Religion and Human Nature

During the Reformation and the Church’s Counter Reformation, it is estimated ten million people were killed, many by burning at the stake, in a test of superiority of wills.

Christine O'Donnell photo courtesy: deathandtaxesmag.com

(PASO ROBLES, Calif.) - Christine O’Donnell; Sarah Palin, Michelle Bachman, and how many others is hard to know, but Sharon Angle, as do all the rest, relies heavily on her smile to express her faith that God [Jesus?] is in his heaven, and will take care of the poor, making it unnecessary for Democrats to help them.

When Christine O’Donnell says “there is more of us than there is of them,” I presume she is referring to voters of the Christian persuasion. But I wonder how many of “us” are as steeped in the black magic of their religion as are the women mentioned above whose absolute reliance on Jesus and the Bible could be a serious detriment in the course of making Congressional decisions in the interest of all the people, not just “we the people,” as they purposefully refer to themselves.

Many members of the Tea Party are Christian devotees who seem captured by the likes of the women above, but whose conduct seems more a lark rather than a movement of considered judgment. Victory is never a true expression of God’s will, and it would be a serious mistake to assume faith alone vindicates Tea Party victories when many of the losers were ready to be recycled anyway. I am less concerned with the winning than I am with what comes after.

“Out with the old and in with the new,” is not a new concept in the political scheme of things; but it is the character and quality of the new that ought to be of concern, especially when the result could be, “out of the frying pan, into the fire,” based on the ill-begotten faith of the Republican Holy See which, while resenting the loss of older members, can be counted on to recruit to its membership the young and the new. The fact that the new is already imbued with an over abundance of fundamentalism, but with individual quirks, might make its assimilation awkward, but necessary, to assure the success of the Party’s drive toward absolutism on its terms.

Anyone familiar with the history of Christianity, and the ups and downs of the Catholic Church, know of the 18th Century schism caused by its loss to Protestantism that caused our forefathers to write into the Bill of Rights the Separation of Church from State to protect us from the contagion of religious evil evermore.

During the Reformation and the Church’s Counter Reformation, it is estimated ten million people were killed, many by burning at the stake, in a test of superiority of wills. Why would any sane person support a scheme that would return this nation to such awful times?

Unfortunately, the Republican Party “of God” [Jesus], as they define themselves, aka the Party of NO, sets itself against any and all things that prevents it from regaining control of the government which it intends to use to revert America to religious roots of its choosing, contrary to what the Founders had in mind. The greatest cause of concern to the United States today, is not from without, but from within where Evangelicals and the Republican Party seek to control our lives, and pervert our freedoms by turning back the clock to lead us, by false pretenses, into the realm of their illogical and devastating imaginations.

The so-called Reverend Jones of Gainsville, Florida who would burn the Koran is just the last of many radical Evangelists; another is Rod Parsley of Cincinnati who preached that it was the will of God [Jesus] that American Christians destroy Islam; the Iraq War was the result. Colorado seems a nest from which other sinners have fallen in spite of their purported faith; Haggert and Swaggart come immediately to mind. And let us not forget the worldwide rash of Catholic priests who sexually abused young people in their parishes.

Initially, of course, it is entirely possible that religious advocates and politicians are sincere but who, over time, become pretenders when they see the advantages of being less sincere. Power, regardless of the amount and/or the personal benefit to be derived, is the catalyst that moves human nature and motivates people’s self interest generally.

It is as true in politics as it is in religion. Democrats represent the Party of the People and is for helping the middle class help themselves by taxing less those whose annual income does not exceed $250.000.00, but not all favor the restoration of higher tax rates for those who earn more, often much more. Some Democrats are willing to side with Republicans to cut taxes on everyone [contrary to the need for more income] in order to avoid having to pay more themselves. Because they and many of their constituents earn more than $250,000.00 they don’t want to lose any advantage they may have over more deserving citizens; it is human nature that those who lack the moral courage to do the right thing, will do what is least desirable to others to protect themselves.

The Republican Holy See is the determining factor so far as its Party is concerned. It will always favor and do what it considers is in its best interest by any and all means, not excluding telling lies and using vicious propaganda to gain its end. Yet, it is possible that the recent primary victors with their baggage of religious righteousness will become a cult within the Republican Party, and eventually become a power in their own right; unless they can be absorbed by the more mature movers of the Party under the guidance of Karl Rove and the Evangelists who perform behind a curtain of secrecy as the presumed absolute authority of the Party of God [Jesus].

It would be refreshing if all our representatives were more interested in serving their constituency instead of themselves at our expense. But since it is not always the case, voters must rely on themselves as best they can by using informed logic when they cast their ballot.

Raised in Minnesota and California during the dark years of the Great American Depression, Ken is well suited to talk about the powerful forces in the world that give all of us hope and tragedy and everything in between. You can write to Ken at:darken1@sbcglobal.net