Q: Are we equal? A: Yes, but no.
I’m thinking of the religious amongst us. If we were to go to a church this Sunday, stand outside and ask people as they emerge if they think we are all equal under God, they would most probably all say yes. That is presuming that it was a happy clappy, love is in the air type service. If it happened to be a more fire and brimstone, let’s kill the unbeliever type service there would be a lot of people saying no, but it’s the people who say we are equal that bother me. I know who to watch out for when they are saying no and putting themselves out there in opposition to us. But when they are the smiley, I love everybody because Jesus is in my heart type, you can’t tell when they are going to blow and come out against you or in what fashion. I do admit though that there are plenty who will say we are equal and do honestly believe it. They also believe that we will never be as happy as them without Jesus, but that is about as far as they go differentiating between us. I get along really well with them and they are the majority in my life. There is a troubling trend though. The good ones are diminishing and the ‘down with the unbelievers’ are growing.
Just how many who say we are equal are the type who when they go to church and hear their preacher saying that the godless are the enemy, that we eat our babies, that we have no morals, that we would as soon murder our neighbour as eat a hot Sunday lunch, would then sit there nodding their heads in agreement? Most of them would. When was the last time you ever saw or heard someone voice disagreement with their preacher? I know I’ve never heard of it.
We are told daily that our countries are based on Christian values and the believers are trying to get more and more of the Bible into our government and into our lives whether we are religious or not. Not only are they trying to get their foot further in the door, but they are also actively trying to do away with anything that proves that their way is not the right way. Take for example the way Texas have now managed to cut Thomas Jefferson from a list of figures whose writings inspired revolutions in the late 18th century and 19th century. This is not only going to affect students in that state. This is not just Texas history they are rewriting. Any change in history of this magnitude affects the whole world. There is no such thing as ‘just Texas history’. History is a planetwide concern and should not be allowed to be rewritten under any circumstances. This kind of action is tantamount to old style bookburning.
Here in Australia, the religious have been getting worked up about the non-religious wanting to teach their children ethics. I have no idea what their real agenda is in this matter, but the best we can think is that while ever we don’t teach ethics and morals to our children it allows them to keep saying that we don’t have any. Could it really be that they are willing to fight this hard just to stop us proving we can be moral and ethical people just like everybody else? It’s not that they don’t know it, but I suppose it would stop the preachers saying over and over in church every week how much better they are. If their flock started to believe that we are just as moral, then what would be the point of Church?
One day, far in the future, a future I probably won’t live to see, humanity may just learn that religion really is just load of rubbish. It’s nothing more than fairy stories to control the people. But this can only happen, ‘will’ only happen if we stop them from taking power again. We must keep a separation of Church and State so that reasoning people have a chance to see the truth, because even reasoning people who don’t have the truth on display to examine will believe whatever is thrown at them every day of their lives by those who have a vested interest in maintaining power.