Are organized religions necessary!
In my opinion, one does not
need an organized religion to be able to have a private moment with his/her own
god.
I have been doing research
about the existence of a supernatural being for a very long time. In my research
I have found out that the world is governed by sets of law of nature based on
principle law of quantum mechanics (String Theory) which creates our material
world and from that point the law of formation of molecules steps in followed
by the formation of living organisms and then the start of evolution of those
organisms to a higher class of organisms and then “natural selection” and so
fort.
With that in mind, I came to
the conclusion that up to the present time,
there has not been any sign of existence of a supernatural power and if it
exists; so far it did not interfere or participated in the order of the
universe. In other word; the universe since its conception, at the time of “Big
Bang”, has been operating based on strict and unchangeable laws with no
interference.
But I do understand that we
humans, as a social animal, need the presence of a companion in our life and
for that reason human has invented the concept of god which I do understand and
I do not object the concept at all. I personally have learned not needing such
companion in my own life but for those who feel that they do need it, in my
opinion, it is a good thing because; it gives the believer a psychological
comfort and could even have therapeutic qualities.
But my objection is to the
“middlemen principle”. Why a believer in god should need some dead people of
the centuries ago as a middlemen to be able to cozy-in with his/her own god in
his own private time at anytime, and anyplace!
Throughout human history, the
organized religions have demonstrated themselves as a divisive element among
people which not just created so many bloody wars but the leaders of most of
these organizations have taken advantage of their own members for personal
gains.
Why a person who calls
himself/herself, for example, a Christian should need the Pope, Bishop, or
Reverent to be able to have a private moment with his/her own god? This; I do
not understand! What kind of services these individuals could provide for this
very personal contact! The contact between god and the believer, even if one
belongs to any organized religion, has always been a private matter anyway.
Where do these so called religious leaders fit-in?
Yes; they do serve the
purpose of explaining the concept of god to people. To do so; the passed leaders
of organized religions came up with specific hypothesis but , as we know now, with
the advancement of science in last several centuries the present accepted
hypothesis, not just is not compatible with science but, it contradicts science.
This has forced the present
leaders of organized religions to come up with a reasonable explanation which
so far they could not and this will make the existence of these organizations
obsolete. If in the future they do come up with a reasonable answer to this
question, then the believers could accept them as only philosophers and nothing
more.
Come to think about it; one
does not need to find out the reason for the existence of god to believe in it.
With above in mind, in my opinion, for those who feel a need for god in their
life, they do not need any middleman to make their contact with their god. Consequently
people should free themselves from these organizations which, as we have witnessed,
they became the source of divisions among humans with devastating consequences
throughout the human history.
Thank you Maziar
After I wrote the above article I received a comment, via
email, from Sister A. whom she dose not wish her name to be mentioned for
personal reason. After that we corresponded several times which Sister and I
thought; it would be a good idea that we share our views with the readers of
Payam. And I will copy and paste bellow.
Dear Mr. Maziar Aptin,
Let me first introduce myself. I help with the
proofreading for the magazine, Payam. I am a member of the School
Sisters of St. Francis, an international religious order of Sisters.
I have read with great interest your articles and appreciate
your research. I wish to comment on some aspects. For example, the
conclusion to your previous article: "Consequently, people should
free themselves from these organizations which as we have witnessed became the
source of divisions among humans with devastating consequences throughout human
history." While this statement bears much truth, the opposite is
also true. For example, touring the United
States , now in Los
Angeles
You object to the "middlemen
principal." Throughout the years women such as Hildegard of
Bingen, St. Clare, Mother Theresa, Theresa of Avila, Elizabeth of Portugal and
men such as St. Francis of Assisi, St. Dominic have inspired us as examples of
piety, of dedication, and as guides. They have shown that despite
hardships, it is possible to love and press forward to be of service.
Therefore, while persons who under the guise of religion have
been sources of division, there are wonderful beings who by belonging to
religious organizations have together produced wonderful acts of love and
service. When I joined the School Sisters of St. Francis there were 3400 women
in this organization. Now, we are old here in the United States and Europe; however, in India and Central America
there are about 200 young School Sisters laboring, teaching, and
nursing. Thus, I have seen with my own eyes that women can work together
to benefit society within a religious community.
I will look forward to future articles in which you continue
to search and research.
Best wishes,
Sister A
Response from Maziar July
30/2011
Dear
Sister A:
Thank
you for taking time writing this letter to me. I admire the work that you and
your organization and a good number of organizations like yours have done in
the passed and are doing at the present time. I must admit that charity
organizations in all three religions, particularly in Christian faith, have
done a great deal of services to those in need which is very admirable.
