The Future of Christianity

“From bitter searching of the heart,

Quickened with passion and with pain

We rise to play a greater part.

This is the faith from which we start:

Men shall know commonwealth again

From bitter searching of the heart.

We loved the easy and the smart,

But now, with keener hand and brain,

We rise to play a greater part.

The lesser loyalties depart

And neither race nor creed remain

From bitter searching of the heart.

Not steering by the venal chart

That tricked the mass for private gain,

We rise to play a greater part.

Reshaping narrow law and art

Whose symbols are the millions slain,

From bitter searching of the heart

We rise to play a greater part.”

(as performed by Leonard Cohen, in ”Villanelle For Our Time”)

“Imagine there’s no heaven

Please…don’t come back!

It’s easy if you try

No hell below us

Above us only sky

Imagine all the people living for today

Imagine there’s no countries

It isn’t hard to do

Nothing to kill or die for

And no religion too

Imagine all the people living life in peace

You, you may say I’m a dreamer,

but I’m not the only one

But I hope some day you’ll join us

And the world will be as one” (John Lennon, “Imagine”)

I have concluded Christianity is fundamentally flawed at its very core. It was not built on a foundation of facts, but was conceived to control people.

What is more, it undermines international relations, promotes prejudices, stonewalls science, and compromises psychological health. Children are still singing hymns, prattling off prayers and having their heads filled with tales about sin, Satan, Jesus, angels and creationism, in school! Right now, there are children lying in bed trembling at the idea that the devil wants to drag them to Hell. Communities lorded over by the Vatican, or other businessmen, are milking the market. Every week, millions of hours are wasted in churches praising a god that does not exist. Wars inflamed by religion are still being waged, homosexuals hounded, women denied the same opportunities as men, and there is still resistance to science and rational thought. People are turning to prayer rather than each other, and feel guilt about their own sexuality and other imaginary sins. Some churches deny people contraceptives. The Vatican condemns condoms, but Catholic priests do not change diapers, nurse people slowly dying from Aids, or pay for expensive medicines. All of this is a travesty against humanity!

I think too many people believe Christianity is a benign belief that does no harm. Too many think that some people need it as a “crutch” to help them in difficult times. The truth is Christianity is very often the cause of the difficult times. Prior to about the seventeenth century, if someone had been caught reading something like this, they could be tortured and burned at the stake.

inquisition2_JPG That had nothing to do with theology; it was all about power.

Fortunately, Christian power has faded over the last three centuries in better-educated parts of the world. Part of the reason is that brave humanists and scientists refused to be silent or stop work when hounded by churches, often putting their lives in danger by doing so. Without them, the Western world might still be living in the squalor and ignorance of the Dark Ages.

I believe the world would be a better, happier and safer place if Christianity disappeared.

Visualize a world in which many more minority groups are respected. Wouldn’t it be wonderful if all the time and energy currently used in going to church was somehow channeled into humanitarian projects to improve dietary health, sanitation and education?

Think of the good work that could be done through secular organizations using money saved by not subsidizing churches. The tax-free status of Church’s incomes should be abolished.

Some people would suffer a temporary deep-seated loss, but I think most individuals would be happier and healthier, particularly if they embraced a newfound confidence in the wisdom and companionship, not of imaginary friends in the sky, but of their fellow men. The only people likely to suffer any long-term consequences would be some bean counters and clergy, who would lose their jobs, income and status, although most of them would be happier too when they found more meaningful employment. (http://www.clergyproject.org).

We are currently in a very fast moving period in history, with yearly advances in communication, computing, energy production, astronomy and medicine. Secular humanism, always at the cutting edge of ethical guidelines, is replacing antiquated dogma, so is on the up. It is easier to be a pro-active secularist than it used to be. I hope I am doing my bit by helping people grow out of Christianity. I see it as my duty to step up and speak for rationality and science. I know I am not always right about everything, but I also know that if I do nothing, then I will always be wrong.

I invite you to join me. There are very lively public discussions in the public arena about reason and superstition, faith and science, so why not contribute? To encourage people to employ reason is to help them be clear-headed, open-minded, and to not waste time, or make life hard for others with irrational restrictions. Reason helps us, the human race, progress to new heights. Science and genuine empathy, not faith and dogma, should be what gives us direction.

Christian prejudices against minority groups should be countered, because all people deserve respect, regardless of their gender, culture, religion or sexual inclination. I think the lies and immorality in the Bible and the poor Christian philosophy promoted in churches, schools and the media should be challenged in the public arena and around dinner tables.

It would be nice to see all parents allow their children a secular education.

Goodbye Jesus! Good riddance!

If current trends continue Christianity will one day be socially unacceptable, in the same way smoking, homophobia, sexism and high fructose corn syrup are on the nose in most modern communities today.

Changing society’s standards seems like a daunting task, yet it has happened throughout history. Consider the suffragette movement, the fight for gay respect, and the abolition of slavery and apartheid. Change is initiated by inspiring visionaries like Emmeline Pankhurst, Harvey Milk, Nelson Mandela and Christopher Hitchens, who voiced objections to the way things were. These people made a better world for all of us by putting in the effort. Humanity needs proactive people like them. If we all just stand around and watch, things will not change, and the human race might drive itself into oblivion.