The Conservative Edge

Religion is a funny thing. It’s sort of like water—it has equal capacity to either sustain or kill any human being. Some people (a shrinking minority of individuals) can develop an acute sense of morality as a result of their particular religious beliefs. On the other hand, far too many people misuse their faith, seeking to control or rule other persons.

This desire to attain supreme authority is not limited to Bible-believing Christians or even jihadists who follow the Koran. Religion takes many shapes and forms, and there are certainly more gods who are worshiped besides the One who created the Earth. We must remember that religion is based on faith, not reality. Faith must also be expressed and preached by someone with enough charisma, skill, and determination so that his ideals might be accepted and, ultimately, never questioned.

I am particularly reminded of one fellow in the Bible, a man named Simon, mentioned in the Book of Acts. He claimed to be some great power of God, and asserted himself so effectively, that he completely controlled the minds and behaviors of the people who lived in his city. The only way his spell could be broken was by the revelation of a new religion that emphasized freedom and healing over mind control. Simon lost his following when the new religion swept through the town.

Alas, Simon still lives. He lives because faith can still be used in this 21st century to control, manipulate, and subdue. The deity worshiped today is Mother Earth, and her disciples are many. High priests like Al Gore demand that we accept his ideals on faith, not reason or careful consideration. Claims are made that a majority of experts agree with him, even though it is entirely possible that a majority can be wrong. We are urged to accept computer projections of earth’s warming instead of proven laboratory tests and concrete evidence. Just as Gore and other liberals might suggest that God cannot be real because He cannot be proven to exist, Gore’s own theory of global warming cannot be proven either.

It has been said that a tyrant’s stated desire to save the world only conceals his true desire to rule the world. The people who would benefit most from a re-engineering of American society are the high priests such as Gore who are already set to benefit from the energy industries they endorse. The citizens of America, meanwhile, will be left with growing energy bills, shrinking transportation freedom, higher unemployment, and a general stranglehold on pursuits of liberty, wealth and happiness.

In the Biblical story about Simon, it is obvious that there was no liberty, wealth or happiness in his town. Religion and faith had been used (misused, one might say) by Simon to achieve a dictatorship. The same thing will happen today if Gore and the other false disciples successfully subdue America in the name of Mother Earth.

Last week, I read a feature article in Parade magazine about author Dan Brown and his Da Vinci Code series of books. Of course you’ve likely heard about his latest book, The Lost Symbol, which has just been released. The novels make extensive use of symbolism and secret societies that work to achieve power and influence world events.

One idea that was explored in Brown’s first book was that Jesus Christ had a relationship with Mary Magdalene, and subsequently fathered children by her. And, as the generations passed, there arose a secret order of people who could trace some lineage back to Jesus and Mary. A fanciful notion indeed, but one that can be refuted with a single verse from the 53rd chapter of the Book of Isaiah. Furthermore, genealogists generally concur that if Jesus did father any children, His line would have been diluted within a few generations.

I remember Brown being interviewed for a special program aired on the History Channel. The program dealt with secret societies, some of which were mentioned in The Da Vinci Code. None of Brown’s theories could be confirmed. I recall Brown using phrases like “We’re not sure, but…,” “It could be that…,” “There may have been…,” and so on. Maybe that contributed to the success of his book. The more ambiguous and mysterious a story is, the more people want to read it and concoct their own ideas. Many who preach and teach from the Bible do the same thing. Instead of making the Bible easier to understand, a lot of preachers cloak their half-baked theories behind the guise of some “revelation” from God.

But Brown goes further in his latest interview with Parade magazine. He revealed that at one point in his life, he decided that the Bible didn’t make sense, but that science made much more sense. That’s understandable, to a degree. Sometimes things that are seen and proven are easier to deal with than things or ideas that must be accepted by faith. Perhaps Brown, due to his disdain for the Bible, intentionally misconstrued Jesus’ relationship with Mary in order to develop the evolution of the various secret societies.

