Freedom and Religion – Another Oxymoron

To think that christian peoples of all denominations demand complete freedom and autonomy while at the same time adhering to a religion that dictates to them in every phase of their life, proves they are the very ones that need strict liberal governing. In fact, they demand it, unable to imagine that another may live life peaceably and kind without their specific set of rules. Point number ten trillion where what they say does not match with what we observe. “The idea of the sacred is quite simply one of the most conservative notions in any culture, because it seeks to turn other ideas—uncertainty, progress, change, into crimes—Salman Rushdie

Sunset last night eclipsed by layers of smoke. The end is near

The depths of religious anxiety is a choice to remain in fear. Fear of an afterlife, fear of hell, fear of knowledge, fear of other ways of life, and fear of dying, for fear spawns hope, and those disposed to superstition cannot live happily without hope.

They demand freedom and in the next breath cast it away with a subscription to a god that monitors their every move—Contradictions 3:16

Author: jimoeba

Alternatives to big box religions and dogmas

83 thoughts on “Freedom and Religion – Another Oxymoron”

  2. This reminds me of Jefferson’s quote:

    “I am certainly not an advocate for frequent and untried changes in laws and constitutions. I think moderate imperfections had better be borne with; because, when once known, we accommodate ourselves to them, and find practical means of correcting their ill effects. But I know also, that laws and institutions must go hand in hand with the progress of the human mind. As that becomes more developed, more enlightened, as new discoveries are made, new truths disclosed, and manners and opinions change with the change of circumstances, institutions must advance also, and keep pace with the times. We might as well require a man to wear still the coat which fitted him when a boy, as civilized society to remain ever under the regimen of their barbarous ancestors.” – Jefferson to H. Tompkinson (AKA Samuel Kercheval), July 12, 1816

    Liked by 5 people

    Reply

  4. The damage of religious self-disempowerment, whether imposed or choosen, creates a ripple-effect of contradictions and intellectual dissonance. And as you mentioned, a whole lot of ill-founded fear.

    Love that Salman Rushdie quote Jim! 🙂

    Liked by 1 person

    Reply

    1. Mostly true, although the spark that finally got me to thinking was right here with many that follow this blog. I was nosing around and trying to get them to see the light. I finally had a big fat light bulb go off in my own head and it was done. Like a switch flip.

      Liked by 2 people

      Reply

  8. that second paragraph from the end about fear is so very true. While a lot of religions claim they preach about hope and peace, what they really preach about is fear. They thrive on fear.

    One of the inherent contradictions of most religions that the Catholic church I grew up in could never reconcile is that while they waxed poetic about this loving caring god, at the same time we had to be utterly terrified of him because he could also condemn us to eternal torture for violating the most trivial rule. Once they make you afraid, they have you, because fear makes you stupid. Your brain switches into a survival mode where it operates more on instinct than on rational thought.

    Of course most religions are full of contradictions. It isn’t just the love/fear thing. I was taught to believe in an all knowing, all seeing god. A god who knew what I was going to do before I actually did it. That implies our actions are predetermined from birth. Therefore there is no such thing as free will. God already knows if you’re going to go to heaven or hell. But I was also taught that I had free will and that I was responsible for the choices I made in life. But if god already knew what those choices were going to be, then that free will was an illusion.

    I start to get a headache when I try thinking about some of this stuff for too long.

    Liked by 3 people

    Reply

    1. Freewill is a great study. But a little like theoretical physics. It can make your head hurt most of the time, but the glimpses of getting it are pretty cool.

      Liked by 2 people

      Reply

  9. I have some predictions

    About those contradictions

    That the monitoring you fear

    Is actually loving care ♡ ♡

    Like

    Reply

    1. Nice poem. That is what I keep hearing, but what good is it for a god to monitor everything but do nothing about it? Realizations that we all have the power to change within us is an attitudinal awakening at times. See, even though nothing has changed, the belief that someone cares can make everything better. 🍎❤️ When the curtain is finally pulled back we’ll find the gods we seek is an anticlimactic us. I have a friend that was in a car wreck. She posted on FB a “why me lord?” post. Some birds came to her window at the hospital and she felt like it was god watching over her. Now she was happy and ok. Nothing had changed and she was still broken up and in the hospital, but she felt hope from her interpretation of the birds. I have a lot of questions but tread lightly. I want people to be happy, and for me the realization that I had the power within myself brought me to where I am the happiest. I love you friend.

