Megan Phelps is the daughter of Fred Phelps the spiritual leader of the Westboro Baptist Church. The Church is best known for its openly anti-gay stance and protest rallies at the funerals of US soldiers who lost their lives defending our nation. The Church claims that the death of these soldiers is gods retribution for the sins of our nation and by picketing and protesting they hope to bring consciousness and sympathy to their cause.

In 2012 she left the Church citing inconsistencies with Church’s internal dogma. A recent podcast with Sam Harris, Megan explained that the Church has “answers” for any challenge brought against it’s theology. These answers seem completely logical and consistent with their literal reading and interpretation of the textual bible. Regardless of the style of biblical interpretation all religious traditions have formulated “answers” to defend its position against challenges to the faith internal or external.

The members of the Westboro Baptist Church consider themselves instruments of gods true will on earth. I am sure the Islamist fundamentalists would scoff at that notion, and consider the Westboro folks as just another infidel. What all these religious groups have in common is that they all have the “answers” that prove their case. When children and vulnerable adults are indoctrinated into any faith the sad truth is that much thought has been given to keeping the faithful in line and answers are prepared to rebuff those who will question.

Megan Phelps was a person who questioned the “logic” of her faith. To her parents and as defined clearly in the old testament, she is a “rebellious child”. She left the faith and as a consequence her parents and her committed family members no longer speak with her. If Megan lived in ancient Judea there is a good chance she would be stoned as a punishment for her rebelliousness.

Megan’s faith based family can feel good with  their abandonment of their daughter. After all they are doing gods will on earth. As an example to other children who would entertain a rebellion against god, Megan’s loss was to them a well won sacrifice. The notion that an individual can sacrifice a child based on an unsubstantiated system of belief is horrifying, and yet it is being done all over the world in all religious faiths.

Rebellious children in my opinion should be viewed by parents as a gift. The fact that a child does not ascribe to the parents ideology is nothing more than an opportunity for the parent to experience personal growth and development through introspection and soul searching. A child who disagrees with a parents world view is a child who is seeing the world differently by using their intelect. Religious parents who threaten with ultimatums do irreparable harm to themselves and their children. The opportunity for the parent of the rebellious child is to carefully consider the other point of view and create a framework where families can continue to function and live with each other.  Respect and loving relationships are possible when the feelings are genuine and authentic. Any god who would tolerate anything else is not worthy of  any consideration.

The conditional love championed by the god of the old testament has found a home in the Westboro Baptist Church and in the hearts and minds of those parents who use religion to subjugate and control their children. These people, like the god they serve offer rewards to those who follow and punish those who rebel.  Religion in this regard is susceptible to abuses that cause suffering that is much more wide spread than many realize.  Victims of this abuse are often captive to ideologies they would otherwise disavow.

Big Brother Burt feels that religious organizations that encourage the faithful to threaten and bully their subordinates are abhorrent. No actual creator of the universe would need to rely on such strategies to further his agenda. Humans who see an opportunity to subjugate others are all too willing to use the power within religion to further their objectives. The Westboro Baptists, Isis and groups of all faiths who use fear to keep faithful in line are a source of evil in our world. They are not godly, and regardless of their claims they are only interested in improving their lot at the expense of others. THESE FOLKS NEED NO REAL PROOF OF A DEITY.  If real proof were capable, I suspect they would find a way to deny it.

Megan I have nothing but respect for you and the many others who have suffered at the hands of these self righteous, self serving maniacs. For those of us whose formative years were robbed by these narcissistic parents and family members, we have persevered overcome great odds and reversed cycle of abuses that will greatly benefit future generations. May we all see a day when this hatred and cycle of violence is defeated once and for all. Big Brother Burt.

 

 

 

 

Polls tell us that roughly 7 out of 10 American’s believe in god. More specifically that 70% identifies themselves as  (religious group) and takes comfort in believing that some higher power is watching over them. The majority of the 70% do not worship regularly, or follow any religious practices. In times of personal  crisis many of these folks might reach out to religious leaders for council. The party of god that I refer to is the Republican Party. This party has courted and represented the opinions and ideologies of religious minded Americans for the last 40 years. The disconnect for many of us is that while being fiscally and socially conservative in our  world view, we cannot agree with or accept religious influences in our political discourse.

Religious morality is not compatible with secular thought.  When deciding on the rule of law, modern standards and sensibilities need to be considered. Legislators who use religious standards are doing us all a disservice. Devout god believing Americans are now faced with a difficult choice. If Mr. Trump becomes the presidential nominee, the Republican Party will be forever changed. It will no longer be the party of god.

Religion in the western world today is under attack because free thought and ideas cannot be controlled as effectively as they were in the past. The Catholic Church today would find it difficult to jail Galileo for his scientific discoveries. In countries where personal freedoms are denied, religious groups still commit atrocities in the name of their deity. The historical perspective of religious abuse has been understood and is well documented. The broader question is related to moderate religious practices as practiced in free societies today.

A majority of non-practicing Americans still see value in adopting a religious identity. They believe that religious holidays bring families together and the moral, ethical values espoused in religious doctrines are good for all of us. Many of these same people do not actively participate in religious life and yet hold in esteem the institutions and leadership of these religious groups. For many Americans living the reality of freedom, where church and state are separate, religious institutions take on an innocuous presence. Now that we have reached a place in human evolution where personal freedoms are highly valued and protected lets take a closer look at the effects of “innocuous religion”.

