Designed to help us understand our world. The continuous debate over various religions is absurd. Self responsibility is key to the problem. Awesome topic and thoughts..stumbled!
Late comer here.
Awesome post, Cody.
I was born in a Muslim family, in a predominantly Hindu surroundings in India. Then we moved to Pakistan and lived amongst some of the most radical Muslims. I moved to USA when I was still nineteen and came in contact with Christians and Jews.
I wrote a paper during my first semester in college about the ESSENTIAL UNITY of ALL religions. In essence, they all teach the same thing, which in opinion, is summed up in four words. “Do the Right Thing”
WE run into trouble when try to define what the “right thing” is. If there is a label I have to put myself under, I would say I am a human. I love Einstein’s philosophy of being religious.
I belong to a very progressive group within Islam, and we are generally classified as heretics or even “non-Muslims” by the radical mob. I admire your stand on religion and your knowledge and understanding of other faiths.
*I have my own ideas about the transcendent—some form of higher power that could never possibly be understood by our little human brains but that one could label “God”.* reminds me of a quote I had read many years ago. “What you think of as God, is the limit of your imagination, not God”
I am proud to be a member of such a diverse group of open minded people, who, while valuing their own beliefs, are willing to allow others to have their own as well.
Ultimately, like you said, we are all held responsible for our own actions. We reap what we sow.
I was listening to a CD by Dr Wayne Dyer and he talks about how you can center yourself by saying, “I choose Peace rather than this.”
A salute you for standing up for what you believe and speaking up. My hat’s off to you.
Wow. I’m blown away by the positive comments people have left! A “controversial” post like this usually results in some sort of backlash/hate comments/etc etc. Cody, I think it might be the way you’ve written this, I don’t know, but some serious props my friend.
And did I mention I agree with every word? Right on!
I agree with the atheists – SCREW organized religion of every kind.
I do suggest that you strip away all of your views of every christian you’ve ever come across and realize – it’s not about them. It’s about Jesus Christ – the #1 enemy of organized religion.
One thing no one here mentions is the bold claim that Christianity is based on – Jesus died a brutal death, and rose from the dead after 3 days.
Did you know that NO one has ever been able to disprove the resurrection of Jesus Christ? Not Dawkins, Harris, no one. Not even the people of that day who HATED him could.
The challenge today is believing in that ultimate gesture of LOVE and GRACE. Everyone should do away with organized religion and focus in on Jesus – and do many of the things suggested on this blog!
I appreciate the honesty of the article, and for this website – these lessons you are learning during your time in Thailand are things we as humans should all experience – I can’t wait for my chance to participate in these types of causes.
Whether it’s intentional or not, you are living a lot like a true christian is supposed to, (stripping away empty religion, too).
Don’t forget though, we are not only supposed to love others, but before that, first and foremost, we are to love God with all of our heart, soul, and might. It’s not just about this life on earth, but eternity. Push further, seek out Jesus – you won’t be sorry..
If there is one scripture that we can all agree on from the christian bible it is James 1:27 – “Religion that God our Father accepts as pure and faultless is this: to look after orphans and widows in their distress and to keep oneself from being polluted by the world”
Life is SHORT – let’s get out there and change the world – God Bless!
Thanks for your thoughtful response Travis. I respect your faith, however one really can’t prove OR disprove the existence of god, OR of the “resurrection” of Christ.
While I “believe” there is something unseen that ties all human beings together on a deeper level, I don’t believe in a supreme being any longer. Those things aren’t falsifiable, and unfortunately “your” God doesn’t really seem any more “believable” than the Jews, the Muslims, the Buddhists, the Hindus, or the thousands and thousands of unseen gods and spirits humans have worshiped since the beginning of our time on this planet. Of course it’s possible there IS a god, but how would anyone ever know which one to “choose”? That’s what all religions ask us to do. To choose their god over thousands of others. Every religion claims it knows “Truth”, when I actually believe that kind of ultimate truth is beyond any human mind to possess.
This is an amazing post. The Christian Union at my university is having their so-called ‘promotion’ week, and I am absolutely sick of someone telling me what to believe, telling me that I’m wrong and uncourageous.
Absolutely brilliant & I agree 100%.
Cheers
Kat
man, i am so glad that sane people are out there,
great post.
i agree completely.
Nevertheless, happy Easter weekend!
Thoughts on those who believe everybody will burn in hell if they aren’t Christian? Seems a little extreme and unfriendly no?
I’d say so.