A disclaimer: by the term priesthood I am referring to all major religions where there is a hierarchical power structure leading to power resting in the hands of a very few or single individual who, through tradition, various historical claims, etc., insists to be speaking with some or absolute authority from God.
As I sat watching the latest round of mindless butchery, this time in Sharm El-Sheikh, Egypt I wondered, not for the first time, what any rational human being could do in the face of such insanity.
I know a fair amount about Islam. My background and my education has brought this about. As I sat there looking at the carnage wondering what I would do had one of my loved ones been killed at the resort – feeling an intense anguish at what might have happened but didn’t (this time) I realized I would, in a fit of revenge, go after - not the fools that daily think they’re making a splendid sacrifice in the name of Islam - but rather the despicable monsters that cultivate these pathetic creatures to end their lives and the lives of so many others in such a hideous way.
I would go after the Islamic leaders who perpetuate this barbaric, revolting and unimaginably twisted concept of Islam. The men who sit back and like horrid beasts in ancient tales, drink deep from the misery they perpetuate, reveling in what they assume is their vast power to terrorize whole populations.
I wondered, not for the first time, why the majority of Muslims, especially other Muslim leaders, Mullas, Imams and others are so cowardly in their refusal to stand against these men. Do they not love their Islam? Do they not desperately want to stop these men from forever tarnishing the image of Mohammad? Do they want Islam to be known to the other five billion inhabitants of this beautiful world as a world religion with only one agenda: the death of all non-Muslims?
And I realized, not for the first time that this charge I’ve brought certainly can’t be leveled only at Muslim leaders. Every major religion, some far more so than others, have been lead by men who are the very antithesis of what Moses, Jesus, Mohammad, Krishna and Buddha taught.
Article comments
— go to most recent comments1 - Matthew T. Sussman
If God permits suffering, it is so that we become aware of it and help them. What benefit would possibly come from scrapping organized religion?
2 - Jones Violet
I have a feeling you're going to get a whole lot of negative comments for writing this and there's nothing wrong with that, of course. The world would indeed be boring if we all had the same ideas, but I just wanted to say that this one of the best written articles on this subject I've read in a long time. You're able to convey the anger and frustration you feel in this, yet able to write in a civil and completely calm way what most people would end up ruining.
Great article, alethinos59. Looking forward to reading more from you.
P.S. Couldn't agree with you more!
3 - KYS
Alethinos,
Good for you! I commend your willingness to address such a volatile subject. Well done!
4 - Sylvia Lundy
I concur with your view. Thomas Jefferson shared your feelings as well, which is the reason he went through the Bible and took out only the actual words of Christ so as to compile a book for his own guidance. The book is still published as "Jefferson's Bible."
5 - Nancy
Great article, Alethinos. And Matt, the benefits of eradicating organized religion was the whole point of the article; how did you miss it unless you didn't bother to read it? Organized religion always has, does even now, and always will, bring out the worst & most vicious aspects of the human personality. Atrocities committed for the sake of political gain are nothing to the atrocities committed by those inspired by organized religion. However, Alethinos isn't proposing to dismantle organized religion, more's the pity; he's only proposing that they be changed to delete self-appointed mediators, i.e. the clergy, especially those who encourage repression of others either for ideological or power-hungry grounds. I'M the one that advocates organized religion altogether. Take some time to read the article, please.
6 - Shark
a coupla comments:
1) Priests are handmaidens to Princes; they have a symbiotic relationship -- and will continue to support each other until -- together -- they succeed in wiping homo sapiens from the planet.
2) "DISCLAMIER: by the term priesthood I am referring to all major religions where there is a hierarchical power structure leading to power resting in the hands of a very few or single individual who... insists to be speaking with some or absolute authority from God."
That would include George W. Bush.
3) Fundamental Christians are growing as quickly as Islamic Fundamentalists -- which means the 21st century will be one long stuggle between two prehistoric, anti-science/education partriarchal lunacies.
4) ...Which means a simpler solution [and about as likely, heh] would be to eradicate all males: you blame Religion; I blame the combination of Testosterone and Relgion, the most volatile mix on earth.
7 - Nancy
Well, Shark, I didn't want to go that far, seeing as I already have advocated barring men from positions of responsibility in other threads for the same reasons ... but Yeah - you're absolutely right!
8 - Nancy
Heirarchies of any kind - whether organized religion, the military, or most forms of government, seem to be strictly MALE constructs. Sort of a testosterone-laden power lineup adjudicated by pecker order, i.e. my balls are bigger than your balls (figuratively speaking). Kinda like Mr. Macho's "bring it on" when he is in NO danger of being in danger himself, never was, & never will be, heh heh heh.
Very few women think that way. I grant there are exceptions, but they are few & far between. Women tend to pick a leader (if one is needed) by consensus, & work communally, w/little sense of "face" being involved. Probably because, having to actually get more things done in day-to-day living, from the inception of time, they instinctively know they can't afford to dick around playing power games like men do.
9 - Shark
Nancy, re. my "solution" to all of humankind's current problems, (kill all the males), I must add that I'm an agnostic and my testosterone is running on empty...
meaning...
