Let's face it--contentiousintrovert is not exactly google or yahoo; it's not even the Huffington Post. (Heck--it's not even the Soybean Farmers Weekly.) But if I happen to write about religion, someone often responds. And the responders are often strangers from out-of-state. Lord knows how they find this little teeny niche in cyberspace. But, it's motivating to get a response. So here I go again.
In a general sense, perhaps my biggest complaint about religious discourse in the world is that religion is regarded as a "personal" issue, which in this case means: a person can say just about anything they want about religion, and since religion is a personal issue, no one has any right to criticize. In short, talking about religion is often a free pass to say anything, no matter how stupid, ignorant, or nonsensical it happens to be, and very few people will be compelled to call you out on it. It's just not polite to do so.
Do I believe that there are actually 100 gods, not just one? That's OK, because it's religion we're talking about. Do I believe that God can read my mind right now? You can't make fun of that, because it's religion. Do I think that God has a personal career plan for me? It may be silly, but I can believe that and nobody will blink an eye. Do I think that God sits on a velvet throne with a book listing all of those who are "saved"? It's OK, because it's religion, you know--personal, and not capable of being verified. (A woman I took to prom in high school believes that there is such a book, by the way, and her name is in it, just so you know.)
Such a "hands-off" mindset enables all sorts of people--many of whom I see on cable from time to time--to say the most outrageous things, and nobody is up in arms about it. The latest kook: this 89-year-old minister who predicated The Rapture on May 21. (Oops! Now, we discover, it's actually going to be October 21.) Why does the press even give him the time of day? He's a bleeping idiot, plain and simple.
Until religious claim-makers are held to the same standards as the rest of us--providing things like evidence and coherent reasoning--I see no reason to even listen. And if we do listen, and they say things that are total rubbish, we need to get in their face and tell them so. Otherwise, people will continue to say things that are utterly ridiculous.
But I will confess to some hypocrisy here. I've sat through my share of church services, and I've never had the nerve to stand up and say, "That's baloney!" I'm not one to make such waves. But maybe some of you are courageous enough to tell a few religious emperors that they are not wearing any clothes.
