It's God's Fault

OPINION: For those of us who are non-believers, we may find that it is religious fanatics, in the name of their God, who are the purveyors of hatred, bigotry, intolerance and unspeakable violence.

The brutality visited upon innocent Israeli citizens last week was unconscionable. The genocidal ‘collective punishment’ being visited upon innocent Palestinians as retaliation, in the guise of ‘taking out’ the terrorists of Hamas, is likewise unconscionable.

Many people around the world are praying to their god on behalf of Jews and the citizens and friends of Israel.

Many others around the world are praying to a different god on behalf of Palestinians and the citizens and friends of the Islamic world.

Virtually none are remarking that the worship of gods and the systematic slaughters of infidels might be at the root of the hatred, extremism and inhuman violence the world has seen for centuries, especially in the Middle East.

I am not well versed on the differences between the Bible, the Torah and the Koran. I don’t intimately know their edicts and what these so-called holy books teach about those who don’t adhere to the doctrines prescribed in their pages. I do know that many are absolute and that the punishments for breaking particular edicts of particular religions can be death of the marked sinner.

For too many religious adherents, sin is a deadly rebellion against God. And they carry out executions of ‘sinners’ in the name of their god. That always sickens me.

So, let me be clear. There is no God. There are no gods.

Psychology Today reports this: “Anthropologists estimate that at least 18,000 different gods, goddesses, and various animals or objects have been worshipped by humans since our species first appeared. Today, it is estimated that more than 80 percent of the global population considers themselves religious or spiritual in some form.”

In fact, there is currently an ungodly amount of gods still worshipped today. But, in spite of what is taught by Christianity, Islam, Sikhism, Hinduism or Judaism, some of the most popular religions across the globe, I believe God is an imaginary being.

I have no issue or dispute with those who wish to believe in a divine being and only need faith to underpin that belief. They are free to practice their religion and worship as they please. At the root of most religions is some variation of the Golden Rule. That is, to do unto others as they would wish others to do unto them. That is a worthwhile sentiment that I endorse.

But, we have seen through the centuries that religious intolerance brings unspeakable cruelty, brutality, oppression, enslavement and violent death. Each side in these holy wars prays for the death of their enemies. That thought just warps my mind - praying to their ‘god of peace’ for the death and destruction of those who don’t likewise believe.

Of course, there are all kinds of man-made problems underpinning the ongoing brutal war between Hamas and Israel. Those include military occupation, indigenous displacement, human rights violations, genocidal attacks, suicide bombings, cross-border rocket attacks, travel restrictions, terror campaigns, generational hatred, rabid revenge, enforced poverty and apartheid politics. No wonder the violence is never-ending.

But, every time I see a fighter holding a weapon in the air shouting “allah 'akbar,” “God is Great,” I am sickened. When I hear leaders or combatants declaring that God is on their side, I am sickened. If that is true, then it is God Himself who is at fault for the death and suffering being visited in his name.

There is no need for the man-made creation of a judgmental god for humans to behave with morality. Human nature is indeed imbued with a capacity for unspeakable violence. But, it is also imbued with kindness, empathy, understanding, tolerance and acceptance. We can all live our lives, not by the “grace of god,” but with the grace of humanity.

I honestly don’t believe there can ever be ‘Peace on Earth.’ We are too quick to anger and resentment. Too quick to judgment and condemnation. Too quick to rationalization and revenge. Too quick to war.

But there can be the absence of violence. There can be adherence to ‘non-killing.’ That means knowing each other, understanding each other, tolerating each other, accepting each other.

Do unto others …