Is religion and its practices truly harmless in a free society. Can we strip away the “good information” from the bad, and is the ethical and moral teachings within the religions responsible for peoples choices and behaviors.  Attempts at reconciling religious ideas and faith in a world of people that is growing better aware of science and technology is imperative if religious organizations want to survive. Understanding science and technology has given us the tools to solve problems today that theologians grappled with in the past. Human evolution is the biggest obstacle to the survival of religion. Medicine has replaced the medicine man, and technology has replaced superstition.

As opposed to religion, Karma as a concept has made a huge impact among people today. Based on scientific principle, the word represents an idea that on a cosmic level you do “reap what you sow”. The implication is that positive energy released by an individual finds its way back to the source. Karma, or energy field equilibrium, is and has always been the moving force behind humans behaving in a way which is ethical, kind, compassionate and just. We are energy, our ideas are energy, and as such it cannot be created or destroyed. The energy expended will find it’s way back to it’s source.  Ethical choices made by individuals are mostly indicative of the quality and richness of their experiences.

Religious ideologies do contain with their framework moral and ethical ideas. The problem is that the ideas are not universally applied  and the focus is on the religious community. The community creates an environment which is as inclusive of its members as it is exclusive of those who do not share the beliefs. The members of a particular faith based community are exclusive in that they are following god’s law. These laws, regardless of the ethical implications  create an illusion that the observer is following in gods pathway. In the context of the “community” all other non believers are compromised, not following the pathway of the righteous.  The ethical considerations are applicable first and foremost to those within the community.

The humanistic values which so many of us deeply relate to, expressed within all the faiths, compassion, love, charity, justice are not religious values. These values were part of the human experience long before and separate from religious thought. Religious texts like to portray early humans as evil, self serving individuals who murdered, plundered and enslaved others in a survival of the fittest contest. Then god came along with his ethical value system and we learnt from him directly how to treat each other fairly.

I am fairly certain that ethical values such as justice and compassion evolved as a human methodology for survival. Early humans while facing different challenges and having different sensibilities than we do today, would have recognized the advantages of working together ethically long before the Exodus. The cultures and civilizations that preceded our monotheistic traditions were actually quite ordered, peaceful and existed for centuries. As they dealt with the challenges of survival they evolved and enacted laws and develop technologies to meet those challenges. The historical record as well as our observations of indigenous groups seem to contradict the biblical record. The fact remains that the “heathen cultures” wiped out by the crusaders of monotheism were for the most part peaceful, ethical peoples.

In a free society it is everyones right to choose with whom to associate with, without fear of reprisal. Racism is defined as a form of discrimination, prejudice, to accept a belief that one group is superior than another. Religious ideologies and rituals provide a vehicle wherein a person believes that they are in a special group of humans. By attaching themselves to the devine through a leap of faith, he acquires a favored status. The believer with the support of community and the guidance of it’s leadership, can participate in rituals where sin is forgiven, and afterlife is promised. Textual study, prayer give the believer further evidence and serve to enhance the feeling of the exclusive nature of the group. These people have an agenda. They need and want to preserve their influence on politics as best they can. Their leadership has a agenda too. By controlling their adherents they can form voting blocks that can further their interests. Any individual living in areas with large groups of religious people are well aware of the power they yield  on local politics. On a national level one of our two major political parties is beholden to religious influence. In a country where separation of Church and State was mandated this is an abomination.

The US Conservative Republican party is imploding. A godless billionaire is now front runner of the party of gods influence for nomination to be president. Ted Cruz the love child of America evangelical christians is loosing big. America is undergoing a tremendous shift politically. Justice Scalia is dead and religion in the US is now finally on life support.

Our generation will be remembered for one of the greatest social upheavals in modern human history. In my life time we evolved from a society  of fear and racial ignorance to a society which now embraces and values diversity . Religious communities do not value diversity. Religious communities do not respect an individual to engage in a lifestyle of their choosing. Religious faiths resist human evolution because the existence of individual personal freedoms and ideas challenge a person to think for themselves. The last thing a controlling religious institution wants is for individuals to think for themselves. They want followers not thinkers.

Our great country protects the rights of it’s citizens to “believe” anything they want to. “Believing” is an important human attribute. It allows us as people to bridge gaps in our knowledge and make connections to move forward. “Believing” is a great tool that requires special care. What we believe in must conform to our collective ability to understand and substantiate.  When used this way belief can contribute greatly to human endeavors, and makes it possible for us to accomplish things never done previously. President Kennedy believed it was possible to put a man on the moon. This belief was not arbitrary, it was based on scientific knowledge of the time, and even though there was still challenges to overcome a reasoned assumption was made that we had the abilities to see it through. Religious traditions all differ on their “beliefs” because the belief is not humanly substantial. There exists no evidence or reasonable understanding of any supreme being. The bible is historically a popular tale, with very little evidence to support most of its claims.

Donald Trump is now popular because he is challenging Americans to think in a time where views towards religion are waning. We are throwing off the shackles of the old guard and loosing our faith in a supernatural salvation. As Americans we have the responsibility to guide and take a leadership role once again in our world. Big Brother Burt supports human evolution and making the changes that will enable us all to share in security, prosperity and peace. Lets embrace each other by understanding that we are all human and sharing a planet. Lets strip away the artificial boundaries that separate us. I envision a future time when these conditions will be possible.