|
Rot on the Vine: The Many Dark Faces of Religion
Meeting Minutes for August 24, 2005; #192
Presented by J. Stenesh, Professor of Chemistry, Emeritus, Western Michigan University
Author of Rot on the Vine
Announcements
September 7 at 7PM, Jason Pittman will host the next Freethought Movie Night at his home- 740 Lockwood St., NE (GR). The featured film is: Primer. BYOB and a snack to pass. For more information and/or to RSVP, contact Jason at 616-634-2471 or e-mail to jpittman@backpacker.com.
Friday, September 9 at 7PM, John and Kathy will host a book discussion gathering featuring the book Blink; The Power of Thinking Without Thinking, by Malcolm Gladwell. This will be at their fragrance and cologne-free home at 826 Fairmount St., SE., Grand Rapids. Contact them at 459-2373 for more information. These are held on the second Fridays of each month.
Our next meeting, on September 14, will be on the topic of Astronomy; The Origin of Religions. This will be presented by Bob Baumbach, Professor of Astronomy, GRCC (retired), and Freethought Assoc. member. ATTENTION: This will be our last meeting at the Yankee Clipper Library. See below for more information.
September 17 (Saturday), at 10AM, is the date for the next Freethought Women's Group meeting, hosted by Jennifer Beahan at her home: 736 Lockwood St., NE. Send e-mail to musiqueforlife@yahoo.com or call (616) 706-2029 for more information and details.
The Grassroots Action Fair, part of the Progressive Directory of Western Michigan, will take place on September 20 (Tuesday) at 7PM at the Wealthy Street Theatre, located at 1130 Wealthy St. (GR). This is a gathering of dozens of organizations pulling together to improve the community; showing ways to protect the environment, provide affordable health care, ensure safe neighborhoods, promote social justice and more. There will be a short program, dessert, music, networking and information tables set up. Our group will have a table there and we could use more volunteer assistance. Contact us at info@freethought.org or Jennifer's address, posted for the Women's Group (above), for more information or to offer assistance.
The next day, September 21, is the following Freethought Movie Night. The featured film will be Team America; World Police. See above Movie Night info for contact information.
NOTE: Our second meeting in September will be at Fountain Street Church by downtown Grand Rapids, at 24 Fountain St., NE. We are one of the sponsoring groups for a special presentation by Robert F. Kennedy, Jr. who will speak there on September 28, at 7PM on Our Environmental Destiny. As a lawyer, he takes on big corporate polluters and holds them accountable for their actions, and as an author/speaker, he informs us how the laws protecting our environment are being sabotaged. Tickets are $10 and are available at Schuler Books and on-line at: www.fountainstreet.org. For more information call: 616-234-0177. Again, the Sept., 14 meeting will be our last one at the Yankee Clipper Library location. For more information call: 616-234-0177. Again, the Sept., 14 meeting will be our last one at the Yankee Clipper Library location.
The first meeting in October — the 12th — will be at our new location, the Women's City Club, located at the corner of Lafayette and Fulton streets by downtown GR. The address is 254 East Fulton. Tel. # is 616-459-3321. Check our website (shown at the top of these minutes) for more details.
For your information: The Council for Secular Humanism is having their 25th Anniversary for the International Academy of Humanism World Congress from October 27-30 this year. The title of the event is Toward a New Enlightenment and features such luminaries as Richard Dawkins, Vern L. Bullough, Anthony Flew, Paul Kurtz, Nat Hentoff, Gerald A. Larue (biblical scholar and no relation to this secretary) and many, many others. Some of the sessions will be on Threat of Fundamentalism to Secular Democracy, Moral Values Based on Reason, Education and Science in the Formulation of Public Policy, Can Islam Enter the Enlightenment?, Media Misinformation and Strategies for Reviving Enlightenment Values. The Congress will take place at the State University of New York at Buffalo (Amherst Campus). General registration is 195.00 per person; the price includes all conference sessions. The CSH's website is www.secularhumanism.org.
