The Gray Monk

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September 02, 2007

Religion is the root of all evil?

At least it seems that that is the conclusion of a little over fifty percent of the population in a new YouGov Poll taken for Jonathon Snow. If it is indeed what fifty percent of the populace think then it demonstrates very clearly that the Humanists and their fellow anti-Christian and materialistic propagandists are winning the battle for hearts and minds. Of course, a great deal depends upon the question you are asked for any poll and the "peer" pressure you may consider yourself to be under when you answer.

In this case the question appears to be straight forward enough - it simply asks the interviewee if they believe that religion has played a part in global conflict. As ever, the answer required is a straight yes or no, there is no room - it would defeat the purpose of the Poll if there was - for a more complex answer. And, in this case there isn't an easy answer.

If you simply take the surface value for everything then, yes, religion is a factor in conflict. But so is political ambition, greed and the thirst for power. When once you actually begin to examine the background to any given conflict you very rapidly realise that the "religious issue" is actually a smokescreen for the real agenda of the people orchestrating any such conflict. Usually, in classic comic book villain style, its about dominating a people, a nation or a group of nations and the "religious issue" is used to stir up emotions and fear. But then no Poll wants to look at that, its about finding simplistic answers that can be fed to newspapers and direct public attention away from what is good or desirable in the target philosophy, belief or organisation. If you want to destroy something, as Dr Goebbels demonstrated in 1936 to 1945, you first demonise it, then you persuade people that it is anti-whatever they consider good and moral - then you exterminate it. And there has been a concerted campaign against religion in this country for the last hundred or so years orchestrated by clever manipulation of the media and latterly of the history taught at school.

Take a good look at the history your children are taught today and you will find that in every case the Christian religion is blamed for a catalogue of ills from intolerance through slavery to global war. Name something that has resulted in a war in the history of the last two thousand years and somewhere along the line the history books being used in our schools today will make mention of Christianity as being the "cause" of the conflict. The Crusades were "caused" by Christians demanding equality in Jerusalem. How unreasonable. The Fall of Rome was "caused" by Christianity. Actually, recent research has turned up the fact that Rome collapsed because it had been so overrun by "immigrants" who owned no stake in it that the Imperial families simply decamped and left it to them. The wars in Spain - again "caused" by Christians wanting equality in their own country. Even the conflicts of the twentieth century are now supposed to have been "caused" by people trying to live up to Christian principles, but, in complete contradiction, we are told that Christian Churches "condoned" the holocaust. Surely a conflict of intentions - you cannot live up to the principles of the Gospel AND condone the holocaust.

Since the second world war, the socialist/humanist propaganda machine has really swung into gear. Pick up any newspaper, do you find any reports of the good things done by Christian communities? Of course not, but let the Vicar "misappropriate" a fiver from a collection in order to feed a tramp and it's splashed across the front pages of the newspapers. TV is no better, the Vicar is always portrayed as some sort of half baked twit not in full possession of his marbles and the congregations are portrayed as a bunch of complete nutters. Look at the reporting of the present difficulty with followers of Islam, all you ever hear about is the extremist views on both ends - even the moderates are portrayed as extremists and the overall image projected is of a religious conflict. No one is able to hold a rational debate on any religious issue because it is always misrepresented in the press and media so that it becomes provocative. That, after, all is what sells papers.

The net result is the outcome of the poll take by YouGov. Religion, in the minds of the majority, is now the root of all evil.

The strange thing is that we now see the outcome in a rather disquieting aberration in society - the creation of cult worship of people like Elvis Presley, Princess Diana and other media "icons". I find it disturbing that there are still people who, ten years after her death in a car crash, who mark the anniversary with elaborate little rituals and prayers, cards and bouquets littering the fence at Kensington Palace. For heaven's sake the woman was no saint, none of these idiots ever met her, and if they had they probably would not keep up this stupid and lachrymose pretense that she was the "saviour" of our nation. She wasn't and never could be. But this demonstrates something interesting, for, as the real religions are increasingly seen as "evil" and to be shunned, so more and more we see people turning to the worship of the memory of someone who has usually died rather tragically or pointlessly. Drive along any major road these days and you are sure to see rather forlorn little bunches of flowers laid beside the road or attached to a fence marking the spot where someone has died in an accident. Most of these are all that marks the passing of a young man or woman usually driving too fast and under circumstances almost certain to contribute to a crash. Tragic? Yes, but worthy of being treated as saints? Probably not.

So what is happening here? Religion offers people hope of life beyond the grave, whether you are Christian, Muslim, Hindu or something else is immaterial, they all offer some hope of a life beyond this. In the absence of that certainty, conferred by faith and teachings of that faith, you are left with nothing, so your only alternative is to create some little icon for yourself in the hope that this will provide an outlet for your spiritual needs. Sadly it doesn't and where there is no faith, there can be no belief in a hereafter - and most of those who eschew religion find that scary.

I do not believe that religion is the root of all evil. I do believe that it is often abused by people who seek to use it as a route to power or to attain power over the lives of others. It is worth remembering in this year of celebration over the Act which outlawed the carriage of slaves in British ships that it was Christian men and women who campaigned for that, not the Humanists or the the political classes - and the campaign began right back in the first century. And yes, I do know that certain bishops in the Church owned slaves in 1807. How many of you are aware that the slave trade was flourishing in Africa, particularly in Angola and the Arab controlled areas until the 1950's? Or that it is still flourishing even now in Darfur, Somalia and Sudan? That it has taken on some new guises in Indonesia and several other parts of the Middle and Far East? How many people know that Christians are working in centres to help people out of slavery and to rescue others - often in conditions where they are in constant danger? And many more are trapped in slavery themselves in so called "developing nations"?

It is not reported because it is not the message the politicians and others want you to hear. Remember, religion is the cause of all ....

Well, let me ask the question another way. Do you believe the world would be a better place if we all held no faith, if we all followed our instincts and obeyed no higher values than our human ones?

I know what my feeling is on that!

Posted by The Gray Monk at September 2, 2007 01:44 PM

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Comments

Posted by: vw bug at September 2, 2007 07:10 PM

Posted by: Postulant at September 4, 2007 08:31 AM