5 theses on religions

Religions can lead to disasters

Why do many people reject religions? I have to admit: Religions have many negative effects for humanity. Religious wars make the negative effects of religions very visible: Rulers often used religious fanaticism to justify their wars to their subjects and to motivate their soldiers. Examples:

Christianisation of Europe:

555 Merovingian conquests of Thuringia, Allemannia and Bavaria
7th/8th century, Frisian–Frankish wars
772–804, Saxon wars, the rulers: Charlemagne - Widukind
790 Carolingian campaign against the Pannonian Avars

Other religious wars:

552–587 Soga–Mononobe conflict, Japan, Buddhism - Shinto religion (although Buddhism preaches strict non-violence!)
980–1110 Toltec religious wars, Mesoamerica
1095–1291 Crusades, to conquer Jerusalem from Muslim rule
1419–1434 Hussite Wars, Czech proto-Protestant Christian - Catholics
1562 to 1598 French Wars of Religion, Catholics - Protestants (Huguenots)
Recently: Islamist-motivated terrorist attacks

Religious exclusivism

The ideologies behind them have one thing in common: the religious exclusivism. This means that the believers consider their religion to be the only true one, the only way to happiness. As a teenager, I belonged to the evangelicals for several years and actually believed that most of my friends would go to hell because they had no connection to the Christian faith. Today I feel that this is arrogant and wrong. This assumption provides rulers with a template to motivate war: The untrue, the wrong path must be fought, with violence if necessary.

Religions also have peaceful effects

Alternative people and religions

There is a rejection of religions in a part of the alternative scene, like in the Rainbow family of living light. However, traditional the Rainbow family welcomes all kinds of religions and worldviews, as in the first gatherings many people of different believes and cultures came together. The colors of the rainbow present these differences, and they are a unit in the Rainbow. My answer to the religion skeptics is: One of the main concerns of most religions is love. That can only be a good thing!

Is God in us or somewhere outside?

My partner Murielle thinks, religions don't help people on their spiritual way, because religions always offer a god (or several gods) to whom people can hand over responsibility for their thoughts and actions. Because the gods are always viewed as beings outside of humans. “We create our reality with our thoughts,” Murielle often says. As we were talking about it, I thought of Manfred, one of the two pastors of the German Protestant church congregation, in whose services I regularly play music. “God is in us,” he often preaches and refers to Christian mysticism. "It's not a religion, religion means, there is a god outside of man", Murielle said. I doubt it, but it's not that important.

Both is fine

God is in us - it makes sense to me. In Christianity, God is considered love. And of course love should also be in me. But even if I see God as a being outside of me (as I have been used to since my youth), love can also be within me. Then God is a source of love and not love itself. I can also take responsibility for my thoughts and my actions if I see God as a being outside of me. But I like the idea that I am one with God.

Remember: God is love

What is crucial for me is that Christianity believes in the power of love, and many other religions too. So when people follow these religions, the religion brings love and peace to humanity. But why then are there religious wars and religious fanaticism? Because the actual religion is forgotten, I think, they follow fear and not curiosity and love. Strangers imagine God differently than we do. This makes us suspicious and we feel threatened. We retreat into our house, identify more with our religion and view foreign religions as wrong. Finally we become ready to fight them with violence. In this case we forget our own religion. Because our religion is the love, also the love for foreign people with their foreign religions.

Agnosticism helps

Knowledge is power

Agnosticism creates tolerance

I am now an agnostic Christian. Agnostic means that I do not know whether God exists and what he is like. Despite this ignorance, I am a Christian, because I grew up with the Christian faith, I share Christian values and I suspect that there is a power of love. Agnosticism is the opposite of the religious exclusivism and is only compatible with tolerance: For those who admit that they know nothing about God cannot claim to have the only true religion, they cannot fight any untrue teachings with violence. Agnosticism is thus a valuable helper for peace. This is a good argument for agnosticism.

Agnosticism is based on truth

Another argument is the truth: there is no proof for the existence of God, and no proof against the existence of God. Science knows nothing about God. And I as a layman even less so. I tend to make assumptions and I think everyone tends to it, but it is clear to me that I know nothing about God.

The peaceful effects could be much greater

The peaceful effects of religions

Where are the peaceful effects? There are many projects for peace, environment and social justice that are religiously motivated. But there are also many good projects that are not religiously motivated. And all the projects are far from enough to solve the poverty and environmental problems. Does more love come from religious people than from atheists? I typed the question into google. At first I came across articles that even claimed the opposite. But the corresponding study was withdrawn  because of doubts about the results. 

The chance of religions 

The prevailing opinion is that faith does not make people neither "better" nor "worse". This gives people no reason to become arrogant towards foreign worldviews. Nevertheless, I think we can see religions as an opportunity, as a chance to move people towards a more social behaviour, because most religions preach love; love for the nearest people, but also love for all humanity and for all creation. But I ask myself from the services I have witnessed: How seriously do these Christians preach love?

