August
27, 2007
The
Dangers of ‘Truth’ in the Hands of the Religious Warriors
The CNN
series “Religious Warriors” and PBS presentation “City of
Lights”, have focused attention on religious extremism in
the complex political life of today’s world.
Fundamental questions remain – some funny, if the answers
didn’t create such tragic consequences. On the holiday of
Passover Jews ask Four Questions. I have four more to offer.
1.) Can
anyone imagine Jesus voting for Jerry Falwell or birds of
similar feathering?
Assuming they let poor outsiders with long hair vote. Jesus
ruffled some feathers himself by overturning the
money-lenders’ tables at the Temple. I suspect many
modern-day, self-appointed spokespeople would be passing
laws to increase their spread. “Turn the other cheek.” “Love
thy neighbor as thyself.” Sounds like the Republican
platform – or am I missing something? Up with life, down
with Head Start. We support life to our own death, and until
their birth.” The organization Americans United for the
Separation of Church and State call the Christian Right the
“American Taliban”.
2.) Can
President Bush not see the irony of his Sisiphisian mission
to help Iraq create a secular-driven society, over which no
one religion dominates, while obsessively promoting a
Christian caliphate, (oops, I mean diocese) in these United
States.
It’s fortunate there’s no Christian entry in the competition
for Mesopotamian religious supremacy. If all current
contenders are wrong, does it really matter who wins? That’s
called supporting a secular approach.
3.) How
do leaders of Islam, a great world religion over many
centuries, permit its public face to be hijacked by a
relatively small band of fanatics?
I suspect fear as one motivator, and perhaps a bit of
co-religionist sympathy on underlying issues, like Israel,
and the deep-seated discrimination in a U.S. that has
trouble distinguishing religious scholars from religious
fanatics.
4.) How
can some Jews act this way?
I wish I
could say that Jews were exempt from these contradictions. I
grew up with an image of Judaism with a central commitment
to rational discourse about everything, with the possible
exception of Israel. Discovering that Jews were capable of
irrationality, even violence, in the name of religion, was a
discomforting and unpleasant realization.
Logic
certainly finds its limitations in these areas. I was a fan
of William F. Buckley, Jr.’s “Firing Line”. I enjoy exposing
contradictions, and Buckley was a master.
I
remember an especially fascinating discussion between Mr.
Buckley and Bernadette Devlin, a young Irish-communist
activist of the day. They had a brilliant exchange, leading
ultimately to questions about fundamental assumptions. “How
can you assert your Catholic view of reality is more correct
than my atheistic view?” asked the young provocateur.
“Because my Catholic view is true,” responded a confidently
smiling Buckley.
Perhaps
one of these “truths” just happens to be “The Truth”. Who
really knows? I admit I’m not sure Muslims who die in
religious battles won’t go to heaven surrounded by Vestal
Virgins. I don’t know for sure that Jesus wasn’t born to a
mother who had not conceived in the usual sexual way.
I don’t
know if Moses parted the Red Sea, or was perhaps a shrewd
reader of the tidal charts of those days. By the way, the
name “Red Sea” was translated at some point from the Hebrew
“Yom Soof” or “Reed Sea”. A strategic typo along the way? It
increases my doubts about the whole business.
One
thing I do know – The pursuit of “truth”, as in mine over
yours, creates conflict and isolation among individuals,
groups and societies. I am secular enough to think those are
bad things.
Religious zealots, “knowers of truth” of whatever religion,
or atheistic communism, seem to come from a more
psychological than theological orientation, with behavior
too similar to be coincidental – rigidity, repression and
control-driven personalities. They often have a scary gleam
in their eyes.
More
than theological or philosophical, the challenge of dealing
with rigid manifestations of religious “truth” is one of
management and leadership – how to create societies that
allow diverse groups to believe and act on their
truth, without hurting each other. I wonder if the “Freedom
of Religion” framers of our own Constitution fully realized
the challenge this would become.
Creating
this multi-religious space is one of the principal
challenges of our time. They did it in Toledo, Spain of the
Middle Ages (according to PBS). They seem to have done it,
more or less, in post-genocide Bosnia. Yay us! Even in
Miami. Perhaps it can be done in Darfur, or post-Saddam (and
post-Bush) Iraq, or even in 21st Century United
States of America. Inshe-allah!
