News & Articles

“You can safely assume you've created God in your own image when it turns out that God hates all the same people you do.” Anne Lamott, American contemporary author.  

“The will of God (or Allah) is the passing off of responsibility of mankind.” Unknown source  

“Religious freedom exists to safeguard the right to practice religion free from persecution... Practicing religion is about what you do or don’t do, not about controlling what others do.” Dale Richter, writing in the blog host website Medium.com  

Recent national and world events demonstrate the dangers of mixing religious dogma and public policies. The continuing massacre of innocent people in Palestine is only the most horrendous example.   It is interesting – and disturbing – that the “trucker” protest that went to the Texas border calls themselves the “Army of God.” The name of Hezbollah, translates as the “Party of God.”

Hamas is an acronym for Islamic Resistance Movement. Al Qaeda, ISIS and the Taliban all claim to be doing Allah's work.  

Organizers of the Texas protests have been quoted saying “This is a biblical, monumental moment that’s been put together by God” and “We are besieged on all sides by dark forces of evil.” Texas Congressman Keith Self, referring to immigration and border problems said, "We are in a spiritual battle for the survival of our Republic."  

The Washington Post described the border protesters more realistically. They wrote, “A motley crew is gathering here this weekend [including] militia-style groups invoking 1776 and the Civil War, Christian nationalists praying for the chance to confront evil, racists stoking fear about the “replacement” of White people, election deniers, anti-vaccination crusaders [and] conspiracy theorists...”  

The pernicious idea that “God is on our side” is as old as humankind and has done a great deal of harm throughout history. But the “patriots” organizing the “Take Our Border Back” protests are not working on behalf of God or any legitimate religious principles. This is purely election-year political theater. The Reuters news service reported, “Hundreds of protesters from around the U.S. flocked to a Texas border town on Saturday to vent over illegal immigration and show support for former President Donald Trump at a rally that blended border politics with religious rhetoric...vendors sold shirts, flags and hats promoting the Republican former president while conservative speakers touted conservative Christian values and criticized the border policies of President Joe Biden.”   A

ll this reminds me of the song “Judgment Day” by Texas singer song writer Terri Hendrix. This song superbly illustrates the problems with using God to justify political preferences. The  song was written years ago but speaks so well about today's events I quote all the lyrics.  

“Everybody wants to use God

When they’ve nobody but themselves to blame

Everybody wants to use God

When they do their dirty deeds in his name

From the Bible belt to the holy land

They use his name to take a stand

They use their faith to make a plan

To lead to the destruction of man E

verything they embrace

Puts another child In a Godless place

Hands that kill, and hands that pray

Meet their maker come Judgment Day   E

verybody wants to use God

When they’ve nobody but themselves to blame

Everybody wants to use God

When they do their dirty deeds in his name  

When it comes to hate they’re unified

When it comes to war they’re justified

And land is used to divide

The weak from the strong

Everything they embrace

Puts another child In a hopeless place

Hands that kill and hands that pray

Meet their maker come Judgment Day  

Everybody wants to use God

When they’ve nobody but themselves to blame

Everybody wants to use God

When they do their dirty deeds in his name  

From the ancient scripture to the modern word

Everybody wants to use God

It’s not how it’s written,

It’s how it’s heard

Everybody wants to use God

It takes a coward to manipulate

Everything that’s good and turn it into hate

Hands that kill and hands that pray

Meet their maker come Judgment Day  

Everybody wants to use God

When they’ve nobody but themselves to blame

Everybody wants to use God

When they do their dirty deeds in his name”  

To listen to the song simply search for “Judgment Day by Terri Hendrix.” The excellent musical artistry of Ms. Hendrix and her group add a lot to the message.  

The concept of a “Judgment Day” or “Last Judgment” is common to Christianity, Judaism and Islam. This is a time in the future when individuals (or nations in Judaism) will be held accountable for their behavior. But the notion of a day of judgment, when the sinful will be punished and the righteous rewarded, is just more made up religious claptrap.

We know from experience that we live in a world of “rewarded evil and murdered goodness” (as novelist Barbara Kingsolver says in The Poisonwood Bible). All this is only a way to justify inequality and injustice in the present world. It is a tool to keep people docile and in their place.  

We are told God is in control and everything that happens is God's will. There is no need to demand change because there will be “pie-in-the-sky-when-you-die.“ But using God, when we have nobody but ourselves to blame, is the “passing off of responsibility.”

And justice delayed is justice denied.  

Real justice depends on fair laws, uniformly enforced, through an independent, honest court system. Yes, laws, law enforcement and courts have always been imperfect. These systems have been skewed, corrupted and suborned by the wealthy and ruling elites. But the rule of law has functioned much better than “an eye for an eye,” blood feuds, ethnic cleansing or religious wars.  

This is why democracy, with all its imperfections, is much better than other forms of government. This is why we must constantly work to protect and expand our democracy. This is why our government should be supporting and strengthening international law and institutions like the United Nations and the International Court of Justice. And this is why we need to be demanding that our government practice strict separation of church and state.  

God, if she exists, isn't taking sides in human politics.