Some Thoughts on Religion

After reading posts on religion during the last couple of days at Infamous J’s and Crzydjm’s blogs, I was inspired to share a few of my own thoughts on religion. One thing that Crzydjm said in particular got me to thinking:

THAT'S my big problem with organized religion, the "sheep-like" mentality of it. I can't take what one man says to me as biblical fact, maybe I've grown bitter I don't know. It seems to me that if God will speak to me, then HE will be the one speaking to me. A mortal man claiming to know God's will and attempting to convey that message to me leaves me very skeptical. How much of a personal slant does he give to it?

Exactly. That’s how I’ve always felt as well. I’ve never thought that religion or spirituality is, or should be, a “one size fits all” matter. Whatever Higher Power exists can certainly relate to each one of us on an individualized basis and this is reflected in the numerous religions and personal philosophies that exist on this planet. As there are different people, there are different ways of relating to the infinite.

And this brings me to the Christian Bible. Fundamentalist Christians believe that the Bible is “inerrant”, that is, they believe that the Bible is God’s own final word to humanity, that it was literally dictated to those people who wrote it, that it is without error or fault, and that every word in it is literally true.

There are several problems with this view. First of all, to say God speaks only through the Bible is to limit an infinite being to a tangible object; it puts the Bible before God. There’s a word for it -- “bibliolatry”, which means worshipping the Bible itself.

Secondly, what we now consider “the Bible”, was written over the space of several hundred years. Many parts of it were passed down orally for years before ever being written down. There’s also no doubt that the biblical authors injected their own opinions and interpretations into what they wrote, Paul, who never met Jesus personally, being a case in point.

Many sacred texts were produced in the early years of Christianity, in addition to the ones contained in the present Christian Bible. The compilation of texts into what now comprises the Bible was not accomplished until many years after Christ’s death. A group of clerics decided which sacred texts would be included and they naturally excluded and suppressed such sacred writings that contradicted their own opinions.

After it was decided which texts would comprise the Bible, it was translated numerous times over the centuries from early Greek and Hebrew versions which themselves were likely not original. Even within a single language, the Bible exists in several different versions.

With all this in mind, it’s more than a little presumptuous to call the Bible “inerrant”. Most of us have played the game “Whisper Down the Line” when we were children. That is, a story was told to one person, who whispered it to the next person, who in turn did the same to the next person, until the story had reached the last person. Invariably, the story was quite different by the time the last person told everyone what they'd heard. No doubt the same is true, even more so, for the Bible, considering how many more filters it has passed through until the present day.

Thirdly, to take every word in the Bible literally is ludicrous. “The Bible means exactly what it says”, fundamentalists assert. The problem is that Christians have never been able to agree on just what that is, and many interpretations exist, all insisting that theirs is the only correct meaning. Beyond that, the Bible is full of allegory and parable, not meant to be taken literally, but to illustrate principles. And we must remember it was written in a cultural and historical milieu vastly different from our own. It also has contradictions and records things offensive to modern people.

For example, we are told that if our eyes cause us to sin, we are to pluck them out. Those who dash out the brains of the enemies’ children against a wall are called blessed in the Bible. People are commanded not to wear two different types of cloth together. Women are told they may not teach or speak in church and that they must obey their husbands because God only speaks to them through their husbands, slaves are told to obey their masters, that kings have a divine right to rule, and so on.

Christians no longer believe in slavery and the divine right of kings, and progressive Christians now believe in the full independent humanity of women. The misuse of certain Bible texts to oppress various groups of people over the centuries is now rightly believed not to reflect the original intention and spirit of Christ’s teachings.

Of course, I could write much more about this, but it would be a lengthy, further digression of the inspiration I got from Crzydjm’s and J’s posts. The above is merely the background of why I share his skepticism of organized religion.

For me, the Bible can be boiled down to “Treat others as you would wish to be treated”. I think if that’s all a person takes away from the Bible, then they’re doing well.