Imagine No Religion. Impossible!

The weeks before Christmas are a beautiful and magical time in our homes and communities. The rich and mellow carols of peace and goodwill echo in the streets, in the churches and over the media. Sharing, caring and giving are spread throughout the land.

However, in driving home the other day here in San Antonio, Texas I saw a large elaborate billboard that said, "Imagine No Religion". The billboard, promoted by the Freedom From Religion Foundation (FFRF) out of Madison, WI, is being placed in cities across the country. The FFRF, an association of atheists and agnostics, was formed in 1978 to promote freethought and to keep state and church separate. 1.

It is impossible to 'imagine no religion'. All persons and groups develop meaning systems that guide their decisions and behaviors which they then pursue with religious fervor.

In 1933, The Humanist Manifesto, contending that spiritual reality, worship, and prayer were false hopes, outlined the blueprint of faith for what they outlined as religious humanism based on science. 2.

In 1966, Anton Szandor LaVey contended that "The Church of Satan will be the pivotal point for an acknowledged belief system of the 21st Century". 3.

These religious faith systems, without any challenge or criticism, have become deeply involved with the state.

Nazism, Stalinism and Maoism were certainly organized as religions.

IMAGINE NO GOD!
THE POWER OF GOD PROTECTS FROM THE POWER OF THE STATE

When FFRF asks us to 'Imagine no religion' they are in reality asking us to imagine that there is no God, no higher power, no spiritual reality, or moral authority to which we are accountable, no reality or rightness that exists beyond human ability to manipulate or manage.

The attempt to remove the concept of God from our society raises deep and legitimate fears related to individual integrity, freedom and survival.

Faith in spiritual reality and authority is the sole liberating force which can supply freedom and integrity to individuals. Rights endowed by the state can be retracted by the state. Rights endowed by a Creator are beyond manipulation.

POWER TO CONTROL

Power is the ability to compel the will and action of another through influence, physical force, or intimidation. To gain total control rulers must control the authority structure, the distribution of rewards and punishments, and the surveillance mechanisms of society.

Dictators who seek to gain total control must eliminate alternatives which are beyond their ability to manipulate.

Social moral authority

In a discussion of the sources of moral authority in a sociology class, I mentioned The Ten Commandments as basic to Judeo/Christian moral understanding. A Muslim student in class raised his hand to correct me, saying "The Ten Commandments are basic to Judeo/Christian/Islamic moral understanding".

In our society, The Ten Commandments, The Sermon on the Mount, and the Declaration of Independence have been accepted as directives, truths, and inalienable rights endowed by the Creator.

Religious humanism, as outlined in The Humanist Manifesto, declares that modern science makes unacceptable inalienable human values.

The removal of The Ten Commandments from the foundation of our court system seeks to remove from our society faith in a transcendent authority and higher source of moral rightness beyond the state.

The radio commentator Dennis Prager said, "I regard the demise of Christianity in America (as a) nightmare - and I say that as a believing, religious Jew... The battle is no longer Jew versus Christianity, but Jew and Christian versus secular nihilism." 4.

Social Control

Social power requires control over the rewards that motivate people to strive and the punishments that deter. The rewards most available to managerial distribution are money, status and prestige.

Transcendent religions, however, maintain that the most desirous rewards relate to spiritual integrity rather than the transient rewards of personal gain.

Persecution for righteousness sake is the refining fire of the soul and 'great is your reward in heaven'. Attempts at coercion, harassment and intimidation lose their power to destroy, oppress and compel.

Social Surveillance

Control requires surveillance. In a nation that trusts in the all-seeing eye of a just God, control is maintained by bringing individuals into awareness of the expected and appropriate spiritual and social behaviors. People are then expected to control their own behaviors in light of this knowledge. With the elimination of the concept of God new types of surveillance must be used to ensure compliance with appropriate social norms.

STEPS TOWARD TOTAL POWER

Total power is not power for the 'good of the people' but rather power to determine what the people shall perceive as their good. It is the power to define or rather redefine right and wrong.
Transcendent religions which remove this authority from would be dictators must be destroyed by them.

A series of steps is used to de-program a society from the concept of spiritual authority, reward, and surveillance.

The first step is toleration. The word is used not as respect for religious seeking and diversity, but rather is used to imply endurance.

The second step is ridicule in the form of sarcasm, cartoons, and mocking caricature.

The third step is oppression. This includes deliberate obstruction through such avenues as economic sanctions and exclusion from the roles of social status, prestige and responsibility.

The fourth step is persecution and consists of physical harassment and removal and destruction through brainwashing or death

The most necessary step, however, is control over the shaping process of the children. Total control must be gained over the process whereby people learn to assign legitimate authority, reward, and surveillance.

VULNERABLE TO OPPRESSION

With the removal of the concept of spiritual reality and rightness, individuals are left ultimately vulnerable to being controlled (and crushed) by the capricious distribution of rewards and punishment.

The courage to dissent, the courage to live authentically, the courage to stand alone for what you believe to be right can only be born of the assurance that the ultimate rewards of personal integrity will surpass the immediate punishment.

The society that is unable to grant inalienable value, liberty and integrity to individuals cannot be good for the people.


REFERENCES:
1. Freedom From Religion Foundation. 12/18/2008. http://www.ffrf.org.
2. Humanist Manifesto I. The New Humanist. Vol. VI. No.3 (May/June) 1933.
http://www.jcn.com/manifestos.html.
3. Bugbee,Shane and Amy Bugbee. "The Doctor is in...MF Magazine.No.3.1997.
http://www.churchofsatan.com/Pages/MFInterview.html.
4. Laconte, Joe."The battle to define America turns violent". Christianity Today. Vol. 37. No. 12 (Oct 25) 1993:76.