From The Eclectic Church
SOMETHING FOR RELECTION,
CONSIDERATION AND DISCUSSION
Violence
in America
These are just a few of the Christian images portraying Jesus' suffering
and death. While the artwork is truly beautiful, in our present age of
psychological awareness one can, and should, ask: How are such images affecting
our children?
Violence is a serious problem in our culture without a doubt. There is
much discussion about this topic in regards to what influences it and what causes
it. Contributing factors, which have been cited, are television, movies, books,
music, the web, and computer games --- all worthwhile things that deserve
discussion.
But we at the Eclectic Church have considered another possibility as not
yet widely discussed, in fact it seems it has not been mentioned. Before
presenting this observation, we feel it necessary to point out; realistically,
there can be no single cause or blame assigned to violence, which at its root
is always a selfish act. Psychologically, there are many factors which
contribute to ones personality and nature, some genetic and some nurture.
With that being said, we have wondered why no one dares to suggest
religious beliefs as a contributing factor (on the nurturing side) to our
violence. At first glance religion may seem to be an unlikely consideration in
such a discussion; after all, religions are about God, and all that is moral
and good --- at least in principle!
Yet, when we examine this suggestion more closely it brings up some questions.
Ponder this:
- In most leading
surveys, America is the most believing of civilized countries in the
world, with 90% saying they believe in a Deity. Yet, those same surveys
show we have some of the most violent crime statistics. When we compare
such statistics with countries like Japan, they consistently have more
violence on TV and in their video games; yet, their violence is far less
than America. It is worth considering that the religions of the east are
far more non-violent in their fundamental structure. Could such beliefs
psychologically soften one's personality, helping them to be more
passive?
- We are often
challenging the entertainment world, the advertising world and our
computer programmers --- realizing the potential influence these things may
have on the developing minds of our children. Yet, we send our kids off
to Sunday School, or to church, without ever pondering what kind of
message these institutions are impressing upon the children we trust them
with.
- From a
psychological prospective, we are aware of the extreme danger conflicting
messages can send to our children. But this begs the question: "What
are we saying about our God?" The Old Testament is full of violence
in Christian, Muslim, and Jewish faiths, some of it being described as
the Will of God. There are many churches who preach God's wrath and
punishment for our every transgression; like God was just waiting for us
to step out of line. Many Christian Churches proclaim that God demanded
that Adam's sin be redeemed by the Blood Bath of His/Her only begotten
Son on Calvary, a core doctrine of most Christian Churches. Radical
Fundamentalists groups of all faiths justify holy wars, bigotry, sanction
terrorist retaliation and condemn those who do not believe, homosexuals,
and even those of differing faiths. These violent acts willed by what is
claimed to be the Loving Father, the God of Love! Doesn't there seem to
be a conflicting message here?
We at the Eclectic Church realize that religion has contributed
significantly to further the humanistic attitudes of our world and acknowledge
that the world is probably a better place because of faith and religion.
However, there have also been great atrocities in the name of God based upon
religious beliefs. The crusades and the Inquisition are but two. Too often,
people of faith take at face value what their ministers proclaim, seldom
considering the psychological implications of the often-violent message. For
example, we tell children we are made in God's image, which is quite a strong
psychological suggestion! After all, next to a child's parents in a religious
home, there is probably no stronger a figure in their eyes than God. So let us
examine some of the ideas that are postulated about God and what kind of an
image that presents.
- God is love. A most
beautiful and cherished concept. There is no psychological problem with
this concept, but we do need to examine it for its contradictory
messages. The idea that God is love means that one's image of love could
be influenced by what they believe about the Source of Love. The most
obvious contradictory message here seems to be that Jesus had to die in
atonement of our sins. That God required such a dramatic sacrifice (this
is of course overlooking all the blood sacrifices of animals God required
in the Old Testament). No matter what theological argument we may cite to
support this article of faith, there is a psychological problem here!
Civilized human beings abhor human sacrifice, considering it evil; but,
literally claim that God demanded not only the sacrifice of a human
being, but demanded a blood sacrifice of the essence of His/Herself
Incarnate. What does this say about love?
- This idea of God's
wrath and punishment especially of entire peoples is another area, which
should be of concern. Seeing natural disasters or illness (or even being
spared from it) as an act of God, seems to imply that God arbitrarily
hands out rewards and punishments. But why? Doesn't such suggest that the
person's house destroyed in the tornado is some how less favorable with
God than the person who was spared? The actual danger of this type of
thinking is portrayed in the Book of Job, where the people see him as
being punished for some transgression of the law of Moses.