FA Board Member Jan Van Oosterhout announced two items. Her daughter, Stacey, is trying to gauge the interest of our membership in starting a Freethought Youth Group and has put together a questionnaire for this purpose. These questionnaires will be available at our meetings and will be posted on the web. At this point, this secretary is unable to post Stacey's email address, but Jan's is jabivo@aol.com. The Youth Group idea is one we have kicked around for a while now and we thank Stacey for taking the reins on this venture.
The other item Jan announced regarded starting up a Dinner for 8 series of social gatherings for FA members who are interested. The Fountain Street Church, which the Van Oosterhouts attend, did these (other more traditional churches also have these) and they provide a fun and good way for members to gather socially at one another's homes. The host has a the main meal item (which can be elaborate or very simple) and coordinates with other participants about what other foods to bring. These would occur a few times a year, with different people hosting; hosts and participants may be single or couples, with a total number of people being eight. For more information, contact Jan at the above-mentioned e-mail address. More information will be provided later through other formats (website, minutes, eNews, etc.).
Gordon Matousek, who records our meetings for later broadcast on GRTV and who is an artist, brought in a fine sampling of his thought-provoking cartoons for our viewing pleasure. His visual style is inspired by the iconoclastic R. Crumb. These were on display in the back of the room. David Cleveland's always interesting assortment of articles and other clippings related to religion, science, political controversy, freethought issues, etc. were also displayed in that area as is his usual practice.
Presentation
Our meeting topic was Rot on the Vine; The Many Dark Faces of Religion, presented by J. Stenesh. Dr. Stenesh is Professor of Chemistry, Emeritus, at Western Michigan University and author of the Cogno Press book by the same title. Reach this publisher via snail mail to P.O.Box 1431, Portage, MI 49081-1431; by telephone at (269) 343-3933; Fax: (269) 343-3990 and by e-mail: cognopress@charter.net. Our presenter was accompanied by his dear wife, Mabel. He was born in Germany, studied in Israel, earned degrees at the University of Oregon and Cornell University; earned his PhD at Berkeley, his post-doctorate in Israel, and has taught biochemistry at Western Michigan University for 30 years; written some 17 papers, authored five books in his field of expertise (bio-chemistry) and does photography. Rot on the Vine is his first book on a non-bio-chemistry-related theme. This book was for sale at our meeting at a reduced group rate of $15.
He began by saying that he felt a kinship with our group after perusing our website and reading our mission statement. His book is a blend of fact and fiction, with author's notes at the end explaining which elements are fictional writings based on real-world events and which are pure fact. Each part is prefaced by introductory non-fiction remarks before the vignette that follows. He deals with settings going back to the prehistoric, moving up to present situations, and extending ultimately to a future tale; all taking place in different parts of the world.
Rot on the Vine is further broken up into certain themes such as humankind's seemingly innate compulsion for religious expression, and explores the underpinnings and causes of this universal propensity to explain the world through supernatural agency, worship deities, and create a spiritual leader class composed of those who serve as wise men and/or a link to the supernatural world that they are believed to have communication with and can interpret for the masses. The next theme deals with leaders from the three major world religions- the Catholic priest, the Jewish rabbi and the Islamic imam. He then turns to explorations of sacred texts as a basis for morality, and in particular, how adherence to the biblical concepts in Genesis and Leviticus lead, respectively, to a tireless effort from those who wish to foist a creation myth on school biology courses, and as a prohibition on homosexuality. Treating the texts that these ideas are taken from as ultimate authority sources lends a sense of righteousness for those who seek to weaken life science education and/or promote their bigoted agenda toward a group based on their sexual orientation. Professor Stenesh then takes us through stories referencing a sampling of times of religious persecution toward Jewish people. Starting in 1171 in Blois, France, moving to the early part of the 20th Century (1903) in Kishinev, Russia, and ending at Auschwitz, Poland from 1940-1945.
