Paradise Lost

Islam is fascism with scriptures, a riot with prayers. Christianity is a wholly-owned subsidiary of Rich White Men, Inc., making sure the working poor keep working, and stay poor, not to mention reproducing, so that a new generation can step in once thier parents drop dead. Catholicism? Anglicanism? Worried about keeping their priesthood safe from gays, except for the ones covered by grandfather clauses.

Faith and prayer can lead men to their godly natures, but it appears that when faith becomes organized religion, especially the kind that espouse absolute certainty that it is the only way to God, the usual sicknesses of man emerge: Greed and Thirst for Power. Religion at the beginning of the 21st century has become a twisted virus that feeds on fear and hatred.

I've been hitting the libraries lately, trying to find out just what good "capital-R" Religion has brought to this world. I mean, real good for real people, not just a whore's promise of basking in God's love (or twenty virgins) in the next. I'm having some real trouble, too. Where is the benefit in absolutist superstitions that want us to say "I'm right, but more importantly, you're wrong"? Where is the nation to which Religion has brought peace? Please, if you can tell me of the instances where one of the major religions brought peace anywhere in the world, please contact me, or leave a comment to this blog. I honestly want to find such cases, and I'm hoping I just missed them.

I thought I had found something with Martin Luther King, or Ghandi, but the biographies I've read seem to indicate that it was more their nonviolent philosophies, with origins in their beliefs no doubt, that made the difference in the effectiveness of these great men. In the case of Dr. King, the "real" Christians, the ones who bless us today on talk radio, nationwide, made sure his message stopped on a Memphis balcony. Ghandi? To members of the Christian Right, he was a suspiciously shaded guy who looked a lot like a terrorist. And forget about any resemblance he might have to Jesus Christ. That Christ, that man of peace who said to help the poor has been replaced by a guy who looks suspiciously like George W. Bush. Bring it on, Satan.

Take George Prager, for example. This devout Jew and Christian apologist, purveyor of hatred on "Christian, Conservative" talk radio, often says that he speaks for God. And according to Mr. Prager, boy, is God ever mad at the Muslims. This big mouth doesn't make any bones about the fact that he believes all good Muslims are required by their faith to be terrorists. And he doesn't flinch when faced with questions about the Christian Right that he praises. Does it bother him that these righteous men believe that he and his family will rot in hell for not accepting Christ? I'm sorry, we have a bad connection. Our next caller is Clem, from Hot Springs.

Another fine member of the Theocratic Right, The Rev. James Dobson (or no, it's Dr. James Dobson. These guys love to mix up their honorifics, as if it will somehow sweeten the stink that surrounds them), recently voiced his bitter anger at the Supreme Court's recent ruling that the monument of the 10 Commandments in Texas are OK, because they are historical in nature and don't promote religion. You'd think this makes the Most Rev. Dr. Dobson happy, but no, in his words: If it doesn't promote religion, what good is it? Go read a little bit about the Most High Reverend Doctor Dobson - this guy is a pip. He's right in step with those imams who say the world must come to Allah or die. Dobson won't stop until every human is on his knees, and not just in prayer.

It surprises me that I'm so full of anger at organized religion. Until the last few years, I believed that shared faith and prayer in a community is nothing but a good thing. But I've simply heard too much hate coming from the mouths of religious men. Just as empty men with ugly motives have hijaacked our government and public life in the US, and around the world, it seems, they have also taken what could have been a great hope for humanity. We have already seen the first Christian lunatic terrorists in America. Eric Rudolph called himself a "Soldier in the Army of the Lord". The well-known "Army of God" (I can't bring myself to put a link to their website here. Go find it yourself.) each day names new martyrs who have bombed abortion clinics, threatened or killed medical providers. Members of the US Congress have publicly exhorted these killers. We have a jihad right in our backyard, and it's soldiers look just like us.