When I posted this essay (rant) on the Kindle Forum, I got numerous hate mail and threats.  I decided to take it off rather than jeopardize my Kindle account.  “You better watch what you say here,” and, “The soldiers of Jihad know what to do with people like you.”  Stuff like that. 

I’ll admit it:  I do have a tendency to go over the top.  But only because humans are in such perilous times.  We’re shuffling the deck of Tarot cards that’ll determine what happens to life on the planet. 

So here’s the essay broken up into bite-size bits.  I’d appreciate comments to determine if I should continue to expand it to my next Kindle book after Mirror Reversal.  Thanks,

Religion Is Abomination 

Preface:  I’m not gay, but if I were I’d be pissed at some bronze-age fisherman or goat-herder declaring my genetic sexual proclivities to be “Abomination”—to be loathed and deplored.  I have news for you, I’d say, the whole screwy religion has caused more misery and suffering than same-sex lovemaking ever could.  At least nobody gets hurt when safely and consensually performed. It’s time we turn the tables and ask if “Religion Is Abomination.”

What gets me is the arrogance and gall of these religious assholes.  With the world population recently exceeding seven billion and the natural world violated and defiled such that the biodiversity on the planet is in irreparable decline and seriously endangered, religious leaders think they ride the moral high road and non-reproductive sex immoral and perverse.  It should be the other way around.  Every baby born into this over¬populated world makes life a tiny bit cheaper, one droplet at a time in an unsustainable ocean of humanity.  In Mirror Reversal, I propound that the entire attitude—zeitgeist— toward sex has to change.  Just like blacks, the GLBT community should be granted a social affirmative action to atone for the undeserved abuse they had to endure over the ages, and straight, unprotected, face-to-face, dick-in-vagina coitus be considered unnatural.  Extinction is a natural phenomenon, but it was never caused by one runaway, cancerous species.  We must spend our lives passively and silently witnessing the sixth. 

The Bible and Koran encourage and condone the worst aspects of human behavior:  war, human sacrifice, slavery, necrophilia, cruelty to animals, anthropocentrism, suicide, starvation, racism, dichotomous thinking, nepotism, xenophobia, child abuse, blind faith, hadephobia, sexism, homophobia, nepotism, denial of reality, self flagellation, torture, symbolic cannibalism, and other insults to reason.  The result has been to corrupt, distort and pervert the worldview of all who stubbornly cling to these religious beliefs and have faith in the dictates and promises of well meaning but delusional, professional clerics. 

War

Consider the suffering and misery war has caused since the agricultural revolution and the inception of private property.  This is when mankind changed from tribal hunter/gatherer to city-state farmer/herdsman with specialized division of labor.  Land and wealth ownership began to play a key role in human interactions. Any enlightened religious leader would have realized that humans are descendents of primates, tree dwellers, and consequently strongly hierarchical.  It’s safer and healthier at the top branches.  Ever notice that the rich (strong) live longer than the working class?  In this regard, humans haven’t evolved much from the Law of the Jungle. In many ways we’re still animals at a primal level. 

War is mostly unknown in the animal world except for a few insects (mostly ants) and chimps in occasional skirmishes over territory due to human-caused shrinking of habitat.  The Bible and Koran not only permit but encourage the faithful to pick up arms and bash the skulls of enemies, usually members of other tribes or people with dissimilar religious beliefs. 

There are a myriad of quotations permitting or encouraging war.  Here’s just a few:

Josh 8:1-2 The Lord then said to Joshua, “Do not be afraid or dismayed.  Take all the army with you and prepare to attack Ai.  I have delivered the king of Ai into your power with his city, people and land.  … take its spoil and livestock as booty.” 

Ex 15:3 The Lord is a warrior.  Lord is his name.

2 Kings 18:20 Do you think mere words substitute for the strategy and might of war? 

Num. 31:18 God orders his warriors to kill every living thing in a captured city, except the virgin girls, who are to be raped and turned into sex slaves.

Judges 5:30 The spoils of war include “a damsel or two” for every man.

Judges 21:12, 28 God’s warriors killed all the inhabitants of Jabesh-Gilead except for 400 virgin girls, who were taken as slaves.  If there are not enough girls to go around, God’s warriors may raid neighboring towns for more to rape.

