Morality

"[Religion] may be okay between consenting adults in private, but should not be taught to young children." --Francis Crick. Nothing to do with anything, but I liked it.

I thought I'd discuss morality.

As you know, morality is one of the last "strongholds" of religion. As modern day science has pretty much obliterated any need to be religious, the desperate power-hungry rabbis hang on to, wait for it, morality. Yes, religion may be one big lie, BUT IT MAKES PEOPLE DO GOOD! and don't you forget it.

Strangely enough, I almost never heard that argument in twenty years of growing up in your, uh, community. (I guess growing up in the ghetto you lose that myth pretty fast.) We were frum because that was the right way to live, full stop. I even remember my rosh yeshiva hammering home the point that Pirkei Avos, that great book of ethics, wasn't to be followed because it was the right thing to do. Chas v'shalom! That's a goyishe zach, morAlity, feh! Weren't the Germans themselves before the war very much cultured and moral? See where that leads you? (Here the rosh yeshiva would take a long, thoughtful look around the class.) Aderabba! You followed it because it was the word of God! Any questions?? Like most things in halacha, they don't have to make sense (like, ever), they're basically arbitrary. You follow them because you're God's slave. Any other questions?? Good.

Anyway, most of the "proofs" I've had the misfortune of being subjected to over the course of my life had to do with Har Sinai, intelligent design, or some other such crap. The fact that I've heard so few similar arguments out here (blogosphere), and almost all on the subject of morality, says something about the desperation of Garnel and his rabbi cronies in trying to hold on to power, er, a religion, that's slipping right through their fingers.

It's kind of funny how, out here, things are all of a sudden "Divinely inspired" and "true because I believe they are" and whatever other nonsense Garnel spews. Religion is important because of morality! Be frum so you can be moral again! You'd think they were Reform or something. Look, I have nothing against Humanistic Judaism, but I'm afraid I don't have a lot of background in it.

Besides, I strongly object to the claim that religion spawned morality. (I can certainly see why rabbis might claim it, though. They wouldn't have an agenda. Hell no.) I think morality is more or less a by-product of common sense (in short supply among fundamentalists), and I'm a firm believer that people are moral despite, not because of, religion (especially when they turn around and AUTOMATICALLY accuse me of being immoral - for not believing in the same things they do. Sorry folks, I don't believe in your cookie monster. You'll just have to deal with it). I mean, religion does do a lot to instill a protective, tribal sense of community, which is definitely not morality, but teamwork, at best (and then watch how they treat the out-groups). I even made the point a while back on this blog that leaving religion made me a more moral person as I no longer had reason, or an excuse, to favor one group over another, and found it easier to treat people as equals. The kneejerk defensive reaction by Garnel to that statement, plus the fact that he denied it, is probably sufficient evidence that it's true.

Let's face it: Your religion has two major components: person to person, and person to god (yes, bein adam lachaveiro and bein adam lamakom). If you could chuck the god stuff, I'm all for it. Incidentally, Christianity was all about that. As it happens, I think Christianity is ten times cooler than Judaism. The problem, my friends, is you're so hung up on the god stuff, and even think the person to person stuff is based on the god stuff. No thanks. You can have it. All yours.

This may not have much to do with morality, but I feel it needs to be said. You're so quick to look at results, but so hesitant to look at causes. He's a terrorist. She's a shiksa. He's a mechalel shabbos (me? nahh). They're holy. How about why someone does something? Like, for example, instead of judging someone for no longer being religious, how about searching to find out if the "truths" you believe in are in fact true?

Or you can continue blaming them, judging them, calling them names, and treating them like shit. And then wonder why they fail, when you've set them up to do precisely that, all because you're too afraid to challenge the tenets of your beliefs (or like Garnel, too cowardly to admit you're an atheist) and you lionize people for not making the same assumptions you do. Hey, I understand everyone needs a scapegoat, but this is getting old.

Maybe it's time you stopped killing each other out over a fucking book.

Religion. The greatest, and most often overlooked, source of human suffering in the world.