THINKING ABOUT RELIGION

Once upon a time, religion was primarily about God
But, today, young people want nothing more to do with any such “religion” –
Pointing out that, in many cases, it’s been transmuted into raw politics –
That is, into fields of strife and hate in a variety of forms and forums –
Including racial, class, and culture.

One prime example is the Russian atheist KGB kind of guy
Who got control of an entire national religion (the Russian Orthodox Church)
And has been using it as a tool to assist in unleashing death like a dark blanket
Over the heads of a neighboring Slavic state
As the first step in re-establishing the “Mongol Empire.”

And then, there’s our own American QAnon clown blaring: “You’re so fired!”
On his way to establishing himself as a cult leader and wannabe tyrant –
Along the way, subverting a primitive Christian religion – Evangelicalism –
Into a ready willingness to trade in its past spiritual wealth for political hard-wired power –
Saying: “If you give me your votes, I’ll ensure abortion becomes unconstitutional”
By sprinkling “conservative” justices and judges like anti-feminist dust through the land –
Requesting his “Evangelical” followers, in fair return, to give him the American “throne!”

Following all this, clever peripheral guys have come flooding in – seeking open opportunities
To cynically work their game of manipulating hard hearted fools –
(Ones who think violence is “cool”) –
(Ones infected with fascism through a nightly Fox punditry dosage) –
All, in exchange for money, power, and cheap notoriety.

After God was sold out by many of the current Christian Evangelical leaders –
Young people saw through it all
Discovering that Christian “God” wasn’t necessarily “Good” –
Yet failing to understand they weren’t rejecting the “real” God
But only a “puppet” God promoted (from the beginning) by Satan
Who, it looks like, may, temporarily, be winning.

Yet, I promise that the real God is alive and on the way –
Armed with Truth, Love, Beauty, and Justice –
You’ve probably never seen nor experienced all those elemental powers of God at once –
Who, as the “true” God, will, of course, emerge victorious
Over all these recent tin-plated political/media online “gods.”

“THE STRONGEST PERSON IN THE WORLD IS THE PERSON WHO STANDS MOST ALONE” Henrik Ibsen (from “An Enemy of the People”)

If, one day, you’re successful at becoming your “true self,”
Does that mean you’ll end up all alone?

Perhaps not – yet solitude is often thought to be a requirement for meeting God –
It’s what hermits try to accomplish through acts of renunciation
Which, however, ultimately don’t work.

Actually, there’s no special requirement for becoming a “true self”
Other than giving up your ego –
The one so loved by your mother.

The moment you decide to become your “true self” –
Satan and all the other “dark gods” of materialism, anxiety, and violence
Will come rushing towards you – as if in a bad dream –
Knowing you’ve made the decision to join in the Spirit of God
While remaining in human form.

If this experience doesn’t immediately convince you to put on a cloak of humility
And urgently request the protection of God –
Then you must be a fool.

God’s fool, that is –
However, before you step off the cliff on a perfect sunny day,
Before you enter the air
Think about how much God loved Jesus
Before he was crucified.

Jesus didn’t know (even though he might have intuited)
That his brutal death would create so much life for others –
He didn’t know his act would become emblematic of the true life of God –
He simply let himself suffer, alone, trusting in God instead of himself,
And, consequently, became “the strongest person in the world.”

OUT HERE WITH THE BIRDS

America’s future doesn’t lie in wealth or power –

Instead, it’s a proof text
Demonstrating how different kinds of people
Can live in relative peace with one another –

If this works in America
It’ll work everywhere else on earth –
And provide solid evidence that reasonable laws
Can substitute for blood, cultural, or racial ties.

America’s future doesn’t lie in religious cults, no matter how ancient, popular, or patriotic–
But in a country purified of violence and materialism.

Until recently, Americans have been living a wrong idea –
That we have somehow been “chosen” –
An idea that, repeatedly, brought destruction upon earlier civilizations.

Really, it’s the “everydayness” of America that’s so great!

Recently, however, we’ve gotten somewhat off track –
And have found ourselves lost out in the grass –
But, maybe, that’s not so bad –

Actually, it’s really sort of peaceful
Out here with the birds.