      Like

      Reply

      1. I do Roman divination with birds. The direction, number, and species could be a good or bad omen. In the founding of Rome, Remus saw 12 vultures, meaning the Gods favored him. Romulus saw 6 vultures, got mad, jumped the ditch and killed his brother. So, ymmv.

        Liked by 1 person

        Reply

    2. If God with his “loving care” didn’t do jack during the Holocaust or the Mongol conquests, he’s certainly not going to do anything about my problems. Might as well not exist…..

      If religionists just ruled their own lives by that “Fear of an afterlife, fear of hell, fear of knowledge,” that would be one thing, but the same fear impels them to turn out in the millions to try to ban everyone else from abortion or homosexuality or doorknobs or whatever their particular god happens to have a hang-up about.

      Liked by 2 people

      Reply

      1. Hi:-) I am sorry to hear about your problems ♡ ♡. I know what ups and downs are like ♡ ♡. It is very easy for us humans to credit ourselves for all that is good and prosperous in our lives, then blame God or a non-existing God for everything that goes wrong. The atheists should stick to blaming evolution for its randomness. As for fear it stems from the primitive brain, so again evolution. God is love and there is no fear in love. Love, Isabella

        Liked by 1 person

        Reply

        1. I said nothing about who causes problems. “God” obviously didn’t cause the Holocaust. But if God exists, he didn’t do anything about the Holocaust, so it’s absurd to expect him to do anything about the lesser problems we all face. I think what I said was clear.

          Of course, since “God” has never been observed to do anything at all, the simplest explanation is that there’s no such animal.

          I’ve never heard anyone claim that evolution was good. Dawkins himself dwelled on the immense amount of suffering it involves. We only claim that it’s true, because that’s what the evidence supports.

          Finally, only people who don’t understand evolution describe it as a random process. Natural selection by definition is non-random.

          Liked by 3 people

          Reply

          1. Natural-selection is not random, but the blind watchmaker is. Or are you claiming that evolution is a planned, guided and controlled process with specific aims? Or does random variation lead to natural selection?

            Like

            Reply

            1. Evolution is it planned but it is in a sense guided
              What I mean by guided is that evolution is controlled by natural selection
              The variation/mutation in a population is random
              But natural selection isn’t
              The only aim of evolution ( I don’t even think it should be called an aim) is to produce organism better suited to their environment

              Liked by 1 person

            2. So, what you are saying is that although all creatures (and the universe itself) arose from a fundamentally random process (for it was not planned or has no aim) ended up in a sense guided? From a foundation of random came something guided. Something blind causing some sort of vision based on random mutations. That does not make sense.

              Like

            4. 😉 English is my second language I certainly get things mixed up from time to time.

              Like

            7. “The blind watchmaker” is just a metaphor, not a natural phenomenon. Natural selection is not random, but that doesn’t mean it was “planned or guided”. Lots of processes are non-random without requiring any conscious guidance. For example, a planet’s gravity always pulls objects toward the center of the planet, not in random directions, but that doesn’t mean there is any consciousness guiding gravity or that gravity has an “aim”.

              Natural selection simply means that those organisms whose genes make them more likely to survive and reproduce do, in fact, usually survive and reproduce in greater numbers than those whose genes are less conducive to survival and reproduction, and that therefore the genes of the former usually become more prevalent in the population. That’s all it is. It’s just what happens “automatically” in the absence of any intervention to prevent it, wherever a population of self-replicating organisms exists.

              The origin of the universe itself is a totally separate question from the development of life. The reasons for the origin of the universe lie in quantum mechanics. Once the universe existed, the laws of physics (which, again, operate non randomly even though they have no aim and are not “planned or guided” by anything) caused it to take on the characteristics it has today.

