Twilight of the Idols
“True words always seem paradoxical;
But no other form of teaching can take its place.”
-- Lao Tse
Organized religion intruded upon national politics by way of the recent US Supreme Court decision, in precisely the manner that the Founding Fathers labored to prevent. For when public policy is squeezed to fit the design of rigid religious belief systems, the result is always to restrict the rights of some group or another. This is not an attack on organized religion per say -- although I admittedly have more faith in disorganized spirituality: indeed, its proper role is to impact the believer in such a manner that he/she will strive to expand the human rights of everyone.
The separation between church and state is, quite simply, to restrict the state from endorsing any religious belief system. It is not a restriction upon a religious (or spiritual) person’s involvement in the politics of the day.
Hence, when the USSC rules in a manner that elevates one group’s religious agenda, and in doing so, denies another group their rights, it becomes important that all people of good will -- no matter if they are religious or not -- to confront that crime against our constitutional democracy.
Because so much of the tension in the United States, and the global community, centers on the viewpoint of those who follow the teachings of the religious tree that grew in the Middle East (and which today has three primary branches), it seems worth our examining an original misunderstanding that relates to much of the violence we see today.
In the story of Abraham, we recall that he so worshipped what he mistook for “God,” that he was prepared to “sacrifice” his son. In fact, Abraham confused the collective unconscious of mankind for “God,” a projection of himself on an idol. The demand for sacrifices has always and only been made by human beings. We still see old “wise” men, willing to send their sons and others to kill and die for some projection, some cloth or book that serves as an idol.
This is in stark contrast to the enlightened men and women who, throughout human history, have served as role models: they have been willing to sacrifice their own being for the betterment of others. In some cases, these people have actually sacrificed their lives, although it is their lives and not their deaths that are important. Indeed, their deaths are only more important to those of lesser understanding.
The “organized” religion’s mixing up of doctrine leads to such stupidity as a Protestant minister being removed from his position, because he married a same-sex couple -- which included his son. If Christianity were rooted in the teachings of the historical man known as Jesus, it’s the judgmental folks who would be viewed as having less authority. Any objective reading of the gospels can result in but three “rules”: love one another, don’t judge others, and forgive those who seek to do you harm. Again, with the judgmental, we witness the worship of an idol; again; that idol is the projection of their own fears and ignorance.
And this, of course, brings us to the Supreme Court’s unjust decision. It was not a shock, for two other recent decisions have proven the USSC to be incapable of ruling against yet another idol -- the corporate state, which is short-hand for saying the military-industrial-energy corporate state. Or, in biblical terminology, the “beast.”
Earlier today, I read where someone noted that the law once said that slaves were property, not people; today, the law says corporations are people, not property. So long as the majority of the USSC’s (in)justices say this is so, those who worship idols will accept it as truth. As if a mere black robe changes a petty, arrogant, vindictive charlatan into an honorable leader.
The need for the day is two-fold: first, the government cannot be in the business of religion; second, all people of good will who do identify themselves as “religious” must become active, including under that banner, in the struggle for social justice -- in a manner similar to Rev. Martin Luther King, Jr., and Mahatma Gandhi. And that means publicly refusing to accept, or remain silent, when “government” attempts to deny any group their human rights. This obviously must include women’s health care.
Peace,
H2O Man
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