How Religion Spoils Everything

Even if you are not a Christopher Hitchens fan you have to agree with the logic he presents in his book. So if this is true then what do we do about it?

If you are religious then please do not let me offend you. This is not my intention. My only true wish is to make the world a better, safer place for everyone. The question we all have to ask ourselves is how do we attain this goal without offending every Christian, Muslim, Hindu and other religious belief. If our vision was big enough how could we encompass all of these religions under one umbrella and dispose of the nasty underpinnings of violence, philosophical oligarchy and outright hatred.

Lets pretend for a moment that you were born in the Middle East. What religion are you likely to be? How would your thoughts and philosophy be different from a western Christian's point of view? The answer is significantly different. Now lets say you were born in India. What religion are you likely to be and how would this impact your life? The answer is it would have a significant impact. Underlying all these scenarios is the fact that the accident of birth determines our religious, political and cultural idea logy.

It seems as though we are stuck with outdated religious philosophy that is both dangerous and illogical. No one can claim the upper hand and declare their beliefs sounder than any other. This is a big problem because every christian, Muslim or other faithful religious Samaritan smugly ponders their philosophical superiority to the other. This friction causes pain and suffering usually for those that are the least advantaged in society.

It is easy to criticize America's hypocrisy in this regard. Our ability for self reflection has been lost to overbearing religious bravado. Frankly, we see what we want to see. We seek out others who agree with our point of view. We vilify and destroy those that oppose us. This is not Christian. This is self appointed judge and executioner and stems directly from the fallacy of religious superiority. Where is the understanding and support?

No let's think about how we might change the dynamics so that we can believe without remorse. If you think about this question you come to a conclusion. There really is only one solution and that is to borrow the best from every religion and combine it into a new philosophy. We should have a far reaching ideology that embraces every aspect a modern society deems necessary in a civilization. We should utilize but not blindly follow outdated cryptic texts written thousands of years ago. We should not take ancient ideas and bend them to our own philosophical means. Rather we should change the texts themselves.

I propose that the only way to solve sectarian violence in any form is to embrace a new ideology. I am not suggesting this be christian or Muslim but modern ideas that encompass the best of what every culture and religion has to offer and then tweak it. God does not speak through us. He does not give one person ideological vision over another. He is totally unbiased and is bemused by our social upheaval. This will not be an easy task. First we have to decide on the ideas that will underlie our beliefs.

Lets start right now.