I'm exempt.
10 - Nancy
LOL - well...aren't we all, when it comes to things being applied to 'us' as well as 'everyone else'? Human nature. If you're a girl, sorry; can't tell from the name.
11 - alethinos59
Thanks for all the posts folks... I should probably make something clear. I insisting that the priesthood of major world religions be ended I am not suggesting that religion itself be done away with. Nor am I suggesting that there is not a place for "organized" religion. There is. But in the HANDS of the congegration. A democratic style where the "leadership" is in the hands of many. Another way to eliminate someone rising to POWER in such a situation would be that there could be, under NO CONDITIONS WHATSOEVER, campaigning. Leaders would have a tenure of ONE YEAR and would be voted in by the congegration after personal deliberation. The field of candidates for the job would be from the entire congegration itself.
An ENTITY of like-minded individuals on the same spiritual path can be a POWERFUL FORCE FOR GOOD.
Anyway... These are morning thoughts... I'm dangerously short on coffee so God only knows if any of this made sense...
Alethinos59
12 - Georgio
This is a very good article and one that I would like to see more of..I did not expect to see Nancy or Shark here but was glad to see that they agree with Alethinos as I do also...organized religion is something that is responsible for all the violence in the world but I do not know what should take it"s place...I got a kick out of the mention of "the Jefferson bible"...what he did is take all the good out of the bible and left the bad out...that is exactly what most ppl do however if one is going to use the bible he has to examine all of it to get to the truth if this is the word of God or just a bunch of ancients remembering stories and then those in power at the time putting into the bible what they wanted..It is the Fundies and extremists that think that the bible is the word of God and that is why it is so dangerous because they think Government and peoples lives should be controlled by what the bible says..Science and common sense mean nothing to them...The Muslims who use Gods name to justify their inhuman acts are just plain stupid but are they any different than our so called Christians who use the bible to teach their kids things that are not true..they operate on the principle of FEAR and GUILT...do this or you will burn in hell is one of their favorites..The Pope pretending to know what is best for us when he does not even know how to control his own priests..or the Jerry Falwell's who believed in slavery until he was 48yrs old because the bible told him that ...what changed his mind was a human event and yet ppl follow leaders like that..They follow George Bush also because he has direct talks with God Did God tell him to invade Iraq even though a lot of innocent ppl where going to die..WHY NOT..the bible is full of stuff where God ordered the killing of innocent women and children ..oh you won"t find this in Jefferson's bible I assure you and thats the prob em ...ppl only see the good thats in the bible but pretend that the bad is not important..I could go on and on about this important subject but what I fear most is what Shark made mention of in #3....>>>>3) Fundamental Christians are growing as quickly as Islamic Fundamentalists -- which means the 21st century will be one long struggle between two prehistoric, anti-science/education patriarchal lunacies>>>>......I fear we will have a revolution in this country and changing the Abortion laws could set it off...and so the circle comes around to organized religion again...
13 - Victor Plenty
Fundamentalisms are growing, partly because they provide desperately disconnected people with a sense of belonging and importance. This is the same whether the fundamentalist movements are Islamic, Christian, Jewish, Hindu, or from any other faith background.
In all of history, no other human institution has provided this feeling of community and shared purpose more reliably and successfully than religion. Many of humanity's greatest achievements in art and literature, in charitable works, in scientific inquiry, and in many other fields of endeavor have been inspired by religion and brought to fruition through support from religious communities.
The problem is finding some way to preserve these benefits of organized religion, while preventing the virulent effects of fundamentalist fervor.
The worst effects of fundamentalism always arise from the cult of personality surrounding charismatic leaders who learn how to whip their desperate followers' fears into a frenzy of mindless violence and hatred. These cult leaders often infiltrate religious communities by rising through the ranks of their priestly classes.
What Alethinos proposes is probably necessary, even if it may not be sufficient to guarantee peace.
We can withdraw support from all priestly hierarchies, and make it much harder for fundamentalist sociopaths to gain power, without having to abandon organized religion and its many social benefits.
14 - Matthew T. Sussman
>> Organized religion always has, does even now, and always will, bring out the worst & most vicious aspects of the human personality
It brings out the best in everyone else.
So if it has negative aspects, get rid of it?
Nihilism isn't the answer.
15 - Matthew T. Sussman
If there are no religious figures, how does it remain organized?
16 - Georgio
Victor ..you are absolutely correct when you say "Fundamentalisms are growing, partly because they provide desperately disconnected people with a sense of belonging and importance"....but this is where they go astray ..they are made to feel welcome and important and then they are trapped into accepting all the bullshit that the leaders tell them..they have no minds of their own and are led to believe every word of the bible is true even when science shows the mistakes in the bible such as the age of the earth for example ,,to them God is right and scientists are wrong..just ask them ..I like the points you made about community ..that is the one area I think religion helps..
