RELIGION OWES US AN APOLOGY

The latest uproar over Pope Benedict XVI’ comments on Islam, is proof that religion is a primary source of division and conflict in our world. Not all religions are guilty of professing doctrines claiming supremacy and direct authority from God. For example, most Eastern religions avoid such excesses. It is mainly in Islam, Christianity, and Judaism that we find the violation of that sacred value called Truth. As a result, over the centuries humankind has paid dearly. Millions have died and suffered due to religious wars or persecution. The Pope should apologize to humankind in general, not to Islam. Then, Islam, Judaism and any other religion that claims preeminence should follow suit.

The aforementioned religions are guilty of passing beliefs for knowledge. When they assert to be in possession of the Word of God, they set themselves over and above the rest of us.

First and most important, they have no proof or evidence backing their claims. Fantastic accounts of apparitions of God or angels do not meet reasonable standards. No legitimate court in the world would accept them as reliable or trustworthy.

Second, we should be able to question (openly and freely) anyone pretending to have authority from God. The reason is a fact no one can doubt: the real God gave us a mind of our own. Therefore, we have the ability to analyze the dogmas and claims of so-called “holy” books to determine whether they are true or false, beneficial or detrimental.

Finally, such arrogant positioning denies every human being ert* inalienable rights as a son or daughter of God. We are no less than any alleged prophet or messiah of the past. We have the same right to try to communicate with God, and the same right to pass on our spiritual insights to our brothers and sisters.

The time for religion to transform itself is here. Proligion** is the way of the future. Otherwise, there will never be peace on Earth. Truth must rule supreme.

What did Pope Benedict XVI do that was so wrong? He was relating a discussion that took place more than 600 years ago between a Persian scholar and Manuel II Paleologus, a Byzantine Christian emperor. The latter said, “Show me just what Muhammad brought that was new, and there you will find things only evil and inhuman, such as his command to spread by the sword the faith he preached.”

Well, I do not know about all that was “new” in Muhammad’s preaching, but some of his teachings had to be an improvement over the barbaric customs of the time. Let us give credit where credit is due. Aside from that, the Byzantine emperor was right in condemning Muhammad’s command to use violence to spread Islam throughout the world. It is an evil and inhuman teaching, because no group has the right to impose their religious beliefs on any other group by force or otherwise.

This does not imply that Muhammad himself was evil and inhuman. Because he was human, he made a mistake in judgment. It is as simple as that. In his zeal to propagate his own beliefs, he called for the violation of the rights of others. If God exists and God is a good God, such command goes against God’s will. Clearly, Muhammad was not God’s prophet as the Koran claims, and the Pope was right in criticizing the hovering-ever-present Islamic call for violence or jihad (unholy war).

Nevertheless, Pope Benedict XVI has no right to criticize Islam if he is not willing to clean his own house. Just last week, he spoke about the much-needed dialogue between different religions. So far so good, but then he went on to exhort all Christians to stop being timid. Feel free to tell others, “Christ is the only God,” he said. Well, dear Pope, that is what you believe, not what you know. Unless you adopt a more humble position, you will not get far promoting a dialogue with other religions.

*ert is a gender-neutral article. Instead of saying “...such arrogant positioning denies every human being his or her inalienable rights as a son or daughter of God,” I say, “...such arrogant positioning denies every human being ert inalienable rights as a son or daughter of God.”

**Proligion: See Ercian Testament - Part One, chapter 4 “Proligion,” and chapter 7 “A Final Word on Proligion.” Also, see Ercian Testament - Part Three, chapter 27 “Proligion Revisited.”