Positive behavior reinforcement in religion and why I feel godlessness is next to “godliness.”
Here is a daily recitation for buddhist monks (there are many variations, just as there is with the Nicene creed, but this is a major one). “May I be a guard for those who are protectorless, A guide for those who journey on the road; For those who wish to go across the water, May I be a boat, a raft, a bridge. May I be an isle for those who yearn for landfall, And a lamp for those who long for light; For those who need a resting place, a bed, For all who need a servant, may I be a slave Thus, for every single thing that lives, In number like the boundless reaches of the sky, May I be their sustenance and nourishment Until they pass beyond the bounds of suffering” - Shantideva, A Guide to the Bodhisattva’s Way of Life The best part about this is that it does not say anything reinforcing what they believe (“We believe in …” - the start to every paragraph in the Nicene creed). It just about how they will therefore live life. It always creeps me out to hear people chant what they believe aloud. Chanting a belief system in unison only serves as a propaganda measure to ensure the survival of the oligarchy of that belief system. However, chanting proper behavior based on an unspoken belief allows for variation in the beliefs of the individual, and reinforces only the truly important question that any belief system should attempt to answer: With my understanding of the world, how now shall I live? How now shall we live? I think the buddhist passage above is a good place to start. However, in the very last line, the Nicene creed does mention how christians should live life: “We wait for the resurrection of the dead, and the life of the world to come.” Nothing about how to help out on earth, just a statement of waiting on all their friends to come back to life and for god/jesus to bring a judgment day: 1000 years of bliss to christians and a fiery lake of hell to all others. I can’t handle the thinly veiled hate in christianity. If they stood in church and recited how much they love people and how they will attempt to provide for everyone as best they can, then I would likely have a very different outlook. But in christianity, “brothers and sisters” are limited only to fellow believers. Buddhists, believe all humanity are “brothers and sisters”, just as I do. While I am an atheist, I appreciate buddhism as it is an atheist religion: they have no god, just a way of life. That is no different from my own life walk: godless but with social purpose. It seems to me that externalizing your own “good” and “bad” human processes in the form of an all powerful god will almost always lead to externalizing problems, both personal and social ills, and just waiting for the world to end in a violent apocalypse that creates a heaven for the believers and punishes all the “evil” people. To use the typical evangelical church sign, though with word placement variation: No god, know peace. Know god, no peace. Believe what you will, but more important than your beliefs is your behavior. Evaluate how you behave … towards ALL people, and maybe we will; all work together AGAINST a violent apocalypse.
-TOTP