In his 6th chapter, Dr. Stenesh examines problems that arise for all citizens when one group's religion becomes State supported. The final chapter deals with religious belief itself. He explains two different types of non-religious belief and contrasts it with its religious counterpart. The following is a quote from his introduction to this chapter, used to illuminate the thoughts in this chapter: Beliefs rooted in religion differ from from these other two types of beliefs in several ways. While non-religious beliefs may contain element of doubt, religious beliefs come wrapped in certitude and righteousness that leave little room for questioning. Major beliefs are codified by written texts considered to be sacred and accorded a great deal of authority. Many beliefs are based on supernatural events or beings — revelations, miracles, God, etc. — considered in a time continuum. A religious believer accepts their role in the past, subscribes to their involvement in the present, and acknowledges their function in the future.
Quoting further: Religious faith is considered by many to be a set of facts rather than a collection of beliefs. Expression of faith — via prayer, fasting, dietary restrictions, and the like — become a matter of obeying edicts, handed down from on high. The elevation of religious beliefs to facts and religious expressions to obedience of divine edicts is responsible for the pitting of one faith against another.
He ends his introductory remarks in the chapter titled Out of the depths, with a quote from writer Ambrose Bierce (from his Devil's Dictionary, 1911): Faith is the belief without evidence in what is told by one who speaks without knowledge, of things without parallel.
Professor Stenesh then referenced ideas contained in his preface. Religious ideals are lofty and considered by many to be the basis for ethics and morality. Religious tenets are supposed to improve human conduct. If the follower but adopts certain doctrines and beliefs, engages in specific rituals and follows the concepts derived his/her sacred text, as laid out by his/her religious leaders, then the follower will not only be saved or at least blessed by his/her god, but will likely believe him/herself to be on a righteous path and be a shining example to all others of the correct way to live. There is, however, a strong disconnect that can be seen all throughout history between the professed goodness of religion and the vile acts, intolerance and hypocrisy of many religious followers.
Instead of uniting people in spirituality and peace, religious differences have resulted in torture, genocide, massive destruction, bigotry, wars and strife. Small doctrinal disputes have fueled bloody, large-scale battles. Each religious group is taught that it alone has access to the ultimate truth, the only god-approved practices, and whose dogma was generated by the One True God. Dr. Stenesh writes of outstanding examples of heinous acts perpetrated by religious adherents including the slaughter of infidels during the Crusades; the burning of heretics at the stake in the Middle Ages; the torture of non-believers by the Spanish Inquisition; the hanging of witches during the Salem witch-hunts in the New World; the systematic annihilation of European Jewry in the Holocaust; the blood baths of Catholics and Protestants in Northern Ireland; the Arab-Israeli wars and associated terrorism; the Christian-Muslim civil war in Lebanon and the conflict between the same religions in the former Yugoslavia; the Hindu-Muslim wars between India and Pakistan; and the current terror attacks on the Free World by radical Islamic groups.
Islam, which means peace and has some laudable ideas in its Five Pillars that teach some good and charitable acts; Christianity whose Jesus sought out those shunned by larger society and taught his followers to forgive and turn the other cheek against one's oppressor; and other religions and sects extol love, peace and forgiveness but notoriously only within their own group. Followers are taught to distrust, regard with suspicion and ultimately despise those of other faiths. They may belong to a belief system that they feel is supposed to envelop the world governed by their one correct holy text and their one real god, but they live in a world populated by people of diverse beliefs. Peace and tolerance can only be possible for true-believers if everyone adopts their religious views and practices. Failing that, religious adherents have been only too happy (feeling justified, holy and righteous) to speed the infidel along to his painful early exit of this world for judgment and damnation in the next.
The purpose Dr. Stenesh had in writing his book was to encourage readers to examine their own faith critically. His book is not offered as a condemnation of religiosity but rather as a plea to adopting a more enlightened practice of religion. The blend of imagined and real events are intended to win over the reader to greater objectivity and tolerance in religious matters. As he writes: For unless we learn to replace unquestioning theological acceptance with critical evaluation, unbridled hatred might consume us all.
