Before I begin, I would like to state that there are going to be some minor changes happening on the blog. Henceforth, a very close friend of mine, Jeff Vargas, will be blogging along with me. However, it will not just be single posts by each of us; we will respond, rebut, and discuss each others postings which should provide a fresh and interesting take on our topics. Thanks for reading. -Kelsey
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The hypocrisy of some no know bounds. It’s an amazing thing, how far people are willing to go to portray a holy attitude. This is not a new concept in religion. Religious bigotry, pretension, and hypocrisy stems back to early sects of Hinduism. Although people (particularly in modern times) like to group religions other than there own into a heretical group, there are actually many many sects of Hinduism. A common theme in Hinduism is the conflict of gods and goddesses. It was not uncommon for arguments to break out in ancient India over the differences of the Goddesses Lakshmi and Saraswati (1). To translate this to a modern perspective using Christianity as an example, this would most closely mimic two Christian’s fighting over the conflicting beliefs of Michael and Gabriel. Or perhaps even Jesus and Mary. I exclude the idea of “God the Father” due to the numerous faces and theoretical personalities of this deity.
That stated, hypocrisy is nothing new. It exists within religion, families, and every day life. In the eyes of most, it’s the worst term because it implies that you aren’t living up to a particular standard. Hypocrisy has even been discussed on this very blog in the past; many times over the last decade. It is the dissection of religion that troubles me more than anything. Let us observe Christianity for a moment. The idea of living a perfect life as Jesus Christ did is unobtainable. It is a paradoxical, impossible task. “Christians. Disciples of Christ. Followers.” These individuals contain the power to do far more harm with these titles than good. These titles, regardless of there meaning, intentions, or true nature, are more of a formality than a reality. Considering the sociocultural effect that people have instilled upon this world, it is a true impossibility to live up to the standards of this title. That stated, it is not only attempted, but misused. Regardless of the inconsistencies, misquotations, and illegitimacy of the Bible as a whole, people still choose to cling to the Bible as the end-all, be-all book.
Let us assume for a moment that the Bible, as it is, is accurate and has been translated properly. Although I do not believe that it has, we will assume such for the sake of this argument. The Bible as it is has so many contradictions and puts so many different faces on God the Father, that no one within a sane state of mind can accept it as 100% truth. Although people do. This argument is paradoxical in itself. Assuming that it is true, this God has assigned us intelligence, yet we forego that intelligence to cling to the idea of the Bible. I read through the King James version of the bible twelve times as a child. From front to back. On my eighth read through, I purposefully counted at least twelve different personas of God. Ranging from the God that was willing to kill children, to a God that was willing to kill with lightning, and so on… I do not read Greek. I do not read Hebrew. However, I would be willing to wager that the majority of the people that read the Bible are unable to read/write it as well. So let us (generously) assume that 75% of the Christian population do not read Greek/Hebrew and have no intention of translating. So is this 75% mislead and bound for the second death (Matthew 10:26)? The most typical answer to this problem would be that God has an understanding for those that “try” but do not fully succeed. You have heard this argument before I am sure. Think about those that died prior to 1 A.D. I have been informed by numerous Sunday school teachers (although there is no biblical reference to this that I am aware of) that these individuals worshipped the sun, moon, stars, or the creator of these celestial objects. This argument negates the requirement for any type of Jesus figure, therefore voiding all of the acts of Jesus Christ. It could also be argued that Jesus descended into hell to preach to these theoretical miscreants (1 Pet 3:18). However, there is a great deal of discrepancy on those scriptures. Many accept the idea that he descended into Hell as a catholic idea (2).
Regardless, hypocrisy finds itself in the heart of every religion. The purpose behind this entire post is that religion should not exist in our world. It is an unfortunate thing that it does. Let me share with you an excerpt from a book:
“So, Jack. Where do you go to church?” Janice asked me. And there it was. The most loaded question you can hear in the south. The answer to this one question was going to sum up my entire relationship with Sarah’s mother. It’s sad but true. People in the south pre-judge you based on what you believe. God forbid you question the existence of God. I just realized the irony in that statement. But seriously, had I told them that I was agnostic, they’d have made me walk home. Actually, I have a theory. We are all agnostic. Everyone on earth is searching. It doesn’t matter if you call yourself a Christian, Buddhist, Taoist, or whatever. We all seek without any form of proof.
This isn’t necessarily proprietary to the south; it rings true all over the world. It is only applicable to the south pertaining to Christianity. But it is a sad world we live in, allowing beings that we cannot see, smell, touch, or feel to rule our lives and govern our decisions. It is sad that so much is lost within the swirling depths of religious bigotry. If I were to say that my dog told me not to do something, I would be locked up in a nuthouse. If I were to say that a being that I cannot see, touch, or feel told me to do something (and the situation resulted in my favor) I would be praised as an upstanding Christian. As Mr. Spock would say, illogical.
1 – Saraswali, Prakashanand. True History and the Religion of India: A Concise Encyclopedia of Authentic Hinduism. Delhi: Motilal Banarsidass, 2002. 580-582. Print.
2 - Derksen, Mario. “Limbo?.” Bible Light. N.p. 5 Feb 2013.
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