Jesus the provocateur

On Saturdays from 12 p.m. I play music in German Protestant services, in El Morche, southern Spain. I find them here more personal and less stiff than the services in Germany, which I used to accompany musically. Dear church people, please hold on - provocation follows! Provocations can divide and bring discord. But they can also wake us up when we find ourselves on the wrong path. We find many provocations in the Bible, especially from Jesus. He harshly provoked the rich, self-righteous people of his day. In doing so, he broke a false peace that was worth nothing. Real peace is based on social justice and freedom from oppression.

Jesus in a Protestant service

Imagine Jesus sitting bodily next Sunday at a Protestant service in church. After the entrance music, the pastor stands up and says: “We celebrate this service in the name of the Father, the Son and the Holy Spirit.” Immediately Jesus stands up and protest: "In my name? No! I don't give my name to these church services. I have repeatedly pointed out that the poor people are blessed and that the talk of rich people is useless babble. I have told you again and again: Give away your wealth to the poor and lead a simple, modest life!"

Jesus - always friendly?

At first glance, this may seem exaggerated, as we tend to think of Jesus as a kind, indulgent person. But was he really like that? In the Bible we see that he often used harsh words against his opponents:
"You brood of vipers, how can you who are evil say anything good? For the mouth speaks what the heart is full of" (Matthew 12:34).
"Woe to you, teachers of the law and Pharisees, you hypocrites! You shut the door of the kingdom of heaven in people's faces. You yourselves do not enter, nor will you let those enter who are trying to" (Matthew 23:13).

Paradise begins with simplicity

However, I don't think anyone will give away wealth for fear of Jesus or for fear of hell. Fear is not a healthy motivation; I don't like to motivate with hell. I believe there is a healthier and more effective motivation: the prospect of contentment and happiness. This happiness does not begin somewhen after death in the kingdom of heaven, the kingdom of heaven begins here and now! Because it makes us happy to give away the things we don't really need. I can't even imagine having a fridge or a heater in the hut anymore (see Our lifestyle), I just find these things ugly. And it feels good to support people who need it. The same goes for a car, TV, sofa, WC... If you can give all of these away - great! But maybe smaller steps are the better way for you; take the steps you feel good about. So, pick one of these things and try to live without it for a month. And then write me (or all of us in a comment below) how it felt!

Social issues in the church services

I have attended hundreds of church services. But social inequality, the call for a simple lifestyle, was never a topic in the sermon, as far as I remember. It's an unpleasant topic - a call to change your lifestyle. I remember that in a church service in Germany, a relevant text was a topic in the sermon. But the sermon did not result in a call to give up wealth, but rather to detach oneself mentally from dependence on wealth. But that misses Jesus' intention. After reading the Gospels in the Bible and empathizing with Jesus' words about social issues, I come to the conclusion: Jesus was not only a teacher of faith, but also a minimalist and social revolutionary.

Environmental issues

Social inequality is a major point of divergence between aspiraton and reality in Christianity. Another point is environmental and climate protection. Mankind has created the causes for the increasing extreme weather disasters. And mankind continues to do so, so that the disasters will become much worse in the future. It is one of the biggest problems facing humanity - and I don't hear anything about it in the church services. Can that be true? Everyone's lifestyle plays a role. We can kill two crimes with one stone, so to speak. Because when we live simply, we not only reduce inequality against the poor, but also use less energy and other resources. Of course, preserving creation for future generations is a major concern of the Creator! So our lifestyle must be one of the main themes in the services.

Faith and life are one

More topics for church services

I think theological questions should be reduced in the services. Instead, practical life questions of the worshippers should be placed more at the centre. Because the Christian faith is based on love, and love always has an impact on our practical life, otherwise it is not love. So our Christian faith must also have an impact on our practical life, otherwise it is not Christian faith in my view, and a Christian service that is detached from our practical life is not a Christian service...
A few suggestions for topics:

What can we do for humanity?

• Social balance: living simply
• Climate protection: reduce air travel and car journeys, buy locally and organically, heat less, walk, cycle, garden.
• Dialogues for peacemaking
• Debunking conspiracy theories
• Raise awareness against extremism in all its forms

What can we do for our personal healing?

• Accept and observe fears, discontent, not knowing, reality
• Follow your insights and intuition
• Dare new ways and observe how you feel with them
• Look for a way to reach agreement with those you are in dispute with
• Healthy diet
• Move: Running, cycling, gardening

Church people - not too old

I once heard the argument: "We church people are mostly older people, we are no longer able to change our lives." I think older people take smaller steps but don't come to a halt. And fortunately, I sometimes see middle-aged people attending church services - and they are the future of the church!

Another argument was: "The Protestant Church is already doing many projects for social balance and environmental protection." Yes, I think that's great. But as long as these topics are excluded from church services, something is going wrong.

Summary

Religions have done a lot of harm to humanity. I reject faiths that claim to be the only true ones. Religions are mostly peaceful and helpful, if we recognize that our religion is based on assumptions and not proven and if we keep reminding ourselves of the origins and purpose of our religion.