Where Brown really goes astray is when he discusses his idea of the Sacred Feminine, which is actually his idea of a woman-centered Christianity. He says that he studied older religions, especially paganism, and also the Mother Earth concept. He even asked the questions “What if God were a woman?” and “What if we embraced our feminine side—the more creative, passive, loving side?” Brown contrasted these questions with his observation about the destructiveness of man, and that we spend more time killing each other than on solving problems. He equates this tendency to kill with testosterone.

That idea is absurd. The trouble is, Brown isn’t the only one who claims that testosterone is inherently bad, causing men to kill and destroy. This idea is leading to the emasculation of society, where men and fathers don’t matter anymore, because super women can raise a family alone and save the world at the same time. But men can be creative—just look at the architectural designs of Frank Lloyd Wright, or read the literary works of J.R.R. Tolkein for proof. Testosterone doesn’t automatically make men killers. But I am grateful that there have been men in history who did fight for a cause. This world would be much different if, for example, Charles Martel had not defeated the ancient Islamic warriors at the Battle of Tours. Indeed, I’d like to ask a question—what if George Washington had been a woman? Some men have been pretty great, after all.

As the Easter holiday approaches, some religious news items are being seen in the media. Our newspaper is displaying advertisements from area churches that have planned special Easter events. There are also some television programs and movie reviews that relate to the Bible and Christianity.

For example, I watched a one-hour special about the Book of Revelation that was recently shown on The History Channel. I had seen it some time ago, but as I viewed it again, some of my own ideas became clearer. Specifically, it becomes obvious why the rapture theory is accepted by so many Christian denominations. For those who may be unfamiliar with the belief, the rapture theory proposes that there is actually a two-stage appearance of Christ in the last days. The first appearing is the secret “rapture” in which Christ gathers His believers into the atmosphere, and takes them into heaven for a celebration. Then, His second appearing is when He physically returns to this earth with those raptured saints, defeats the armies of evil, and sets up His kingdom.

But the rapture theory is a relatively modern idea. It is likely a response to the failed efforts of various preachers and prognosticators who tried to predict an exact date for Christ’s return. Men like Cotton Mather in America’s colonial days, and William Miller in the 1800s, used various formulas in estimating when Christ would appear. They were quite persuasive. William Miller was so passionate in his preaching that he gained a number followers who sold all of their possessions prior to the anticipated advent date. Miller had predicted Christ to return in the early 1830s (about 1833 or 1834, I think), and when there was no appearance, Miller “adjusted” his calculations and proclaimed that Christ would return the following year. Christ didn’t show up at that date, either.

To counteract these continual disappointments, a new interpretation of scripture was needed. A fellow by the name of Darby first postulated that Christ would appear in two phases. Phase one, the rapture, is most important to Christ’s followers. This is the time that all saved persons will disappear (like you see in the transporter room in Star Trek episodes) and gather into heaven. For years, preachers have proclaimed that the rapture could take place at any moment. The rapture also has the convenience of not being subject to any timetable. As a result, any notable event like a flood or an earthquake can be labeled as a prophetic event which indicates the imminence of the rapture.

In addition to this misguided notion, we have books and movies like “The Da Vinci Code” and “Angels and Demons” thrust upon us. These movies are made from the writings of Dan Brown. Brown suggests that Jesus Christ was a mere human who was also married, had a child and tried to create a feminist, sexually liberated faith. Brown has become successful only by adding mystery and intrigue to Biblical ideas. This is a tactic used by many people over the ages to create a following. The more mysterious and alluring something seems, the more accepted it becomes.

That is what Darby began with his rapture theory, and is what people have done with the Book of Revelation. They make convoluted, unprovable ideas into beliefs that are too good to refuse. Some, like Brown and the “Left Behind” authors, also turn their ideas into millions of dollars. And, sadly, people keep buying the ideas as well as the products. As the old saying goes—if something sounds too good to be true, it probably is.