I could go on and on this goofy-ass mythology.  The Bible contains scores of similar quotations.  How different history might have been if the writers of the sacred scripture had realized that humans are evolving hominids in early stages.  Humans are mammals that need as infants to suck milk and hug other warm bodies—that’s what “mammal” means.  War wouldn’t have been glorified but used only as a last resort, like a cat with its back against the wall, to be endured only in absolute self defense whereby every citizen avers, I will only fight defending my own land.  Without Biblical thinking, fighting primitive tribesmen Afghanistan would be considered “nuts.” 

Hitler and the Nazis thought war was a natural condition, a unique characteristic of manhood.  War was so familiar to every generation it was considered part of growing up.  Because of Holy Scripture, the insanity was considered acceptable and normal. 

Human Sacrifice

Let’s call a spade a spade.  If you’re a Catholic and you attend mass on Sunday, you’re assisting at a human sacrifice.  Christ was human right?  I see very little difference between the pre-Columbian Aztecs of Mesoamerica holding up the beating heart of a warrior to the Hummingbird Wizard, Huitzilpochtli, and the priest at the alter holding up his chalice muttering something about “corpus Dei.” 

I could never understand what the heck God the Father gets out of it, human or animal.  To my mind, a good God should say, “Screw that.  Put your swords and daggers away.  Just have fun and enjoy the life I gave you.  And let that baby lamb do its thing as well. Whatever led you to believe I get my divine rocks off seeing the blood of a lamb?” 

To be continued with Slavery and the rest of the evils in Pandora’s Box.

I only read the first two paragraphs and I don’t like it. Also, there are very few people (Hitchens, for example) who can use profanity without running the risk of sounding vulgar and I don’t think you’re one of them.

I also stopped after the second paragraph.  You are obviously a completely incompetent writer.  An angry, stupid diatribe doesn’t accomplish anything.  I suggest you write down for yourself, your goals.  What are you trying to put forth?  Write down your premises (logical, objective ones, not your pissed off babble).  Write a logical series to arrive at your final objective.  Then write an outline of how you can move from the beginning to the conclusions.  Then write a rational paper based on that.  If you can’t or won’t do that, give up.  You’ll be wasting your time.  And I don’t blame the religious readers for reacting as you reported from that silliness.

Occam

Aristopus, I don’t think George and Occam are in disagreement with your argument per se. They are offering critique on the format in which you presented your case.

I actually disagree with a lot of what he said here. (I have now also read his first paragraph under the “War” subtitle.) If Aristopus wants, we can discuss some of the points where I think he is wrong. But I doubt he is interested. As had been the case in the past, what he’s after is audience, not discussion. Not sure why people often confuse a discussion forum for a personal blog. My guess is it’s because nobody reads their blogs.

I had hoped to achieve an intelligent discussion here on new ideas.  I honestly feel that the country and world are in grave danger of imminent cataclysm.  As George Carlin put it, the country is “circling the bowl” and beginning to speed up before it goes down the drain.

Instead of receiving insightful rebuttal of the ideas I put forth, I get criticism first for the length of the post and then secondly the use of a few vulgar words.  I can only refute these objections by reminding readers that this is the internet and CFI is a website for freethinkers. 

The main thesis of my thinking is that a radical change of consciousness is the only way to save the planet.  This entails curtailing the runaway, unbridled population growth which is thrusting our species on the path to extinction.  Later in the essay I state that while politicians argue about gay marriage and tax rates for the rich, the entire simian population on the planet has dwindled to 284 species—half of which are endangered.  Just a few centuries ago (a second in geological time) there were tens of thousands.  Religion has separated its follower from nature, and that’s why most people don’t even know about nor care what happens to the world’s monkeys. 

A main theme of Mirror Reversal is the universe is indifferent to us.  There’s no supernatural entity that will come at the last second to save the world.  So I tried to enumerate the negative effects that mythology has caused, and continues to cause, the suffering and misfortune that I tried to identify and enumerate.  In other words, the list of evils in Pandora’s Box put forth in the third paragraph. 

So, I guess the best thing to leave is leave the post up there to see if it engenders any interest.  The next section is the discourse on how religion supports and condones slavery.  I’d enjoy debating this fact with anyone here to might have a different opinion.

