Is God religious?
Just yesterday, I read one of the many posts on the Internet asking the useless and old question: Is God (or Jesus) a Republican or Democrat? Let's set aside that this is a nonsensical question, just for a moment. And by the way, I'm American, so the question will be addressed as such. Other countries certainly have different problems with religion in politics, but I'm not equipped to address the world's problems.
We know that both sides of the aisle claim God connections. They all go to church, claim to read the Bible or have read or have gone to Bible study groups. The question I have is why this is necessary in America. It's a rhetorical question; the answer is clear. Humans are pack animals, that's how we survive. We hang around with people who have like-minded ideas, so we don't feel insecure. For instance, atheism probably will never catch on in the American political arena because most of the faithful feel slightly afraid of what an atheist really thinks. If we elect a Christian, we have a pretty solid idea of his or her worldview -- or so it is believe for the sake of superficiality. In reality, of course, people in the public eye are rarely what they appear to be.
The Republicans are quite sure God is in their corner. They defend the Ten Commandments being posted outside courthouses and prayer in school and "In God We Trust" on the money and "under God" in our pledge of allegiance, but there's a problem. More than one, actually. First, Christianity is fragmented into dozens of splinter groups, each with their own crazy spin on what God wants you do at worship times (eat bread and drink wine, say The Lord's Prayer for the millionth time, sing and dance, play with snakes, cast out demons, etc.) and because of these factions, who knows what anyone really believes? Sarah Palin's church casts out demons -- that's in line with Voodoo, and how many Voodoo priests do you think will get elected in America? Obama's church rails against society and social injustice -- that's a little more realistic of a topic, but can be just as scary.
The Democrats put on a bit of show with religion, but clearly have a broader view of it. Meaning, they generally don't ram it down anyone's throat. Bill Clinton went to church every Sunday when he was in office. I don't think many people would look to him as a paragon of morality. It's all for show and the Democrats come the closest to admitting it's little more than a political sham by not addressing it publicly.
So, who's better -- the delusional hypocrites (Republicans) or the liars (Democrats)? Clearly, neither when it comes to this. The founders of this country had the right idea by separating Church and State, but they didn't go far enough. Their intention was to avoid a situation like England has with the Church of England being so deeply entwined with the political process. It was a good notion and was effective in the eighteenth century, but here we are in the twenty-first and there's a crush of religions now that the world has been united through light-speed communications. It's time to put it out of politics altogether.
Consider this: Some right-wingers want to teach Creationism or, as it's been re-branded, Intelligent Design, in schools along with the theory of Evolution. So, which creation myth do we go with? There are thousands and all are flawed and all are clearly tales created thousands of years ago to keep humans entertained -- and all seemed feasible before the Scientific Method got its wheels on the ground. But now we know it's bullshit. The Earth isn't riding on the back of a giant turtle or created from dust or a blood clot or being watched by the souls from the dead from above (stars).
The better question would be "Is God religious?" If there is a god or gods somewhere beyond our perceptions, I certainly hope he's smarter than we are. If so, I certainly hope he doesn't give a shit about what silly magical ritual we Earthlings choose perform, because in the end, it doesn't matter what we believe.
In closing and off-topic, I want to thank you for reading my unedited, free-writing babble. This is my first blog post and hopefully, I'll get back to it soon. I'm sure I need practice.
We know that both sides of the aisle claim God connections. They all go to church, claim to read the Bible or have read or have gone to Bible study groups. The question I have is why this is necessary in America. It's a rhetorical question; the answer is clear. Humans are pack animals, that's how we survive. We hang around with people who have like-minded ideas, so we don't feel insecure. For instance, atheism probably will never catch on in the American political arena because most of the faithful feel slightly afraid of what an atheist really thinks. If we elect a Christian, we have a pretty solid idea of his or her worldview -- or so it is believe for the sake of superficiality. In reality, of course, people in the public eye are rarely what they appear to be.
The Republicans are quite sure God is in their corner. They defend the Ten Commandments being posted outside courthouses and prayer in school and "In God We Trust" on the money and "under God" in our pledge of allegiance, but there's a problem. More than one, actually. First, Christianity is fragmented into dozens of splinter groups, each with their own crazy spin on what God wants you do at worship times (eat bread and drink wine, say The Lord's Prayer for the millionth time, sing and dance, play with snakes, cast out demons, etc.) and because of these factions, who knows what anyone really believes? Sarah Palin's church casts out demons -- that's in line with Voodoo, and how many Voodoo priests do you think will get elected in America? Obama's church rails against society and social injustice -- that's a little more realistic of a topic, but can be just as scary.
The Democrats put on a bit of show with religion, but clearly have a broader view of it. Meaning, they generally don't ram it down anyone's throat. Bill Clinton went to church every Sunday when he was in office. I don't think many people would look to him as a paragon of morality. It's all for show and the Democrats come the closest to admitting it's little more than a political sham by not addressing it publicly.
So, who's better -- the delusional hypocrites (Republicans) or the liars (Democrats)? Clearly, neither when it comes to this. The founders of this country had the right idea by separating Church and State, but they didn't go far enough. Their intention was to avoid a situation like England has with the Church of England being so deeply entwined with the political process. It was a good notion and was effective in the eighteenth century, but here we are in the twenty-first and there's a crush of religions now that the world has been united through light-speed communications. It's time to put it out of politics altogether.
Consider this: Some right-wingers want to teach Creationism or, as it's been re-branded, Intelligent Design, in schools along with the theory of Evolution. So, which creation myth do we go with? There are thousands and all are flawed and all are clearly tales created thousands of years ago to keep humans entertained -- and all seemed feasible before the Scientific Method got its wheels on the ground. But now we know it's bullshit. The Earth isn't riding on the back of a giant turtle or created from dust or a blood clot or being watched by the souls from the dead from above (stars).
The better question would be "Is God religious?" If there is a god or gods somewhere beyond our perceptions, I certainly hope he's smarter than we are. If so, I certainly hope he doesn't give a shit about what silly magical ritual we Earthlings choose perform, because in the end, it doesn't matter what we believe.
In closing and off-topic, I want to thank you for reading my unedited, free-writing babble. This is my first blog post and hopefully, I'll get back to it soon. I'm sure I need practice.
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