But
in order to determine the worthiness of an organization, it is necessary to
asses its performance in entirety. It could be said that the charity arm of all
religions is the only useful organization that has been beneficial to mankind,
particularly the charities of Christian faith. In my opinion, Charity is the
only organization of the Churches which is worth keeping. My objection is to
the main powerhouse of all religions and their principle ideologies which has
resulted in disastrous events throughout human history.
In
human history it has been seen over and over again that “power” has been
the major tool for corruption and abuses, and whenever the administrative power
has been complemented with spiritual power the degree of corruptions and abuses
had multiplied.
One
should not forget the abusive behavior of Catholic Church in Europe during the
long period of “Dark Ages”, beginning in fourth and fifth centuries A.D., nor
should we forget the atrocities committed by Taliban of Afghanistan during
their short reign when they used to rule that country, especially against
women, nor should we ignore the barbaric acts of the present Islamic rule in my
country Iran. One must visit the torture chambers of the Catholic Church in
Europe, now changed into museum, to recall the atrocities of Catholic Church
committed in so called “Dark Age” of Europe .
As a
matter of fact, in my opinion, women are the first who should be denouncing the
organized religions, regardless of which religion. Because women has been put-down in all three
major religions of today and became the target of the worst atrocities that one
can imagine from Ebrahim to present day; first by the story of Adam and Eve,
not that Eve was created as a second class citizen but has been shown as
deceitful, and disobedient who became the cause of human race becoming deprived
of living in “Heaven” and subject of god’s curse to a point that god did not
want to communicate directly with humans any longer which the concept of
“Messenger, or Prophet” was fabricated. So; implicitly we all should blame
women for our miseries which these religions, even today, tell us that we
should. Do you agree with that notion Sister! I definitely do not, maybe it is
because I am an atheist, but religious people do believe.
As a
matter of fact, the harms that have been done by organized religion were and
still are multifaceted. Above all those atrocities through their administrative
authorities, we must not forget the creation of warring organizations such as;
Israelites, Crusaders, and Jihadists fighting against each other for thousands
of years causing so many deaths, injuries, displacement, starvations of
children, and destructions. It would be safe to say that great majority of wars
among humans were caused by disputes over religious beliefs. Prolonged wars between
Catholics and protestant in Europe, Sunnis and shiias in Asia are the prime
example of that, so is the WWII Nazism which just in that war hundreds of
millions of lives were lost, and so is the present day Alghaedeh terrorism
which is making life difficult for everybody.
The
organized religions; beside from their divisive built-in nature, not only they
have been a tremendous obstacle to science and technology which has been proven
to be beneficial to humans, they have shown such fanatical animosities toward
it to a point that they have burned scientists alive such as; the sixty one
years old Giorgio Bruno of Italy in 1,600 A.D. who confirmed Copernicus’s
finding to be correct and he refused to repudiate his finding which we know now
that he happened to be correct.
As
you can see the harms that has been created and caused by the organized
religions have, by far, surpassed the benefits that their charity arm has been
producing.
As a
matter of fact it was the advancement of science in Europe, beginning with the
“Renascence” of Italy
in 13th century that brought people together, not only people of Europe , but all humanity got closer to each other through
newly found commerce and needs for new products resulting from technological
advancement that religions were always against and still are. It was again
science and technology that created more comfort and better standard of living
for humans that religions have failed to do. Please refer to my article “Why
Civilizations Rise and Fall” published in last issue of PayameAshena.
You can find that on their website as well.
With
above in mind, in my opinion, while your type of organizations are needed which
could continue their work under different umbrella, the organized religions
have proven to be not only harmful for humanity but in most cases detrimental.
Please
do not hesitate in writing to me expressing your opinion in this regard.
Very
truly Maziar Aptin
From Sister A
to: Maziar August 13/2011
Thank you for your prompt response to my letter
which I have read carefully and thought about it what you have written.
Attached you will find some of my thoughts:
Dear Mr. Maziar
Aptin,
I appreciated your
quick response to the letter I had written.
It is good often to analyze one’s beliefs and also the rational for
these viewpoints.
While the data and
references you cite are true, it is difficult to find any organization, whether
religious or secular, that is without its previous faults and
shortcomings. For example, being a
citizen of the United States has many advantages and yet looking at the history
of the United States, there are many negative features; such as the European
invasion of the Native American civilizations that flourished here prior to the
arrival of the colonists, the importing of African slaves, the interference in
other nations’ affairs in Iran, Central America, and South America, unnecessary
wars, the denial of voting and human rights, and the list could continue.
Despite all this evil, I remain a citizen of the United States
In the same way, I
feel that as a School Sister of St. Francis, in union with hundreds of other
extraordinary women, we can bring pressure and in some ways influence society
and call to task the male structure of the Catholic Church. This has been shown endless times. For example, the Sisters taught black
children and Indian children in their schools, the Sisters participated in
civil rights’ marches; the Sisters formed an organization called Network to promote civil rights and to
promote social justice.