To Occam, you never answered my question, “What did you write?”  I leave it for the readership here to determine if these suppositions are “stupid,” and to question if you should be in any position of authority making judgments on what’s appropriate for a website dedicated to the free flow of ideas.  As moderator, I’d think your job would be to facilitate the exchange of ideas (that’s what CFI means) rather than inserting derogatory comments on posts that you don’t agree with in an attempt to show how smart and analytical you are.

Occam. - 15 May 2012 12:07 AM

  And I don’t blame the religious readers for reacting as you reported from that silliness.

Occam

One more thought:  Occam think about what you’re tryiing to say here.  It sounds like you’re condoning the use of threats to stiffle thoughts you don’t agree with, as in the Salman Rushdie case.

Aristopus - 15 May 2012 07:27 AM

I had hoped to achieve an intelligent discussion here on new ideas.

What ideas? That monkeys are dying out and nobody cares because of religion? 

Quite so.  Fair question.

I contend that by teaching followers that mankind is separated from the animal world—we have a soul and they do not—we lose connection with the other life on the planet.  Phylogenetically we are very close to primates and share the exact same genetic code.  But instead of seeing them as cousins, religion teaches that we “have dominion” over them and, as history proves, can do anything we want to them.  We’re in the midst of the Sixth Great Extinction and most people don’t even know it. 

I just saw the movie War Horse.  What other explanation could explain such brutality and insane cruety of such a benign and good animal? 

If what I contend isn’t true, shouldn’t the pope be denouncing the 125 species driven to extinction every day by human rapacity, rather than the use of condoms in Africa? 

Just an aside:  I’ve been an etymologist much of my life.  The very word “religion” refers to a “re” again or back, and “lig” from the word for tying, as in “ligature.”  Religion is a retying of the umbilical cord, cut from nature and reconnected to the “mother” church.

Are you, as an atheist who doesn’t believe that we have a soul, a vegetarian? Do you refuse to buy leather shoes since they are made from the skin of our murdered second cousins, the mammals? Even if you respond yes to that question, why are not all atheists vegetarians? You are just cherry-picking and pattern-searching to try to come up with a simple explanation for the complexity found all around us. There are a number of reasons why many animals are dying out, but I really doubt religion has much to do with any of it.

I’m not sure Religion is the cause of all those things you mentioned; human nature is.

[quote author=“George” date=“1337117461There are a number of reasons why many animals are dying out, but I really doubt religion has much to do with any of it.

George, I can’t answer for all atheists.  I pass my own life very respectful of other life forms, though I do eat a meat dish once in a while.  To tell the truth, I really hate to see these hunting shows on ESPN on weekend mornings and have complained about it, to no avail. 

As far as your quote goes, I don’t see how you can fail to connect the dots.  Let me refer you to the work of the renowned paleoanthropologist, Dr. David Jablonski, of the University of Chicago.  He’s an expert on extinction and predicts most familiar species will be extinct by mid-century.  All tigers, polar bears, rhinos, giraffes, gorillas, countless more will be permanently and eternally gone.  All the “narrowly endemic” species will be extincted, like the koala bear for instance, because their biologic niche is reliant on strict, non-varying homeostasis of environment.  On the other hand, hearty types like pigeons and crows in Avis, cockroaches and beetles in Insecta, rats and feral cats in Mammalia, catfish and piranha in Pisces will thrive due to the vacated niche.  In the case of humans, street fighters and nomads—the Mad Max scenario (my projection, not Jablonski’s). 

The main reason for the mass extinction is called “fragmentation of habitat.”  In the case of koala, humans are cutting down eucalyptus trees that they rely on.  In the case of gorilla, which once roamed the entire continent as far north as Libya, the Ugandan rain forest is being depleted for lumber.  In the case of the American bison, whose story I recount in Mirror Reversal, numbers are estimated to have exceeded 220,000,000 when the Spanish got here, and were reduced to less than 20,000 by the 1890s when environmentalists finally intervened to save them.  To compensate and make restitution for the insane cruelty and barbarism, the U.S. Government issued a nickel with the silhouette of a bison on the reverse in 1913. 

So to answer your question, religion hasn’t supplied the moral guidance to enable humans live in harmony and community with the natural world.  Instead, with the “created in the image of God” nonsense, the scriptures have served to exacerbate anthropocentricism, which is the cause of much of the depravity.

