Several of my current readers have been witness to my struggles with religion over the years. I was raised in the Lutheran tradition, and when this proved unsatisfying to me I was re-baptized in the broader Born-again Christian faith. This also proved unsatisfying, so I fell away. The ensuing years were consumed with research and a little dabbling, from A (atheism) to Z (zoroastrianism), with a particular focus away from the Abrahamic religions. Nowhere did I find any tradition which exactly matched what I knew about God and the relationship between divinity and the human condition. I finally settled on an variation on the Eclectic Wiccan tradition, even though prevailing modern Wiccan beliefs aren't an exact match either. To date the only deity I've found in widespread use which comes even close to matching what I know about God is Vishnu from the Hindu tradition.
Recently, I began examining the reasons behind what exactly it was about the Big Three religions which I found so odious. In my wandering years, I avoided study of Judaism, Christianity, and Islam quite studiously, although I couldn't really put my finger on exactly why. The only reason I could give, if asked, would have been "the god they all worship is not a true representation of God." Now, I can say that the same is true of all deities, since God is deeper than the ocean and wider than the sky, and our limited human understanding can encompass only small parts of true divinity. As finite beings, how can we truly understand infinity? We can only form limited representations. Bearing this in mind, I laid aside the theology and focused on the history and tenets of the religions. Each of the three originated in the perpetually unstable Middle East, which has been torn by strife since before the beginning of written history. Archaeological evidence continues to surface supporting the fact that the peoples of that region have been at each others' throats in a neverending cycle of wholesale slaughter and retribution.
I recently made an offhand comment to a colleague about "these combat-oriented religions," to which he responded with amused laughter and a suggestion that I research Yahwism. What I discovered (from more research than just one Wikipedia article) was the answer to all my doubts concerning the Abrahamic religions. Apparently, Yahweh (if I may write that without causing offense to any readers -- I am merely a scholar, after all) came to be a composite deity, based on a number of Semitic household deities. The primary influence, however, appears to be Ashur, the ancient Sumerian (Babylonian) god of war (borne out by references to Ashura, the supposed consort of Yahweh). This makes sense to me, since competition for dwindling resources would have led to widespread tribal conflict in the desertifying Fertile Crescent -- and history shows that it did.
However, the key event was the imposition by Saul of Gibeon, the first king of Israel, of Yahwism as the state religion. This contributed to the attitude that there is "one true way" to worship. This runs in direct opposition to the truth I have discovered through intense prayer and meditation, namely that God is all things to all people at all times. Whoever you are, whatever your circumstances, God will provide appropriate guidance. (This is why I often refer to God in the feminine, She rather than He, since at critical times in my life God appeared to me in the form of a wise woman. The Wiccan "Triple Goddess" matches this image almost exactly, hence my religious choice.) This corresponds to the Semitic deity El, "He Who Is" (or Tolkien's Eru, "The One"). An old friend, a young woman wise well beyond her years, once told me "you can't put God in a box," and this is exactly what state religion does. It prevents individual discovery of one's personal relationship with God. This is why I often say, "I believe in Christ, but I will never call myself a Christian again."
"But wait, Annie," you might say, "how can you believe in Christ if you're Wiccan?" First of all, I am not Wiccan. In a way I am, since Wicca is a blanket term encompassing almost as many forms of worship as there are Wiccans, and my form of worship matches up most closely with the general forms of Wicca.. But there was, indeed, a man named Jesus, who appeared in Judah at about the time Christian tradition says He did, and He did bring a message of salvation to the "wayward" people of Israel which extended outward from Jerusalem to encompass much of the Western world. That message was: peace. Matthew 7, verse 12: "Therefore all things whatsoever ye would that men should do to you, do ye even so to them: for this is the law and the prophets." It is the same message as Hillel: "What is hateful to you, do not do to your fellow: this is the whole Torah; all else is commentary; go and learn." It is the same message from The Sikh Guru Garanth Sahib: "There is only one breath. All are made of the same clay. The light within all is the same." It is the same message John F. Kennedy delivered June 10, 1963, at the commencement ceremony at American University: "For in the final analysis, our most basic common link is that we all inhabit this small planet. We all breathe the same air, we all cherish our children's future, and we are all mortal."
This message of unity and non-aggression forms the basis of Confucianism, Tenrikyo, Shintoism, Buddhism, and Neopaganism, and is present in some form in most religions I have studied. The point is that the goal of religion seems to be to unite humanity in peace, not to tear it apart into warring factions. So many of these religions have so many followers that I conclude that the most basic human urge is to live in peace with one's fellow humans. As one who possesses a warrior's spirit, I understand that conflict is sometimes unavoidable, that one should fight when one is called upon to do so, but I also believe that war is only a condition forced upon a person or a society by others, and that it is necessary to prosecute war only to get to the peace on the other side. And I believe that I share this view with an overwhelming majority of humanity.
Consider this wisdom, if you will, when you contemplate the coming wars. They are numerous and lengthy, but should only fought when we are left with no other choice.
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