              Liked by 2 people

            8. I am fully aware of the fact that the blind watchmaker is just a metaphor, but according to quantum mechanics I am also not aware of it. Just like you are winning this discussion right now in this one universe, but not in another. All options are in superposition with each other and this conversation is just meaningless. So, perchance this might be a good time to end it. Thank you for discussing with me Jonathan ❤

              Like

          2. So, you do have clear expectations of what a personal God would be like. Even if you do not believe in any of the world religions nor his existence.

            Like

            Reply

            1. A personal god is one that will have clear communication with us

              Now if god is thought to be caring and depending on the qualities attributed to god, there will be expectations of him or her or it

              Liked by 1 person

            3. He is an all powerful god. Isn’t it just a little incoherent that he could not make things clear, and gives out different material regionally? With your understanding of science, isn’t it odd that most of Christianity doesn’t believe the way you do? I would guess that Christianity is a mixture of several C.E and B.C.E religions. Everything mixed with everything, including traditions and holidays to form a buffet where each member chooses the parts that he likes.

              Like

            9. “if God is thought to be caring” where do these concepts come from? Do you not attack religion for its fear preaching?

              Like

            10. There are many catch phrases in religion that don’t match up with basic observation. Terms like “god is love, merciful, patient, or kind, do not have any basis in reality. The fear preaching is a sales tool in any organization because it works. From the auto industry to the religions, fear is used first, then they also provide the solution. Fear is still a best seller.

              Like

            11. If what we are talking about is a deist god, I wouldn’t expect there to be a personal relationship
              If we are talking about a personal god I would have different expectations from an “impersonal” god
              Like I said depending on the qualities attributed to god my expectations of god will be different

              “if God is thought to be caring”
              It is only religion ( at least all the time I know off) that proposes this. Like I said, they are expectations

              Like

            12. I guess my question is: do you expect a God above religion or evolution itself? Since religion and evolution are both filled with duality. The specific point I am trying to get across is that you appear to have expectations regarding a personal God above the concepts of religion and evolution. Above the justice of man. When we take in consideration your propaganda against religion I would certainly say that you reveal personal concepts of a God above and beyond. To you God does not exist therefore you should have this out of your system. When one is saying something one is saying something. Thank you for arguing with me dear Jonathan. Have a wonderful day ♡ ♡

              Like

    1. I don’t have any enemies, but I do have a lot of friends that interpret misfired neurons and synapses were spiritual. It’s certainly hard to keep posts to one minute, but to encourage friendly discussion of sorts is a good thing. Great article my friend.

      Like

      Reply

      1. ♡ ♡ Sorry for the late reply. Misfiring neurons could never lead to anything ordered or logical.

        Like

        Reply

  11. One problem with “freedom of religion” – they don’t include religion outside of the Christian- Jewish complex. Try being a Polytheist and praying to Gods other than those Ones. I remember when the Dali Lama prayed in Congress and several Christian Congressmen objected to his prayers.

    When I go to interfaith meetings – the focus is on various Monotheisms. Being a Polytheist is not considered a religion.

    Liked by 2 people

    Reply

    1. In many people minds ( not just christians ), their version of “freedom of religion” is something like this
      You are free to chose the religion you want to follow as long as the religion you chose is the religion I follow

      Liked by 3 people

      Reply

      1. This is why I LOVE the people at the Satanic Church. They fight for equal rights wherever Christians push their religious ‘freedoms.’ It’s really the only way to counter the nonsense. Did you ever see the Pastafarians petitioning some city council in the US to have a FSM nativity display? It’s hilarious.

        Liked by 2 people

        Reply

  12. Many countries and societies that claim to subscribe to ‘freedom of religion’ tolerate religious minorities as long as they confine themselves to their places of worship and don’t go out into society. But if they try to convert someone, if anyone switches from the dominant religion to another, or if they speak out on public issues, they will feel the full force of the government and society down on their heads.

    Liked by 2 people

    Reply

    1. I really try not to sign in with any particular group or pre-made ideology. I find a lot more happiness navigating the wonders of life as I alone, can choose the best for me.

      Liked by 1 person

      Reply

Leave a reply to Infidel753 Cancel reply