By: Gary D. Barnett
“I’m completely in favor of the separation of Church and State. My idea is that these two institutions screw us up enough on their own, so both of them together is certain death.”
~ George Carlin
I hesitate momentarily, but am about to tackle subjects that many, if not most, absolutely condemn and disallow in ‘public,’ and I am discussing both at the same time. I am certain that this will bring anger to many on both sides, and even hate among some, but I do confess that nothing I say is in any way meant to push my thoughts, wishes, or ‘beliefs,’ concerning religion on anyone. This is a very personal matter, and one that requires respect for the individual beliefs of others, albeit, that I require that same courtesy in return. Government, on the other hand, does not garner from me that same courtesy, as all government is evil, and in every form, whether of a State or religious nature. I tend to shun both, especially all government, but given man’s tendencies to search far and wide for answers they do not know, I skeptically endure the deep-seeded convictions of those with religious fervor.
After many decades of living this life, studying, researching, and soul-searching, I have my own ideas about things that seem more important to others than to me, and have over a long period of time come to conclusions that seem unarguably accurate to me. Again, these are my opinions, and I hold them dear, so try to understand the logic and reason of my thought, instead of immediate condemnation. All this insanity had to begin somewhere, and it is my contention that it began with religion.
Humanity as I see it, depends on rule, and willingly acquiesces to ‘authority.’ Why is this so, and where did this ‘belief’ system begin? Everything boils down to mass consent of a master/slave relationship in one form or another, and the two prominent forms of rule under the auspices of authoritative commandments, have always been either church or State, or both. It is my contention, that all this began with religion, and that today, this belief is still the linchpin (basis) of all systems of dominance. This is why I fully believe that the backbone of rule is based on the initial indoctrination of mankind by early powerful religious entities; demanding that all should bow to, obey without question, worship, and have blind ‘faith’ in an unseen authoritative ‘god,’ or ‘gods,’ regardless of who or what that ‘god’ represents.
If one is to go back in history, and all the way to the beginning as it is thought to be known, religion and all its multitude of ‘gods;’ ‘gods’ of every shape, form, and fashion possible, it seems obvious that this changing structure of master deities continuously evolved to form this modern-day version of religious institutions, which is made up of thousands (roughly 4,200) of “different churches, denominations, religious bodies, faith groups, tribes, cultures, religious movements,” and others. In the far distant past, since the dawn of civilization, lest anyone forget, ancient ‘gods’ and ‘goddesses’ were prominent in Greek, Roman, Norse, Celtic, Germanic, Egyptian, Hindu, Aztec, Incan, Asian, Mesopotamian, Chinese religions, and many others. There were ‘gods’ of death, snake ‘gods,’ war ‘gods,’ sun ‘gods,’ ‘gods’ of chaos, cat ‘gods,’ water ‘gods,’ ‘gods’ of life, just to name a few. All these religions and assumed ‘gods,’ including versions of the current Christian ‘god,’ demanded (at least by proxy) worship and compliance to an authoritative master or masters. The list is endless, but acceptance of authoritative governance has always been the common thread.
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This leads me is to the conclusion that the tyrannical State was borne out of this mandated religious idolatry, and that in more modern times, both religion and the State are one and the same, or at least act in that manner. Actually they always have. It seems glaringly obvious to me that the creation of the State governing apparatus had its origins in religion and the church, and considering that both demand obedience to their claimed authority, both are structured as top-down ruling entities, both expect to be worshiped, and both seek to instill the idea of ‘faith’ in their command, how can they be philosophically separated? What rational, critical thinking individual cannot see the astounding similarities in these two systems of rule?
It is extremely telling that regardless of what is thought by many to be an attack on religion, especially from the Christian standpoint, that religion as a whole continues to support the State, and the claimed ruling ‘leadership’ therein, while those at the top of the political pyramid, and their ilk in government, continue to feign belief in religion and church, and so-called religious ‘leaders,’ if only to solidify their position as accepted (by the masses) supreme rulers. The State supports war, as has always been the case, and most churches support war as well, whether to promote their own religion as the most ‘holy,’ or to support the State in its efforts to hold down the masses. If one can be objective about this subject matter, has it not become clear that religion continually bends more toward the State’s positions, regardless of what doctrine they claim to believe? If that is not obvious these past few years, it never will be.
This writing is not in any way meant to explain, clarify, describe, or to theologize about any belief you or I might accept or not. What I might believe or not is my business alone, and the same is true of what you or any other believes about ‘faith’ or any religion. This short essay is merely meant to help discover why so many are entirely dependent on rule; whether from a religious or State perspective. What one believes in is their business alone, so long as they do not attempt to browbeat or force their opinions on others. I would hope that at the very least, this would cause one to think about how we got to this place in history.
As a man of logic, reason, common sense, and philosophical soundness, I strive to find truth where I can, and I question absolutely everything in order to not to be fooled by the dishonesty, superstition, propaganda, fantasy, and the many obvious plots to sway opinion and belief in such a manner as to promote rule of one over another. All rule in my mind, whether religious or State governance, is evil and an abomination, and cannot be consistent with freedom. With that in mind, hopefully my title will not be misunderstood by any weak or victim-oriented reader as anything other than a very realistic observation.
Rule had to begin somewhere early in the existence of man, for it could never have consumed most all of humanity on this earth otherwise. A better way is to live in peace and harmony as individuals, respecting self and therefore each other, instead of living in this collective manmade hell of hate and killing that has survived throughout history, while government and rule has greatly expanded. There is a lesson to be learned here, and a reversal is in order.
Morality is doing what is right, no matter what you are told. Religion is doing what you are told, no matter what is right.
~ H. L. Mencken
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