A religion is a system of practices based on beliefs that are held to be true. Good things and bad things come out of religion because finally they are human systems. And I speak as a believer. Even if you whole heartedly believe in God, you have to agree that the religious system is a product of human action.
Currently the most powerful and increasingly oppressive religion of our era is capitalism. There is a distant God – the market, represented to us by his presence – money, mediated to us by his church – the guardians of the financial system.
Now this god gives us the spirit of entrepreneurship. With this spirit we too might become his priests and we too might be filled with his presence – money. When we are filled with his presence we are mighty and the priests try their best to get more and more of his presence.
However the priests need sacrifice. They need to turn away the wrath of god. For they worry about losing his presence. The painful way would be the way of a totally different god. Give up the presence and share it.
However the priests are convinced that only by growing the presence within each self can god be pleased. Theologians who speak of spreading god’s presence for the good of all are scoffed at and declaimed as heretics.
This all encompassing religion pretends not to be a religion and so gathers followers from all other religions without asking them to leave it. That is so marvelous and tolerant.
As people have said to me of many of the priests; – ‘they are nice people’. The problem is that most evil is done by nice people. The priests are willfully blind and have averted their face from the devastation they bring upon the people and the planet. Will this priesthood every cease? Will this god ever die?
Sacred Blue 