In Rot on the Vine, the portion on the three religious leaders begins with a Rabbi who ends up with blood on his hands when his determined opposition to secular activity ends in death and injury. Because he gave higher priority to his religious doctrines than to human life, he felt justified in the results that ensued when his actions got out of hand. The story that follows about the Catholic Priest is one, not of the sexual predator of young boys that has made the news increasingly in recent times, but still involves lustful urges for women that consume him. He is caught between his hypertrophied natural desires and his religious prohibitions on satisfying them. Still, as with the other tales in Stenesh's book, the priest finds ways to rationalize and legitimize his actions when he yields more and more to his libido. The Imam exhorts his followers to use themselves as living bombs against the infidels. The religious martyrs are taught that their sacrificial action greatly pleases their God and will be rewarded with an assured place in paradise. There is no thought of peace or morality-based teachings, but only of righteous violence against one's enemies.
Dr. Stenesh said that religious leaders who should exemplify the positive core values that their religions are supposed to represent are often the worst offenders. An awesome power is conferred to them; they are perceived as the conduits of a deity's will; they are believed to be the ultimate authorities on their ultimate authority holy texts and their contentions are believed to be infallible. Such power is capable of sweeping large swaths of the populace toward charitable, loving, and tolerant acts, but too often is used for opposite effect, where even its charity is based, too often, on adherence to religious tenets by those receiving assistance and where discrimination against other faiths is countenanced. This is but one of the problems with government supported religion; the Government gets in the business of official approval over discrimination and conversely to favoring a particular sect over another.
Professor Stenesh discussed with us the many items in the news dealing with with faith-based acts of harm, although media reports seldom note the religious basis for such acts. He contended that the bias was primarily directed to reporting on occurrences that dealt more with the packaging than the content regarding religious activity. An example being the reports of the Koran being flushed down the toilet in the presence of detainees taking precedence in the the media over Muslims killing other Muslims in a riot in Afghanistan. There is an immediate feeling of outrage when a religious symbol is attacked but less for religion-based attacks on people. When slaughters are reported, the religious aspect is generally removed or replaced with a cultural slant. Politics often plays a leading role in how the involved groups are portrayed. One will never hear in the mainstream media any connection between the countless references to justified violence against other faiths contained in the sacred texts of the major religions, to the the violence and intolerance that ensues from following these edicts.
Specifically about religious texts and desecration, Dr. Stenesh noted that while people in America from any background may study the Koran, Bibles are incinerated in Muslim countries and Muslims and non-Muslims alike are forbidden, under harsh penalty in some cases (deportation, being arrested or even killed), from reading any texts other than the Koran. Reading or owning another religious tome is considered an act of apostasy and has led to beheadings in Muslim countries.
The author of Rot on the Vine next turned to antisemitism, explaining that while the term Semitic is generally employed to refer to Jews alone, that its original meaning was not as exclusive. However, for this presentation, Dr. Stenesh would take its common vernacular usage. His awareness of the consequences of antisemitism is not merely academic for him, since he grew up during the time of Nazi influence in Germany as a Jew. He was the only Jewish student in a school of 800 and suffered horrible taunting and abuse, and was forced to make the Hitler salute. His medical doctor father would make house calls and the family would not know if he would return alive or if the call was a ruse to get him alone to kill him. His livelihood became severely undermined as the persecution increased and they lived in the midst of slogans, placards and signs with vile epithets against Jews. Other countries were not generally accepting of those Jews trying to leave Germany at that time but when an opportunity arose to flee it would be sudden, with families uprooted and facing a whole suite of new struggles without proper preparation.
