Easter and Egg Laying Rabbits


It’s Easter Sunday, and, as recent entries have pertained to religion, I must again stress my lack of understanding in how rational, critical thinking individuals can be religious. I don’t mean this in a mean or criticizing manner, but, rather, of the pure inability to understand. I can grasp that people believe that there is something greater out there and that something can be manifested in a number of esoteric incarnations or forms. I must say, though disliking the non-committal nature of being agnostic, I share a similar wonderment. What I am talking about is religion period as in Islam, Christianity, Judaism, Hinduism, etc.

All holy books, whether we are talking about the Qu'ran, Bible or book of Mormon as examples are undisputedly written by mortal men, though under the premise that God is channelling through these chosen chroniclers. My first observation is as follows: Say you are visiting my Blog and I write what I claim to be a prophesy that God has given to me and instructed me to distribute His message via my web site. Further to bolster my claim, my actual date of birth is Christmas Day and that is why He has come through me. Now honestly, how many of you out there in cyber land would believe that I am a prophet? I know I am writing in an age where images of the Virgin Mary allegedly appear on toast, but I’m thinking that most of you would think I was a nut like David K. in Waco, TX or Charlie Manson! So why do billions believe in texts written by men in times when Science was limited and superstition reigned supreme?

Next, as emphasised by the recent release of the gospel according to Judas, we have to look at the information upon which the major religions of the world are based. Firstly, using Christianity as an example, there are the Old and New Testaments which vary incredibly as far as the general disposition of Yahweh goes. Then there are the books that are added and removed such as Maccabes. Then there is the issue of translations from translations and those who have had power over the translations (i.e. King James version). History clearly shows us of the Catholic Church’s politiquing and censorship, followed by the re-vamping and re-interpretations of the Protestant movement. The whole issue of the “virgin birth” is also being hotly contested as of late, based on better understanding of the languages. In spite of these ambiguities, The Roman Church waged numerous Crusades and hosted Inquisitions to the point that the numbers of innocent people tortured and killed would rival many a genocide. At the risk of offending any Catholics out there (which is NOT my intent), from a historical perspective, how different is the blood on the hands from the Roman Church via their Crusades, colonisation and Inquisitions any different than that on the hands of the Nazis? In my view, purity of faith and purity of race aren’t a whole lot different. This isn’t to take away from many of the Catholic Churches good works, but remember that Hitler also took Germany from a beaten nation after the Great War to being a Superpower by the 1940’s.

Again, let me stress that I am speaking about belief in religion and not a general sense that there is something greater than humankind out there. So, further to this point, one can not help but look at the fact that most people are members of the religion that they were born into (which is very much a community/cultural matter as well), never actually exploring what is out there and deciding what really makes sense to them. As religion deals with esoteric and absolutes which we can not perceive, we must be able to live in harmony with our morality and sense of what is. In referring to my “belief-o-matic” entry, it is interesting to see how my personal beliefs correspond to religions that I have never known or even heard of (and I was disturbed by my close correlation to Scientology!). Back in the 1990’s I began to call myself a Buddhist as it appeared to possess a morality which I could live with, was not dogmatic and made sense. The Buddha himself, who was a mere man, stated that what he has written are what he found through his experience, but to ignore that and find out for yourself as he might be completely out in left field. That is, dogmatically, a far cry from monotheistic religions that claim that there is one God and if you don’t listen you’re going to burn in Hell for an eternity and if you convert then you must die.

Finally, as this is Easter, One must point out the painfully obvious in terms of Christianity in that most of its holidays correspond to preceding pagan rites. Christmas is the same – the Winter Solstice. History has documented the Roman’s coveting of pagan celebrations to bring its people in line under Christianity and the Holy Roman Church. In spite of all this, people still believe that Christmas is the birth and Easter, the death and resurrection of the Son of God. Again I ask: how do rational people believe in the dogmatic side of this? Easter, the eggs, the Pagan Rites of Spring and Fertility rituals???!

In closing, most religious people that I speak with seem to fill in the gaps with “faith”. I wish I shared some of this “faith”, but I guess we are all hard wired differently. Again, I don’t wish to condemn those of you who believe and wish you a Happy Easter.