- Jesus himself
taught that we should judge no one, yet alone pronounce God's judgement.
What human being could possibly be capable of understanding and speaking
God's Will? But the fact of the matter is: churches are proclaiming God's
law!
The following excerpt is taken from "Religion May be Hazardous to
Your Health" by Eli S Chasen, psychiatrist and author.
"I recall a five
year old Jewish boy who was learning about Passover in Sunday School. He was
exposed to the Old Testament story about the lamb that was sacrificed on
Passover; the lams blood was smeared on the door lintels on the Jewish homes so
that the Angel of death would pass over and spare the first-born sons while
taking the Egyptians. Unbeknownst to the Sunday School teacher, the story
terrified the boy. Aware that Passover was approaching, he developed a very
real feeling of fear that someone was going to "sacrifice" his
dog and smear the blood on his parents home --- not a far fetched notion for a
five year old.
"Easter time
fills the Sunday School classroom with equally terrifying and violent tales of
Christ being tormented and nailed unto a cross. I question the wisdom of
exposing such gore to children who have not begun school, and may not even have
witnessed a good lynching on television.
"I can recall
hearing, at the age of seven or so, a story told to my Hebrew School class
about a martyred rabbi. All I can remember is that the man's tongue and legs
were cut off in the middle of the Town Square. A related story was told about a
woman whose skin was raked off for similar reasons.
"I do not recall
the reasons, just the gore. This horrified me at the time, as I am sure it did
my classmates. The Bible is filled with violence from Genesis to the end, and I
would no more expose my young children to this than I would subject them to a
bullfight or a public execution.
"I even question
the justification for teaching the Ten Commandments to stage one children. Is
it necessary specifically to teach a child of five that he should not kill? I
wonder how many children even consider the thought of killing --- prior to
Sunday School stimulation? And is it really necessary to "teach"
children to honor and love their parents? Would it not be more reasonable and
appropriate for children to learn this intuitively, as most children will find
it anyway?
"It is abundantly
clear to me that Biblical material is as inappropriate as biochemistry to teach
not only to the preschooler, but to the younger stage two child as well."
(Published by: Peter H Wyden Inc, ©1972,
PP 123-124)
This is obviously only a brief glimpse of the possible discussions that
could go on. And we in no way are trying to indict anyone's faith. What we are
really trying to say, is that maybe it is time to rethink some of our
theological assumptions, some of our images we present, and find a more practical
and useful way to portray the Image of God and our religious ideals. Our spoken
words are not without consequence even when they are about faith, and with our
understanding of psychology and sociology we should be much more careful as to
the messages we are delivering, particularly to our children.
We, at the Eclectic Church, are trying to change the approach we take
towards our Sacred Inspirations. We need not toss them aside, but we can be
very careful in the way we present them. We feel it is not God's intent to
scare children into submission or to promote guilt complexes which trouble so
many adults because of their religious training. Often it is not the message
that needs to change, but our approach toward it.
For example, we see the crucifixion of Jesus, not mankind's salvation as
willed by the Father; but view it as an ultimate rejection of God's unrequited
love and the message that goes with it. It represents the worst human
potential. We do not "bathe in the blood", or proclaim "drinking
the blood" as is so often done; but rather, see this bloodletting as
representing man's inhumanity toward their fellow man. God loves us, and the
death of Jesus may dramatize this --- but, as for being the will of God we must
differ. Our interpretation sees God's Love being generated, despite, our
potential for evil. Every time we abuse our fellow man, every time we abuse the
creation God has blessed us with, we are crucifying Jesus. It seems to us, what
we proclaim our salvation should be viewed as our shame!
Jesus preached a message of love and there can be no doubt about that! He
spoke of God bestowing His/Her gifts upon the good and bad alike. He/She wants
us to come to Him/Her out of a sense of love, not fear of punishment or hope of
reward. In the end, such interpretations can only strengthen one's relationship
with God and outward reflection of that ideal.
We close with the following quote from Blake in "The Everlasting
Gospel":
"The vision of Christ that you do see, is my visions greatest
enemy... Both you and I read the Bible day and night, but you read black where
I read white."
May God bless you in all your endeavors.
Please give us your thoughts!
Email us at eclecticchurch@electicchurch.org
Please sign our VISITORS GUEST BOOK before leaving!
See Our Complete site listings at: ECLECTIC CHURCH SITE CONTENT