Religion is not the problem

 

 

The world is in chaos… and the only remnant of order there is left is being preserved by religion. But we have abused religion long enough to ignore this fact.

Yes, we have laws. But laws are formulated within the boundaries of religion(s).

This is not just because the lawmakers are adherents of one religion or another; nor because the stronghold of human religious rights are too sacred to be breached. But also because the lawmakers know very well that the influence religion has on humans could strip law completely of its powers.

Without doubt, the law respects and employs religion. But it does not respect the worshipers. Why? Because of the innate characteristics of humans, in which case, is the cause of all our misery.

All religions teach morality. And as far as morality goes these religions agree to a certain extent - the extent to which the whole of humanity can live together in peace and harmony. But humans- in their defiant nature- define their own limits of morality, which vary from one human to another. Consequently, the notions of right and wrong as well as good and bad are distorted.

If, for instance, you were asked to pass judgment on a man who had just murdered all the corrupt politicians in Nigeria, what would be your judgment? 

Murder is unforgivable; will you sentence him according to his crime? 

He had just cleansed the country of all the corrupt politicians and hence paved a path for a better Nigeria; will you let him go free?  Or

Will you just give him a lighter sentence since he had committed a big crime, and at the same time you cannot ignore his “heroic” act?

Well, I asked my elder sister and she chose the third option. She said: Since he committed a crime, BUT didn’t kill the GOOD people, I will give him a lighter sentence. 

I won’t state whether she is right or wrong, because I honestly do not know. But I know very well that the idea of good and bad is subjective. While some considered the politicians bad, some thought highly of them.  

Trust me 90% of Nigerians- particularly the religious ones- would either go for the second or the third option. Now let me ask: Do their religions encourage killing? Why then didn’t they sentence him according to his crime? Why did they differ in their judgments afterwards?

Just like the murderer, the Christian crusaders, the Islamist militants, the Buddhist monks, etc., all justify what they do as necessary violence in the name of a greater good.

Practically, this is what happens when someone or a group has a strong sense of the overriding moral superiority of their worldview. The need to protect and advance it seem like the most important duty of all. And in order to find a moral justification they summon religion- whose teachings they neglected- to cover for their actions.

The rest of the world are like the judges. They know these religions do not encourage violence. Nevertheless, a huge amount of them give in to prejudice. As a result, they put the blame on the perpetrators’ religion(s) - perhaps in order to establish the superiority of their own or maybe it's just hatred. But what they fail to realize is that their unfair judgment is against the teachings of the religion they so want to elevate.

Some would even resort to the use of false flags in order to make the religion of other people pay for their own crimes:

In order to protect its name while furthering its scandalous agenda, and at the same time portray itself as the victim, series of terror bombings were staged by Israel. For example, the Lavonaffair, the king David’s massacre, etc. Also, in 2005, bombings were staged in a bus stop and an underground subway line in London. As a result, the persecution towards Muslim citizens saw a dramatic increase. Evidence surfaced in the following years which proved that the four Muslim suicide bombers accused by the government had nothing to do with the incident and the operations were carried out under the control of the deep state. And many more like that.

Basic human relationship, to a certain extent, has been reduced to mere religious connectivity:

“That man needs a lift. I would love to help, but he is holding a bible.”

“A lot of Muslims were killed in the terror bombings. Yes! Serves them right.”

“I would have given the stranded man some money, but my mom told me she saw him wear a masquerade.”

Gradually, we are losing our humanity. Yet we assure ourselves that we are just being religiously conscious. 

Even family ties is no exception in this case.

During a holiday my folks and I spent at their place, a relative of mine would treat us with contempt whenever it was time to fulfill any of our religious obligations (particularly the five daily prayers). They would force us to pray on the veranda, a place where they kept her shoes… I knew they had a low perception of Islam, but I was more inclined to think that it was because of their position in their church. 

But then again, another relative of mine- a full-time pastor’s wife- didn’t seem to have a problem with Islam. She would playfully reproach my brother whenever he read his dawn prayers late. And although she received more Christian visitors, we were not restricted when it comes to reading our Solat. 

Obviously, my first relative thought they were protecting their creed. But in the real sense they were breeding hatred in their heart, and at the same time weakening the bond that binds us together as family.

With all these in mind and more, it is obvious that we haven’t used religion in the most responsible manner possible. It seems as though we are still not able to catch up with its true nature. Against all odds religion is responsible for keeping us humans away from our baser animal instincts. If not, chaos would be an understatement for what we would have experienced on earth. Then don’t you think it is unfair to blame religion for our folly?