In his book, Dr. Stenesh writes: Of all the people in the world, no group has been subjected to more hatred, persecution and violence than the Jews. No other group has been hounded as universally, as permanently, and as perniciously. Jews have been hated throughout time and throughout the world, even by individuals who have never come across a Jew, even by societies that have never harbored a Jew in their midst, even by nations after they have expelled all of the Jews from their lands. This has occurred in all kinds of societies — pagan, secular, and religious. Actions against Jews have always been “rationalized” by a host of unfounded accusations and absurd allegations. Thus the Jews have been accused of causing the plague, poisoning wells, murdering Christian children for religious purposes, scheming to conquer the world, and having murdered God Himself (end quote).
Early Christian anti-Jewish efforts were launched to de-legitimize the ancient tribal God of the Hebrews, recasting Him in light of their own sensibilities, while decoupling Him from His self-proclaimed Chosen People. This designation, which Jewish people consider more as a duty or even burden foisted upon them, has been seen by non-Jews as examples of arrogance and elitism on the part of Jews, further fueling animosity against them. Jesus, a Jew who was very much a man of his time and culture, and who regarded non-Jews as lesser beings, was likewise recast as a redeemer for all people, while the Jews were seen as evil for not accepting his divinity and ultimately having his blood on their hands. Though, as others have noted, if the legend of Jesus had omitted his crucifixion, there probably would be no religion known as Christianity today.
Although the three great monotheistic religions are considered Abrahamic, in the Muslim world Abraham was a Muslim and the Torah is considered a curse placed upon the Jews. Dr. Stenesh then talked about the more recent examples of antisemitism, including the boycotting of Jewish university teachers, the divestment of companies doing business with Israel, and other activities oppositional to Israel but not to Sudan, Libya, Saudi Arabia, etc. He called the Arab world the last bastion of unabashed antisemitism, where fake papers are widely circulated proclaiming the Zionist plot to take over the world, which was shown repeatedly during the Islamic holy month of Ramadan.
Professor Stenesh talked about specifics regarding legislated discrimination against homosexuals. While full rights and citizenship for homosexuals would do no harm to heterosexuals, it would promote good mental health, help retain what is now lost in talent and ability when homosexuals are banned from full participation in society, and be the correct approach in an egalitarian democracy for the ethical treatment of all its citizens. But religious teachings regard homosexuals as abominations while ignoring the prohibitions against mixing fibers, planting more than one crop together, dietary restrictions and so on. Messages that denigrate other people are considered to be the timeless Will of God, while other ones in the same portion of sacred texts are looked at as merely cultural artifacts from a people who have no relevance to our times. While there are a couple lines in Leviticus denouncing homosexuality which are seized upon by religious people who want legitimization for their bigotry, there is really no positive counterpart to back up the much touted family values and defense of traditional (one man/ one woman) marriage to be found in the sacred texts.
Examining Intelligent Design Theory, J. Stenesh discussed many of the things our group is commonly exposed to, including the barrenness of ID as a legitimate scientific theory, its religious (Genesis) basis in an ancient mythology (while excluding all the other ancient, tribal, pre-scientific, mythological constructs), what constitutes the practice of good science, and so on. What Professor Stenesh primarily added to this overview was his expertise in biochemistry, especially as it pertains to bio-genesis. Having such a strong knowledge base for his discussion of how purely natural chemical activity could create the basic recipe for life and its structures, made life's occurrence seem far less miraculous than is often claimed and a thoroughly... well... natural event.
Three problems that Dr. Stenesh listed for religious belief in general included its non-rational basis in the supernatural and that its scope is therefore not limited by natural laws and phenomena or real-world restrictions; thereby generating various afterlife scenarios, belief in reincarnation, guilt and anxiety about coming apocalyptic events, the Last Judgment, what has been done that is regarded by one's personal deity to be sinful, what behavior grants salvation, a reliance on mythic texts and barbarous ancient, unenlightened practices and ideas as a source for modern times, etc.
Another problem that our presenter discussed was that the basis for religious belief is not in critical examination of its tenets or concepts but instead upon faith. The opinions and groundless formulations of some people become the hard doctrines and unyielding basis for religious practices. Facts and the findings gleaned from nature do not counter the absolute Truth of the believer.