As you point out
the principal ideologies of the church have resulted in disastrous events
throughout human history. While this is
true, the Catholic Church also transmitted and preserved valuable information
with the monks in monasteries meticulously coping books, by producing works of
art, and producing music. Strong individuals such as Francis of Assisi,
Dominic, Hildegard of Bingen, Ignatius of Loyola spoke out powerfully against
poverty and ignorance and organized followers to combat the social evils of
their times. In any organization or within a nation there are positive aspects
and negative points.
Early in my convent and college education I
was fortunate to have had scripture scholars who pointed out in our Biblical
studies that the Old Testament was a literary document with a collection of
stories to be viewed within its cultural and historical settings. Thus, it was
a document telling of people searching for answers, solutions, and
morality. Therefore, it was not to be
taken literally, but as a further search of truth. As for the New Testament, Jesus preached
peace and justice and historically we can find evidence of his existence. If church leaders had followed his example,
the corruption and the evils that have become part of history, would have been
avoided.
I can not go back
in history to correct the evils that have existed; I can only deal with the
present time. Therefore, I follow the
teachings of Jesus and I have connected myself to a group of religious women
who through education, health reform, social action, and the arts have
attempted to deal with social ills, human trafficking of women, abuse of
children, injustice of women’s rights, and poverty. Through organizations such as Network
and Call to Action we attempt to
change the powerful structures of the church, confront the Tea Party, and heal
parts of our society. This is not an
easy task.
Again, thank you
for your response and for your challenge to examine my beliefs.
Best wishes,
Sister A. Steiner
8-13-11
Response from Maziar
August 15/2011
Dear Sister A
Thank you for
your response. I can see that you are an educated and highly intelligent lady
dedicated to your charity work which I admire very much. But I am afraid that I
can not accept the justification that you are trying to make for the mistakes
made by organized religions and its disastrous end-results.
Comparing the
atrocities committed by religious organizations, supposedly founded to promote
peace and unity among humans, with the atrocities committed by world empires,
motivated by greed, is unjustifiable. Even a single murder, torture, or
mistreatment of any human-being under the principle
rules set by religions is
unacceptable because this type of actions are the exact opposite of the purpose
of the formation of religions. In above; I highlighted “Principle rules set
by religions” to exempt the
mistake made by individual members of those religions.
For example; you
mentioned teaching of Jesus which in my opinion is far superior to those of
Moses and Mohammad. But even Jesus, like Mohammad, wants to send all none
believers to hell. He also has said “whoever is not with me is against
me", in other word, my way or highway which is common belief and practice
in all religions. Religions do not leave any room for negotiation or compromise
and it is that principle which has been creating divisions, breading conflicts,
wars, and disasters.
As I said
before, one should not pass judgment on the performance of an organization by
looking at only one or two good or bad features or “teachings” of the
organization but should look at the totality of its performance and its
effects. The end result in Christianity was formation of Crusaders resulting in
century long wars, the period of “Dark Ages” in Europe
resulting in all those atrocities that we already talked about.
As I mentioned
before, the charity arm of all religions is beneficial to humanity and should
be kept and operated under different umbrella but the rest of it has proven
itself to be harmful and must be disregarded altogether.
As I mentioned in
my article; I myself am an atheist but I wrote that article, (the subject of
our discussion), to address the people of Iran who are Muslims and are not able
to live without a god and who also have seen the real Islam and are seeking for
an alternative. I tried to show them that the alternative would be; they could
worship their god without a need for any middleman, namely a mullah.
I am sure that
the fouls belief in the existence of a supernatural being will soon be
realized. It eventually will happen; it is only mater of time. The history has
shown that prior to the invention of god of Ebrahim, people who used to believe
in Enn, Inky, Zeus, etc. eventually wised up, even though they were thousands
of time more certain that those creatures existed, to a point that they used to
shed the blood of their beloved teenage daughters for those imaginary
creatures. Such ignorance! Such a waste. Now when we look back we know how
wrong they were but they did not know.
By the same token
today over three billions worshippers of god of Ebrahim and another few
billions who worship some other god or gods do not realize how wrong they are.
While I do not see much difference between god of Ebrahim (Jehovah and Allah)
and Zeus and others; the principle concept is the same then why the formers are
mythologies and the latter is still worshipped!
Sincerely Maziar
Aptin
Note: For information that how Islam was introduced to our ancestors, please read داستان ابوسلیم
It is written in Persian. You can download it for free.http://maziaraptin.blogspot.com/2012/02/blog-post.html
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