I feel as if I am stepping off into a quagmire engaging in a discussion about religion.A person very dear to me awoke in the middle of the night frightened that she is living in a Godless world. I disagree but believe I understand her.
For me the world has nothing to do with Godlessness. Godlessness is a personal decision. The choice of faith is individual. Faith and religion do not walk the Earth hand in hand.
Religion is a tool for teaching. However, like any tool ever invented by men, it will only work as conceived when properly applied to the task it was designed for.
Therefore, I must sever faith from all forms of religion, especially those religions manipulated for profit.
Faith is that which guides each of us to live a life with meaning. Amassing personal wealth is not meaningful. It might provide a sense of security and power over others, but neither is truly meaningful.
Security is not boundless, as many of us have experienced twice since the year 2000. Wealth investments disappear overnight. Homes are robbed, burned to the ground and possessions are gone.
Power over other people can be removed when the people who are oppressed by the powerful decide they have had enough. Review history for hundreds of examples.
Now let's jump head first into the quagmire of religion.
Currently, the predominant sect of Christianity in the United States is Corporate Christianity and I do not mean corporations themselves. I mean kneeling praying men and women.
Large corporations that control the country's wealth use their nearly unlimited resources to pervert messages that will, if those messages succeed, directly and adversely affect their bottom line.
These corporations direct their efforts to those they know will follow their directives if corporations can tailor their messages cleverly enough with a religious or moral twist.
Here in America, for the previous two to three decades, morality dominated elections, and influenced outcomes. Everything from flag burning to gay marriage. I imagine with time and effort that one could find a moral issue using every letter of the alphabet.
Likewise, I imagine that corporations would be pleased to accomplish that task giving them ammunition to shoot down anything that smells like anti-profit and anti-mega bonuses.
It is not as if Corporate Christians are uneducated, or poor. It is not as if Corporate Christians are naïve, or gullible. Corporate Christians are doubtful and starved for guidance. It seems that for them, they fear making decisions without a religious leader's advice and guidance. Notice I said religious leader.
The religious leader of our local church takes home around $120,000.00 per year. Jesus took home $0.00 in his lifetime. Oh, sure, religious leaders live in Corporate America too, so they must have an income. Oh, did I tell you that this religious leader also gets the use of a $350,000.00 home with all utilities paid? He gets an allowance for his transportation too.
True faith does not require a leader. It requires faith and a true desire to live a meaningful life. Total cost? $0.00.
Who has more faith: the local minister earning $120,000.00 plus expenses? Or Jesus? Yet Corporate Christians turn to the religious leader for advice and guidance. Why?
How does all of this relate to corporations driving Corporate Christians' morality? Religion must produce an income. Its leaders and spokespersons must bring in followers. Religious institutions accept donations, sometimes massive ones, often from wealthy members with agendas. These donors craft church policy through church related activities. This is simplistic, but meant as an example only. There are many other ways to control religious leaders.
So, if a religious leader proclaims that flag burning is against the teaching of the Bible, which does not actually teach anything about it, and his followers go home and see online, in the news or wherever that some people think flag burning is protected by free speech, they rally against these heathens, form committees and organize rallies, and on and on.
Now, you might be thinking that people need a guiding hand or they would never even think of being faithful. Yet, they have the Bible. Ah, therein lies the caveat. The Bible was written and rewritten many times, so who knows if anything written there is completely accurate, right?
Again, Corporate Christians step in to save the day. They reinterpret the Bible to fit their needs. For them Thou Shalt Not Kill becomes Thou Shalt Not Commit Murder.
So Corporate Christians drive forward with a message older than the Bible. Greed is good, greed is God's will. Is it really?
What about the Temple moneychangers? What about the golden Idol that infuriated Moses? What about the Teacher who healed the sick, and the blind for free? What about the Teacher Jesus who declared that all people were welcomed into his ministry? Were these leaders, Teachers wrong, was Jesus wrong?
Apparently, according to Corporate Christians they were not only wrong, but also no longer have a role to play in modern religion except symbolically...like lip service to the poor.
No the world is not Godless. People who are driven to control others are Godless. People who think it's acceptable to allow a human being to suffer because they cannot afford healthcare are Godless. People who put wealth before meaningful purpose are Godless.
Corporate Christians are Godless.
