The idea of religion has always struck a pretty off chord in my book. From the idea of hell to tithing to the widespread corruption and NAMBLA-esque behavior of those in authority, I (and all you wonderful contemporaries) have grown up in a time where religion is not only inessential but downright repulsive. As of late however, I cannot help but see the reasons not only for the existence of the various religions, but spiritual schemes in general. Now don’t think that good ol’ IJB has found God or anything like that, but I guess I have recently become aware that the various religious doctrines and spiritual systems have the benefit of a broad reaching ethic that actually does do what it is intended: to allow a system of behavior which escapes the necessary contextualization of behavior in the natural ethic that “good” people must follow who do not have such rules of behavior to fall back on.
First though, I have to say that religion stands on very tumultuous ground for me. Born and raised in Catholic School (all 12 years bitches!), I learned not God’s love, but how to become a consumer: of sex, drugs and rock and roll. Most of the religious people I knew throughout that “education,” in fact, most of the religious types I meet today, could never give me a better explanation for faith other than “Well JC says…” or “...because the Bible…” which is of course just ridiculous: conventional wisdom is what produced the Crusades, the systematic torture and murder of dissenting views and so on (I think the horse is dead and properly flogged). But underneath all of the dogma and mental retardation of those who practice, I realized the other day that I just can no longer ignore the ‘point’ of what all those folks have been violently fighting about, that is, the theoretical ideas for behavior that underlie all religions: the common denominator for how to live our lives.
What I neglected to remember though is the notion that perhaps I do not have it all figured out. For example, we are often left with two diametrically opposed ideas for how to deal with others – ‘stand up for yourself’ and ‘just let it go’. Now we all suffer from the interplay of these two, and when we don’t apply it properly we end up thinking of both ourselves and others as “bitches’ or ‘doormats’ and having some regrets (often once cooler heads prevail) that perhaps we could have handled this situation with a little more compassion and tact, and a little less defensiveness or whatever. Now who has said something to the effect of “Be kind to your neighbor” or “Spread compassion only throughout the world”? That’s right, Jesus and the Buddha.
And to be honest, in my years of Catholic training I have never once found a “kill others who do not believe your faith” or “you must extort money from your parishioners,” in the Bible. In my Buddhist studies not one koan said “We must oppress the rights of others in order to maintain order,” and so on. What do they say? Well, read some spiritual texts and find out, but if we all are to espouse the positive ideals that these people wrote about, well, I’m pretty sure the world would in fact be a better place. (Think of Jesus going psycho in the marketplace, consumers take note).
The point is that I really believe that I (as well as many, many others) have put the cart before the horse. We don’t hate religion, we hate the people who prove how well it works. We hate dogma, but since when is being kind to others and forgiving them for most of the mean, thoughtless, generally human things they do a problem? I don’t like Church, but in theory, how much more do we pay to go Disneyworld for a few jollies (the buck or two that’s put in the basket pales in comparison to the $2.50 water or the $7 mutant turkey leg, simple economics) than to hang out with some like minded folks and have bake sales? My call then is this: while religion in practice may no longer relevant, the principles and ideas behind them still hold true.
In the end, when Jehovah’s show up at my door, I still tell them I worship all that is dark and macabre, and send them on their way. I still argue with priests when I run into them, as should all folks. I still rag on folks that spend time at the Word of Life (such hot folks, but such a cult – yea Upstate!), but these systems of spirituality are still great for the occasional alternate viewpoint on a given troubling situation. All in all, when we have qualms, we must above all make sure exactly what it is we have a problem with.
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