Blinded by the Light?
PAGE 2
Compared with the other side effects of religion, getting high off religious participation, even becoming "addicted," as Drew says he was, is a relatively innocuous one. In addition to the obvious Jonestown-style cult craziness, mainstream religions present their own dangers—because their substantial history, sizable population, and organized structure make their members even more certain that they have the Truth. When another group shows up with another version of the Truth, all hell breaks loose. "Us versus them" thinking can swell from prejudice to unspeakable violence. The Crusades, the Holocaust, 9/11, and countless other atrocities had religion at their cores. The perpetrators were so stoned on being Absolutely Right that they never noticed the mind-blowing irony of hating in the name of love, killing to defend the commandment "Thou shalt not kill," and waging war under the banner of peace.
One regrettable consequence of this is that onlookers often conclude that religion causes the violence done in its name. Many well-meaning atheists believe that getting rid of religion would eliminate ideological discrimination and violence. Some believe this so strongly that they become angry, even violent, and...oh, hello! Here we are, back at holy war! If you doubt that doctrinaire atheism is as dangerous as doctrinaire religion, study the history of communism in the 20th century. You'll find the same charismatic leaders claiming to know the Truth, the same us-versus-them psychology, the same intoxicated evangelism, the same unfortunate habit of slaughtering people by the millions to improve their lives.
In short, absolutism is the opiate that turns the masses into ideology-addicted murderers, whether religious or irreligious. Doctrinaire atheism keeps the bathwater aspects of religion and forcibly ejects the baby—the one thing religion has that atheism lacks: spirituality.
Make Your Own Opiate
Remember those natural endogenous opioids produced by healthy bodies—the ones Marx never knew existed? As a depressed teenager, I became addicted to them. I exercised maniacally, triggering surges of feel-good chemicals like endorphins, until my body basically fell apart. I developed a chronic pain condition that left me too crippled to do much besides lie still and breathe. Since it was one of the few things I could actually do, I began meditating. I hated meditation, but only for about 10 years. That's how long it took me to realize that this practice could "turn on" the same natural opiates I'd once gotten from exercise. Unlike the rush-and-crash of my physical fitness addiction, however, meditation seemed to slowly fill a calm reservoir of joy that pervaded my life. I'd become my own source of connection to the divine. Literally and figuratively, I was making my own opiates.
The following is my recipe for Home-Brewed Charisma:
Embrace Uncertainty
The most powerful protection from the inherent dangers of spiritual seeking is to accept that human knowledge can never be absolute. I mean, you could be dreaming right now—of course, you aren't...but if you were, how would you know?
René Descartes, one of the fathers of modern science, dwelled on this question until he felt, by his own description, "dazed." Ultimately, he decided that the only thing he was sure of was that he wasn't sure. Most people know Descartes's famous statement "Cogito, ergo sum" ("I think, therefore I am"). But he actually wrote "Dubito...cogito, ergo sum." "I doubt...I think, therefore I am." Though we like to ignore it, uncertainty, not certainty, is the philosophical foundation of science.
You'll be vulnerable to "bad drug" religion until you can repeat these words without freaking out: "Nobody's absolutely sure of anything, and that's okay." This frees you to do consciously what most people do unconsciously—make your best subjective judgment about the veracity or fallacy of any truth claim.
One regrettable consequence of this is that onlookers often conclude that religion causes the violence done in its name. Many well-meaning atheists believe that getting rid of religion would eliminate ideological discrimination and violence. Some believe this so strongly that they become angry, even violent, and...oh, hello! Here we are, back at holy war! If you doubt that doctrinaire atheism is as dangerous as doctrinaire religion, study the history of communism in the 20th century. You'll find the same charismatic leaders claiming to know the Truth, the same us-versus-them psychology, the same intoxicated evangelism, the same unfortunate habit of slaughtering people by the millions to improve their lives.
In short, absolutism is the opiate that turns the masses into ideology-addicted murderers, whether religious or irreligious. Doctrinaire atheism keeps the bathwater aspects of religion and forcibly ejects the baby—the one thing religion has that atheism lacks: spirituality.
Make Your Own Opiate
Remember those natural endogenous opioids produced by healthy bodies—the ones Marx never knew existed? As a depressed teenager, I became addicted to them. I exercised maniacally, triggering surges of feel-good chemicals like endorphins, until my body basically fell apart. I developed a chronic pain condition that left me too crippled to do much besides lie still and breathe. Since it was one of the few things I could actually do, I began meditating. I hated meditation, but only for about 10 years. That's how long it took me to realize that this practice could "turn on" the same natural opiates I'd once gotten from exercise. Unlike the rush-and-crash of my physical fitness addiction, however, meditation seemed to slowly fill a calm reservoir of joy that pervaded my life. I'd become my own source of connection to the divine. Literally and figuratively, I was making my own opiates.
The following is my recipe for Home-Brewed Charisma:
Embrace Uncertainty
The most powerful protection from the inherent dangers of spiritual seeking is to accept that human knowledge can never be absolute. I mean, you could be dreaming right now—of course, you aren't...but if you were, how would you know?
René Descartes, one of the fathers of modern science, dwelled on this question until he felt, by his own description, "dazed." Ultimately, he decided that the only thing he was sure of was that he wasn't sure. Most people know Descartes's famous statement "Cogito, ergo sum" ("I think, therefore I am"). But he actually wrote "Dubito...cogito, ergo sum." "I doubt...I think, therefore I am." Though we like to ignore it, uncertainty, not certainty, is the philosophical foundation of science.
You'll be vulnerable to "bad drug" religion until you can repeat these words without freaking out: "Nobody's absolutely sure of anything, and that's okay." This frees you to do consciously what most people do unconsciously—make your best subjective judgment about the veracity or fallacy of any truth claim.
NEXT STORY
