Theological Dictators

The problem with religion often isn't really the doctrines - no matter how strange or authoritarian, you can find beliefs not much different in other belief systems as well. No, the real problem with religion seems to be the followers - specifically, those who insist that they are the ones with the Truth, that they know what is best for everyone and, therefore, that their religious doctrines should be followed by everyone. And, just to be sure, they are certain that God has empowered them to fulfill God's plans on earth.

And it’s not just skeptics and nonbelievers who think this; conservative Christian and columnist Cal Thomas wrote:

A God who is said to have created the universe out of nothing and who controls the keys to life and death (not to mention hell and heaven) must rely on human beings to execute judgment - such as homicide bombers in Pakistan and Moscow - and deliver blessings? What kind of weak, dysfunctional God is that? Why can’t He stand up and fight like, well, God?

Thomas also has a few choice words for those who portray themselves as God’s spokesmen:

Why should I listen to a man (and it’s always a man, isn’t it?) with something on his head, or around his neck, or in a robe or a suit? He is just like me. He gets angry. He sins. He is fallen. He will die. Why does he get to speak for God and I have no say in the matter? Am I not allowed to read “holy writ,” think for myself and behave accordingly? Are ordained people necessarily better spiritually than those who are not ordained? Recent Catholic and Protestant church scandals would seem to suggest otherwise.

An atheist activist couldn’t have written a more pointed criticism — thus showing that not all Christians are alike, that not all conservative Christians are alike, and that both religious believers and religious disbelievers can find common cause in fighting the excesses of religious fanaticism.

 

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