As a small disclaimer, I would like
to state that this blog post is not a judgment of the people I encountered, but
rather an observation of the rhetoric and behaviors demonstrated in an
evangelical service on mother’s day.
Interestingly enough, after a few
songs of praise and worship, the first thing that is brought up is that of
offerings and tithes (as a form of worship?). While the attitude towards
outsiders was rather positive, I find it interesting that money still plays a
prevalent role in the congregation. As I watched everyone so willingly give
towards what I now know is a business model, I cannot help but feel pain, to
know that someone is benefiting from this, knowingly deceiving those who
freely give, maybe not at a local level -though I highly doubt that- but the
Church has become a business, the concept that salvation is free is just that,
a concept that has been given up since the dawn of Christianity. Only certain
laws are observed here, and I cannot help but remember that the original congregations
were house groups willing to help each other, not an organized group of people
demanding money for the salaries of those in leadership and playing to others'
guilt.
My wife, a recent unbeliever,
stated that it hurt her to even attend as she misses the sense of community
instilled in followers through the music which was created to mold the minds of
people and create a sense of addiction in communion. I see it as a sense of paradise lost, a
typical manipulative tactic meant to lead the masses involved in a guilt trip
when leaving the community; emotional blackmail designed to overcome a sense of
self-preservation which brought us into the state of scientific advances we
live in today. The music is designed to
destroy self-worth through the lyrics which are meant to instill a sense of
damnation without the imaginary cure for the imaginary disease. The very
rhetoric used in those lyrics are destructive to the human “spirit”, promoting worthiness
of the deity and invoking the unworthiness of those who worship said deity,
instilling a loathing of humanity and the powerlessness of humanity, and the
need for a supernatural forgiveness for an event which we, as a species had no
power over, yet the deity, of course, did.
Though, once again, everyone was
extremely welcoming to me, I could not help but get a strong sense of
alienation, not because of the people, or the atmosphere, but rather because of
the strong convictions which drive me to persevere in my seeking of truth. Everything
about this dogmatic culture seems to steer people away from questioning those
things they are taught within the community and to deny that which is taught without
it. Socrates fought until the end of his life in order to fight this type of
thinking centuries ago. It is counter intuitive to the search for truth for
which questioning is the basis. I imagine I stick out like a sore thumb, typing
my notes as everyone around me is deep in "worship", which in reality
is just another form of meditation.
Ironically, the followers come here in order to feel better about
themselves, not realizing that what is supposed to build them up is in
actuality tearing them down.
Based on the preacher’s words, my
very existence is sin; everything about who I am, what I believe, what I do,
the way I think is considered a sin. The language used by the leadership is
typically made to subdue and not empower; it is about submission. The verses used in the sermon were twisted
out if their context; those verses, culturally and contextually, were written
to justify the subjugation of women. It was also hinting at the fact that Adam
was not created perfect (in direct contradiction of the Bible where Man was
created in the image of God, therefore in the image of perfection). The
preacher then went on to be humorous about the creation of Eve. Though he stated that women, throughout
scriptures, are to be honored and to be man’s equal, he also stated that Adam
named Eve because naming something gave the one who names authority over the
one named. The preacher, on mother's day, is laying it on thick for the women,
going completely against the scriptures about the subjugation of women. Of course, he went on to the objectifying of
women in pornography and their dress.
And do you want to know what the big kicker is? At the end of his Mother’s Day sermon that
was supposed to be all about women, he went on to honor certain men in a
ceremony, and still claimed that this ceremony was in actuality, for the women.
I find
it very interesting to note that the hypocrisy in the sermon was only rivaled
by the charisma of the person delivering it; leading me to believe that this is
a con, that the person delivering knows it's bullshit, and that the appeal was
meant in praising the women (again, and I cannot stress this enough, CONTRADICTING
the Bible), and appealing to the men's sense of humor. The Bible states that
angels don't have free will, but then where did Lucifer get the idea that he
could be greater than the person who created him? That's right FAIL! I felt
like I was watching Michael J. Fox, 'cause friends I was in Spin City! There
was so much misdirection and spin that even I, as an outsider had trouble
finding my way through the bullshit. The concepts introduced by the preacher
were completely contradictory to the creation account in the Bible. He
announced that labor was commanded to Man before the Fall; we know the accounts
state exactly the opposite. It is interesting that the preacher referred to
women as SERVANTS, SERVING the church and men, yet a few moments ago claimed
them to be equal (which is it bro?) then went on to come into my territory:
culture! His entire sermon was based on cultural misconceptions, as well as
mistranslations of the Bible.
The sermon went on about slavery,
and the fact that Eve was not created to be a slave, however, Leviticus and
Deuteronomy claim that women are impure creatures and are to be subjugated. The
sermon is based on the principle that the fall happened from the beginning,
without ever directly addressing it, and is riddled in logical fallacies, wild
assertions, and severe contradictions, not only with the holy text from which
it is preached, but also within the sermon itself. The message was also,
obviously strictly heterosexual (Well yea, duh!) and even addressed single
women, but not bisexuals, not lesbians, and not transgenders. It is an obvious
pass at those who are born this way.
All in all, this is not an
experience I enjoyed, though I must repeat it to know what I am up against, in
my future endeavors and in my chosen career path. A focus on the study of
religions and the cultures in which they thrive is as important as the
understanding of the nature of conflicts between warring nations. Religion, by
its very nature demands the destruction of people like me, and that is not
something I tolerate. If people want to believe a certain way, fine, whatever,
but I will fight tooth and nail when people are trying to push legislation
based on their religions, regardless of potential harm. Atheists are not trying
to outlaw religion because we think the belief silly; we are trying to limit
its control of the government. We are not trying to tell people how to live
their life, or what convictions they should espouse, but rather encouraging the
questioning of any information given. That is something religion does not
typically tolerate, though I have several friends who are Christians and
skeptics and who apply their skepticism in different aspects of their lives. If
those who question choose to believe, then they have made their choice and I am
in no way, shape, or form in a position to tell them they are wrong. Lastly friends,
I must issue a warning against the methods used by religions to control and
manipulate you. As I've stated before, it will try to appeal to our need of community,
and then slam us with talks of unworthiness and disease which we have
tremendous control over. As written in my previous post, we are capable of
love, in several different ways, and we only need to embrace our nature and
love freely, intellectually, emotionally, and passionately.
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