I don’t see how having meat once in a while is being respectful of animals. Who knows, maybe one day you’ll find the moral guidance to help you practice as you preach.

I just saw the movie War Horse.  What other explanation could explain such brutality and insane cruety of such a benign and good animal

Blame politics; the Arch-Duke of Austria was drive byed by a Bosnian terrorist, Austria used this as an excuse to declare war on Serbia in an attempt to take all of the Balkans, Russia declared war on Austria as a result of the philosophy of pan-slavism, Germany declared war on Russia because of a military alliance with Austria and when she violated the territory of Belgium, England declared war on Germany. The Brits and the Germans used horses for cavalry and the artillery and the cruel war resulted in the killing and maiming of millions of humans and animals. See, Aristopus, the causes are complex and the answers aren’t simple here and as in your scenerio. Ex. who controls most of the African nations along the equator where the endangered animals are dying because the poor are destroying the forests for the precious furniture wood? How do you curtail world-wide capitalism that results in global warming and the uneven distribution of goods and services? Religion? religion’s got nothing to do with it. How much is a monkey worth? How much is its environment worth? That’s the bottom line. People are even being bought and sold. Solve that problem and the Earth will survive. Whatever destruction that was done in the name of religion pales in comparision to what was done for profit. Ex. disaster capitalism.

Cap’t Jack

Thevillageatheist - 16 May 2012 05:27 AM

I just saw the movie War Horse.  What other explanation could explain such brutality and insane cruety of such a benign and good animal

See, Aristopus, the causes are complex and the answers aren’t simple here and as in your scenerio. Ex. who controls most of the African nations along the equator where the endangered animals are dying because the poor are destroying the forests for the precious furniture wood? How do you curtail world-wide capitalism that results in global warming and the uneven distribution of goods and services? Religion? religion’s got nothing to do with it. How much is a monkey worth? How much is its environment worth? That’s the bottom line.  Cap’t Jack

Thanks for the astute comment, Captain.  I was hoping for some polite, intelligent debate on this board before the conversation got turned off track.

Of course the problems we’re discussing are complex and diverse.  To my mind the elephant in the room is human fecundity, plain and simple—especially in Africa.  I’ve written several posts on my other blog on overpopulation in Mali and Nigeria.  “Outrageous, imbecile and simply crazy” are a few words I used to describe it.  I don’t want to research all the stats again, but in Mali, for instance, the average life expectancy is around 45, five million die each year from starvation, yet 15 million are born.  Nigeria, a nation the size of Texas, has a population of around 80 million.  People are crawling on top of each other reaching for the tallest branches (to quote Terence McKenna, if you’re familiar with him) and religion (Christianity and Islam, both of which encourage large families) is a key factor in this sad, tragic situation. 

Interesting you should mention Emperor Franz Joseph, whom I talk about in the section on dichotomous thinking.  He was one of the most conservative rulers since Caesar Augustus.  He ruled for 68 years and would allow no reform or change at all.  To support my “Religion is Abomination” argument, he was a staunch believer and advocate of the Divine Right of Kings.  That would really piss me off (if I can be vulgar again) if some politician ever tried to pull off such an obvious, stupid, hocus-pocus scam.  God gave me the divine authority to be king and “there’re two kinds of people in the empire:  the Teutons who are meant to rule, and the Slavs who are meant to obey.”  No wonder Europe was plunged into madness. 

Your argument about economic factors is of course sound and reasonable.  We really can’t pin the etiology of the sick situation entirely on religion.  In Mirror Reversal, I mention a market in Kinshasa, Congo, that sells gorilla-hand ashtrays.  As one poster here put it, maybe it’s “just human nature.”  But to my mind, if I observed the planet as an ET orbiting the planet, it’s more like it’s human nature lost and insane.  As James Joyce observed, the inner man is good but somehow got corrupted and debauched along the way.  In other words, all babies are born atheists.

Have you ever heard of the saying “correlation does not imply causation,” Aristopus? Nigeria is overpopulated because of religion? This is just absurd.

And regarding James Joyce, you may want to see what scientists (instead of novel writers) have to say on this topic. According to Bruce Hood in his book “Supersense: Why We Believe in the Unbelievable,” people are in fact born with an instinct to believe in the supernatural. In other words, babies are not born atheists. Don’t take novel authors that seriously.