Critics of religion often point to the many wars, killing and strife caused in the name of religion both today and throughout history to deride its very essence and purpose. Much has been made of this point. If you haven’t heard these arguments make your way to a local bookstore and go to the religious section. And, yes, the blame goes in many directions. No religion is off the hook.
That criticism has also been pointed closer to home, within the ranks of our “Christian” community. How about the fact that we kill our own. No, maybe not physically, but in every other way. When a believer sins, or God forbid a minister, they are publically humiliated in the name of Christianity. Often the hands of those who do this sacred spiritual exercise are more soiled than the hands of those they are “purifying” to ease their self righteous piety.

“Look at the mess the world is in. If there is a God of love he sure didn’t do a very good job”, is a frequent comment. Believers may respond, “Well God gave us a free will, we make our own choices”, and from there the discussion goes back and forth. Consider for a moment, what the world and we, the humans, who inhabit this planet, might be like if we were created without the ability to cause harm, evil and destruction. Who would we be? Would such a world even be possible? Are there limits to the power of an Omnipotent God?

In any business, you need a customer, and a product that meets the actual or imagined need of that customer. The business of religion is not all that different. The need of the adherent to a religion is fueled by two vital ingredients; a guilty conscience and a displeased deity. Skilled practitioners of religion, any religion, know how to nourish both concepts, on a weekly, or at times even daily basis.

The idea of a guilty conscience is perpetuated by a continual focus on how we must do better; pray more, study harder and be more active in our religion. God may be described as loving, merciful, almighty, and all-knowing, but he (or she) must always be at least slightly displeased. There must be the sense that we are not quite measuring up to the standards set by the Divine.

I was recently having my coffee and multigrain cereal, when I turned on the TV to catch the morning news. Talk show hosts Michael Reagan, son of late president Ronald Reagan and Stephanie Miller were on CNN’s early morning show discussing gay marriage. The segment was triggered by a beauty pageant where the American contestant was asked by one of the judges concerning her view of marriage, to which she replied that it is the union between one man and one woman. They showed the video clip and I thought the American beauty queen expressed herself rather well. Her statement had however received a furious and, in my opinion, degrading response from one of the judges.