The Religion 'Club'
It struck me just a minute ago how religion is like a club. Only more so. I was thinking about the vested interest that a congregation member has in their ‘club’. When you as an atheist debate with a religious person you have to be aware that they bring more psychological baggage to the table than you do.
Someone who is a member of a church who hasn’t already begun along the path of enlightenment (oh someone remind me to talk about Gnostic Christianity in the first centuries AD soon!) genuinely believes that they will burn in hell for eternity if they do not believe in God. First and foremost does anyone remember the carrot and the stick? Religion is mostly stick.. BURN, HELL, BURN, DEVIL, BURN! And then there’s this golden carrot… eternal life in heaven.
Except Heaven itself is a very weird idea. Say I lost a leg when I was 10, would I get it back when I entered heaven? Say I was born a quadraplegic, would I get all my limbs back? Say I married and my wife died early so I remarried, would both my wives be waiting for me? Wouldn’t I then be guilty of polygamy in heaven? What if my wives didn’t get on with each other? What if my life was only meaningful and complete with A.N Other but they weren’t a Christian? How could God deny me their presence in heaven?
There is so much I could talk about on the theme that ‘Heaven makes no sense’ but I’ll leave it there to continue with the ‘Church Club’.
The Church is very good at reinforcing identity with a group of people who also attend the same club. At the Methodist club centre I attended we had singing groups, prayer groups, coffee mornings, jumble sales, bring-and-buy sales, creches, childcare, pantomimes (cross-dressing for christians!), coffee groups for each week’s service, choirs, bible study groups, services, Sunday school, church footbal teams, fetes, fairs and on and on…
Every one of these events took place with those others who also attended the church. Your social circle was circled with christian wagons to keep away the Philistine others. No seriously I do not think that at the local level your vicar or minister or priest thinks “Oh one church member wants to make Jam – we better chivy some people into making a Jam club to keep them isolated.” I’m sure that at the local level the majority of the clergy are genuine and just want to help but at the top? I’m absolutely sure that the Pope and the Archbishop of Canterbury are desperate to keep the contributions to their coffers as high as possible. Just as L. Ron Hubbard was… and let’s quote him here (although not verbatim – you can google him if you want) “I wish I could create a religion – that’s where the real money’s at”. Oh yeah, he’s the creator of Scientology.
So the average member of a congregation that you might meet has so much to lose in listening to Atheist rationalisation… not just their faith, their place in the Universe and eternal life… but perhaps the most important thing to them at all… their social circle and all their friends. So no, it’s no wonder that your average Christian or Jew or Muslim or Scientologist is extremely resistant to your arguments. They are pre-programmed to not believe you and they have everything to lose.
One has to offer them patience…
Critical Thinking, Religion | PadainFain July 8, 2009
3 Comments to “The Religion 'Club'”
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By Jumile, July 8, 2009 @ 8:53 pm
> pantomimes (cross-dressing for christians!)
“Ohhhhh, no it’s not!”
By vanessa, July 9, 2009 @ 4:34 pm
The Church, being a community which opens itself to the public, I really don’t see how, even the Methodist Church in question, is somehow conspiring to isolate Christians by organizing events for the members of its congregation. It’s a pretty unbelievable if not extreme statement to make. I’m not even sure what you are trying to imply, they not meet as a group or organize events? Perhaps they should have involved the public more? Advertised their meetings in the local paper? But then again if they had taken too the streets you would probably condemn them for intrusiveness. As far as money making is concerned, you cannot pay to become a Christian (unlike Scientology which requires hefty donations to move to ‘the next level’). The contributions you make towards the Church are for the upkeep of the Church, not to mention any charities linked to the Church. I do not believe the Church is in it for the money, however recent developments such as childcare facilities provided by the Church building as a means of income towards it’s upkeep is a direct result of declining numbers of congregation members.
Your argument being that the Church somehow organized your group of friends by keeping out the philistines. You seem to imply that the Church is barred on believers from you, is this correct. Did the Church bar itself to ‘contain’ its power over its congregation? Would you now, to this date be able to walk into that Church as a non-believer or as you suggest would they keep you from contaminating the ‘group’??? I think you have deluded yourself into believing that the Church you went to was conspiring to control you even though you probably went there on your own accord and left on your own accord.
As for helping them loose their faith ‘One has to offer them patience…’ Forgive me saying this, but does this refer to your Evangelical Wife as well?? I do in way want to cause you any pain for mentioning it, but it does offer ‘ghostwriters’ previous post some credibility no matter how discomforting. That and I think you owe it to your wife to tell her you want her to become an atheist, if that is indeed your intention.
p.s. if there is no pain or suffering in Heaven I think it reasonable to conclude your limbs, eyesight ect… would be restored.
By vanessa, July 9, 2009 @ 4:56 pm
*I do in NO* way want to cause you any pain