On Theology

 

It seems appropriate that I would come up with this post just before Easter—the “holiest” weeks of the Christian calendar.  Since I am not Christian (actually, becoming more anti-Christian as time goes on and the right-wing juggernaut grows stronger and more outrageous) I’m not particularly concerned about whom this post might offend.

A few days ago, I sat in my production room, toiling away with NPR talking in the background.  The topic being discussed was the 10^th anniversary of the election of Pope Francis.  I haven’t been a Catholic for many, many years, but I find I’m still interested in hearing about what goes on in the Church. 

The discussion delved deeper and deeper into the politics and machinations of Catholicism.  The host brought on guests who dissected the pros and cons of Francis’ reign, viewing his policies against the backdrop of not only recent upheavals in Church status quo (RE: the resignation of Pope Benedict 10 years ago), but also in the light (or darkness) of two millennia of Church doctrine and dogma.  It was a fascinating and very scholarly discussion. 

A few days later, I came upon this article online: US Bishops Document Against Transgender Health Care a Disaster

When all was said and done, my first thought was to marvel at the complexity of Catholic dogma and tradition.  I suppose the world is fortunate that a religious tradition so given to high thought and scholarliness has had so much influence over the human race for a couple thousand years.  We are even now witnessing what can/will happen when a cult that demonizes education and conspires to keep the masses uneducated and afraid comes into ascendancy.  Imagine what the state of the world might be if today’s right-wing “Christian” ideology had been in the forefront since the days of their Christ.

 (And yet…the same hateful prejudice can be embraced whether it is explained away by citing an encyclical written by some esteemed Catholic scholar of the past, or cloaked in fire and brimstone from the pulpit of a right-wing evangelical pastor.  “God hates homosexuals.  Especially trans-sexuals.  They are all going to hell.”)

 My thought in the end, after taking in this barrage of Catholic scholarship, was:  They have taken an essentially simple concept—the relationship between the human race and the Creator of all things—and made it outrageously complex.  Two thousand years of layers and layers of complex.  Apparently, the function of “religion” is to first  shoebox the Creator of the Universe in terms explicable to humans (basically, create a “god”) and then fashion a conduit between “men” and that “god.”  And make sure the keepers of the conduit occupy extreme privileged status among humankind.

The concept put forth by religion is that “god” is so inscrutable and holy that normal, common people have no right to approach or seek relationship with the Almighty.  There needs to be some kind of go-between, some middle-man, or multi-layers of middle men,  that allows one to wave one’s arms and be noticed by the All-powerful.

Bunk.

Let’s face it:  Human beings have no clue about the character of a force powerful enough to have created a Universe so vast that our entire world is less than a speck of dust in the cosmos.  For the most part, we can’t even bear to consider how miniscule we actually are in the vastness of the universe.  SO much we don’t know….So much we don’t understand.  So much we don’t want to know.  But we don’t want to know that we don’t know.  We want to believe we really do know.  So we construct these complicated theologies and spiritual hierarchies to explain, and to some degree protect us from, what we don’t know.

For my part…

I just feel that the Almighty knows I’m here.  Why should a force powerful enough to create the universe not be capable or desirous of having relationship with individual forms of its creation?  Who are we to say It can’t?  Or wouldn’t? 

I feel noticed.  I feel cared for.  I feel connected to whatever aspect of the Spirit of Creation constitutes the relationship of the Creator to creation.  And I don’t need an intermediary to stand between me and the Spirit and plug me in. Neither thousands of years of theological debate, nor the demonization thereof, will affect or discourage my personal path to relationship with the Creator. 

And I can’t help but think that if more humans just bagged the whole religion thing and opened ourselves to relationship with the Spirit, the world would be much better off.