History and Religion are Inseparable and Explain the Chaos and Evil Which Exists Today

Op-ed by TheWiseOldFart

 

I admit that I had little interest in the study of history when I was in high school. However when it was not a required class, my interest in what shaped the world in which I existed became of great interest to me. A large part of our country’s people want to cease educating our young men and women about parts of America’s past. They are making great efforts to hide the truth about slavery, and the facts about the LGBTQ community. Their message is simple; “Christian white people can do no wrong.”

The history of the world is also the history of religion. They are inseparable. Wars, the loss of millions of innocent lives, and the suffering of all mankind, are the results of religious bigotry and fanaticism. Everything which is wrong in the world and our nation in the 21^st century is the manifestation of the desires of religious leaders to maintain lives of power, influence, and great wealth. Fact: all religions were created by men seeking power over others. There are no recorded facts pointing to a single god establishing his or herself as the one, true god.

The Crusades between 1095 and 1291 cost the lives of an estimated five million men, women, and children. Their purpose was clearly based on religious fanaticism. [A series of military expeditions called the Crusades was launched from Christian Europe against the peoples of the Near East. Sparked by a zeal to rid the Holy Lands of "infidels"—meaning Moslems, primarily.] The crimes committed in the 15^th century during the Spanish Inquisition were efforts by Catholic Cardinals to “eradicate the heretics,” also known as “non-Christians.” The atrocities which occurred in England during the 16^th and 17^th centuries were founded on wars between Catholics and Protestants. History of filled with many other vile tales of man’s inhumanity towards his fellow man, all based on religious fanaticism

All religions share one fact: power over others, and great wealth are the primary reasons for their existence. In the U.S. religions and therefore religious leaders pay no taxes, and yet they continue to interfere in our political process. This is unimaginable and unforgivable.

America is involved in a second Civil War today. The battles are between those who believe that the Constitution applies to all Americans, and those who believe that the guarantees in the “Law of the Land” apply to pure whites exclusively.

The reality that the principle of separation of church and state no longer exists for one half of our nation’s government proves that religion is a danger to the future of our nation. No vote is taken from those on the right side of the aisle until “Republicans” receive approval from the leaders of the Christian Religious Right. A recent unofficial poll reveals that the majority of right-wing politicians favor the establishment of Christianity as our nation’s one true faith. These women and men would have remained loyal the King George III during the Revolutionary War.

As you may know, I reject all organized religion. I consider myself to be a spiritual man. If I claim one philosophy as my own, it would be that offered by Confucious. However, he was not a religious leader. He was a believer in the truth and where man’s place is in the world related to other living organisms and the earth in general.

The fact is I do not have any disagreement with the New Testament of the Bible, the Quaran, the Torah, or any other religion in principle. My issue is with religious leaders. I do not need or want any man or woman to instruct me how to live a better, a more spiritual life. I have free will and the ability to think for myself.

The real criminals here are the men and women who call themselves Republicans. Their support of Evangelical leaders is not only a violation of the First Amendment, but an insult to all non-Christians.

Op-ed by James Turnage

Sources:

https://www.donquijote.org/spanish-culture/history/spanish-inquisition/

https://museeprotestant.org/en/notice/protestantism-in-england-in-the-16th-century-separation-from-rome/

My nine novels are available here: https://www.amazon.com/stores/James-Turnage/author/B00LOCJ2Z2?ref=ap_rdr&store_ref=ap_rdr&isDramIntegrated=true&shoppingPortalEnabled=true