The third problem he elucidated pertained to how human interactions based on religious belief by those who feel they have the monopoly on The Truth, are often fraught with bigotry, suppression of other ideas, the repression of other people, and a difficulty in finding the common humanity in people outside one's own religion. At its worst (especially when married to State power) it leads to the events such as the Holocaust and Taliban, as two examples. But we now live in a world, Dr. Stenesh contended, where religious-belief-spawned terrorism can potentially engulf the entire world, rather than how it was in earlier times of warring factions and tribal skirmishes. Now the power of the gods to mete out unspeakable horror is in the hands of fanatics and religious zealots.
One may speak of the good that religion does and has done. It is difficult to promulgate morality from a scientific perspective, no matter how naturally based and rational that might be. Ethical standards that work for a given culture are well maintained when given the imprimatur of religion and some behavior based on baser instincts may be curbed via religious proscription. Yet, at what cost? Self-mutilation, torture, the mass slaughter of human and non-human animals, wars based on religious differences, pogroms, and the belief in things without a natural basis that serves as a barricade to rational thought and critical thinking, figure among the long list of challenges to human progress and harmony that religious beliefs have authored.
While people can do good works that they themselves base on their religious sensibilities and convictions, the religious dogma, doctrines and texts, when critically examined, must yield their claim to being a pure source of goodness. People's reliance on something outside of themselves and their fellow human beings is unlikely to change. A force larger than themselves to appeal to is a balm. There is some ultimate sense to be made out of the senselessness of the happenings in the world when it is believed that the Ultimate Plan is unfolding of an All-Knowing, caring God. Humanistic Rabbi, Sherman Wine (in his presentation to the FA at a past meeting), talked about how religion is a way for many of staying sane in an insane world.
Dr. J. Stenesh hopes that in time people may become more tolerant and aware of diverse beliefs; finding the kernel of peace, love, assistance to others and reverence for nature (God's handiwork) contained in many religions, rather than using religion's darker face as righteous justification for perpetuation of violence and hatred... leaving civilization rotting on the vine under its countenance.
During the Question & Answer period, Professor Stenesh first fielded queries from the audience pertaining to the acceptance of his book, marketing strategies and the difficulties in publishing controversial books.
While his presentation was favorably regarded by all who gave their reactions, he was sharply criticized by a couple attendees for what was perceived by them as a certain one-sidedness regarding his views on the Arab-Israeli conflicts, especially in light of the fact that the US is itself so blatantly biased toward Israel in contrast to Arab nations and peoples. He was not at a loss for words in defending his stance, however. While both groups have land disputes based in large part on what they believe to be the divine authority of their sacred texts, Islam, Professor Stenesh believes, is still, in these modern times, keeping alive the genocidal, barbarous, tribal ways and concepts that Christianity and Judaism has largely outgrown. Its goals seem to be rather the same as those of the ancient warring tribes in the Bible but writ large and in a time where humans can harness extraordinary power to achieve those goals.
There was also talk during this time of State indoctrination of its citizens in both religious precepts and ones such as communism that are not based on religion. Just as not all Americans would espouse Christianity, no matter how much State power-or what measures were taken toward making an officially Christian nation, the former Soviet union, with its official atheism, did not address the intrinsic beliefs, needs and desires of its entire populace.
Since his talk came during the time of pullouts of Israeli settlers from the Gaza strip and some West Bank enclaves and the Palestinian reactions, there was a good deal of discussion on this matter from historical, religious and geopolitical perspectives. There was also discussion of human rights violations by different countries, the recent UN appointment and the future of the UN in general, and the differences between the values of actual religious texts and the perceived virtuous, good thoughts that are believed by most to stem from them.
Secretary: Charles LaRue.
The Freethought Association of West Michigan provides a community
for freethinkers to explore ideas from a rational, critical and
non-theistic perspective.
|