17 - gonzo marx
it can remain organized via the community involved in it
the original Post brings up many good points that can be thought about in the context of the discussion...
what he is advocating is NOT nihilism, not the abandonment of organized religion...it is the abolishment of the "priest" class...
historically, the priests were needed because the congregation could not read, and thus it was neccesary for someone to read the texts and even give some explanation and clarification...
now, with the onset of literacy, such a need is no longer an Issue...also in the context of History, it can be clearly demonstrated that the priest class has worked hand in hand with the political class to forment conflict and justify conflict...by giving it the "approval of God", you can easily justify almost any position, politically, and give rise to killing without guilt due to the sanction of religion...
the Lesson to be learned here, gentle Readers, is if someone says "God told me" he is either a dangerously deluded psychopath, or an inveterate liar...check you wallet before you leave...
Excelsior!
18 - Matthew T. Sussman
So, parishioners: ok, but priests: not ok? As long as I know that's where the line is to be drawn.
It wasn't made very clear that the entire organizational structure wasn't propopsed to be scrapped, just the highest orders.
But if the religion still exists, people will still accept it with varying levels of extremism. And to abolish an entire concept because of a very small minority is like saying Blogcritics should stop having message threads because people might troll on them.
I'll take what the author says at face value, these are "morning thoughts" and nothing well-thought out.
19 - Victor Plenty
The "morning thoughts" were in a comment made the day after the original post, Matthew.
A fact you could easily have determined yourself, if you were interested in serious debate instead of making cheap shots that fail to address any of the points made.
20 - gonzo marx
fair enuff , Matthew...
let me give an example...Islam is split into 2 distinct sects...the Sunni and the Shi'ia..
Sunni's believe there should not be anyone between the Believer and the Word..it is up to each to read the Word and Learn from it, as well as follow the tenets if Islam...
Shi'ia believe there IS a need for there to be "priests", ie:Imams and Mullahs, between the Believer and the Word...and that these "holy" men are there to interpert and pass on the Will of "God"
take a guess as to which sect the vast majority of terrorists come from in the Islamic world...then scan the news and scope out how many Mullahs and Imams preach hatred and jihad
now do the flip with christian history, check out the Cathars and Albigensians...they were "gnostic" sects, that had no priesthood...they were destroyed by the Catholic church via a french kings and the popes...one incident involved over 300 hundred marching voluntarily into a bonfire rather than renounce their Faith and becoming "catholic"
i hope that helps elucidate the Point...
Excelsior!
21 - Matthew T. Sussman
Gonzo, I looked up and that Cathar incident took place hundreds of years ago, which is about the place in history the Middle East is currently in in terms of civil rights. But they have the weapons of the 21st century.
Today, the people I know who practice Islam don't advocate jihad. And I haven't heard many Christians from the pulpit calling to arms either.
But your point is well made in a historical perspective, though, and what needed to be done to modernize religion.
Victor, I misread what he said and apologize. But I wouldn't have been surprised if he had meant that about his column, because much of it is simply Utopian prose, making it difficult to pick out the "points made."
I just think converting priesthood into democratic elections doesn't solve the problem mentioned. The problem and solution don't seem connected.
Well I'm off for a business trip. Back next weekend. Later.
22 - Victor Plenty
Gonzo, both Shia and Sunni Muslims believe, in principle, that one should read the Qur'an personally and make one's own decisions as to its meaning, without need for any priest-type interpreter.
However in practice this has not prevented a priestly class from arising in both sects. Both have imams in the sense of people who lead the prayers, and these imams acquire a priestly level of authority in both sects.
Among the Sunnis the priestly class is not quite so entrenched as the mullahs in the Shia sect have become, but in many cases even the Sunni imams still wield tremendous influence over the community.
Hopefully, with the spread of greater literacy throughout the Islamic world, the influence of the Muslim priestly classes can fall into a sharp decline as it did in the Western world when literacy grew in Europe and America.
(Of course Christian congregations still have plenty of work ahead of them to gain full freedom from the yoke of priesthoods both formal and informal, but at least the West seems headed firmly in that direction.)
23 - Nancy
I will break w/this thread long enough to say, Gonzo, I'm absolutely delighted you're back. You were sorely missed.
24 - gonzo marx
thanks Nancy...and Thank you , Victor for the explanation...i was going by my reading, and the few Muslims i have met in my life..i know from reading your stuff that you have much more experience with this particular topic...
i appreciate the added info, and stand duly corrected in some details..
Excelsior!
25 - alethinos59
Thanks again to all for an interesting mix of remarks and insights! It seems that most understood I was NOT advocating the abolishment of religion - organized that is.
I am unsure of what to make of the few remarks for getting rid of all males... I'll assume it was in jest. If serious, well, that ranks right up there with extreme environmentalist who say the world would be better off without humans... Apparently their thought process halted on that last period and proceeded no further.
Of course, as I said, eliminating the priesthood would NOT eliminate - completely - religious fantaticism. That sickness will be with us for a long time - but you will not - as Victor said or alluded to - that in the West where a large portion of the populations have moved away from blindly accepting everything spewed from the pulpit - there is very little out and out religious violence. At least no where near the level seen in the Mid-East...
Thanks again all - perhaps we can continue to expand this thread and explore viable avenues of action?