RELIGION IS A PROBLEM AND SATIRE HELPS EDUCATE PEOPLE ABOUT THE PROBLEM
The problem -
is it religion?
is it atheism
is it fundamentalism, that is putting belief before people
Religion has beliefs that are in danger of leading to fundamentalism. Jesus
sanctioned fundamentalism when he said that we must love God so that he occupies
the only place in our hearts, he is not just in first place.
Atheism has no religious beliefs. Atheism is not the denial that God exists
though many atheists do deny he exists. Atheism is rather the absence of belief
in god or gods. Christians are atheists after all as far as Zeus is concerned.
They don't believe in the gods of paganism. There is no possibility of
fundamentalism in relation to atheists.
We are told, "Atheism is purely a negative stance in the sense that it is the
absence of belief." In fact essential atheism and atheism have a difference. The
atheist's foundation is not that there is no God but that he has no reason to
believe. So essential atheism is the absence of belief. The bloody regimes of
Communism were not based on the absence of belief but on their own kind of
faith. Atheism cannot be blamed for what the Communists did.
Based on dogma.
Dogmatism, dogmatism is the attitude that "We are right and we are not going to
change no matter what the evidence says".
Atheists all have different ideas and approaches to life. They make suggestions
but do not enforce these suggestions as dogma. The atheist who is dogmatic is
really approaching religion in his attitude. The proper atheist doesn't do that.
Atheists do not see beliefs as truth. Beliefs should be taught as beliefs and
not as truth. Religion seeks control of schools to teach beliefs as truth. Jesus
sanctioned this bigotry when he said that he was the Truth.
Disrespect towards religious belief
The Bible insults and mocks the Gods and beliefs of other faiths. To insult a
belief is to insult the God of truth that gave the belief and must be punished
under blasphemy law. Religion thinks it should not be criticised.
Satire and mockery of religion may be necessary to stop it doing harm in the
world. These tools make great impact. Religious beliefs are only human creations
and everything human should be examined and we should have the right to say why
we disagree with it. Religion itself has to contradict other religion and
criticise it to exist. For example, Islam teaches that the Christian notion of
God having a Son called Jesus who is also God is extreme blasphemy. The Bible
and Church says of the heretic, "Let him be anathema".
Satire is a good way to highlight the dangers of religion
To insult one’s religion is not the same as to insult ones faith and vice versa.
People follow their own versions of faith while letting themselves go under a
religious label. Satire and mockery of religion may be necessary to stop it
doing harm in the world. These tools make great impact. Religious beliefs are
only human creations and everything human should be examined and we should have
the right to say why we disagree with it. Religion itself has to contradict
other religion and constructively criticise it to exist. For example, Islam
teaches that the Christian notion of God having a Son called Jesus who is also
God is extreme blasphemy. The Bible and Church says of the heretic, "Let him be
anathema".