6) Religion 5) Salmon
God, I thank you. You’re incredibly kind
for giving us this planet to explore with our mind.
When our hearts are open and love is flowing
We can solve any problem if we just keep sowing.
So to celebrate tonight with family and friends
and everybody else who lends a helping hand
I’ve got a billion barrels of wine back at my home.
So come on over. I don’t plan to drink alone.
Wine, wine, I want some more wine.
Pour me another and I’m sure to feel fine.
Red or white, they’re all quite divine.
It’s no wonder that Jesus always had a good time.
Malcolm Mohil
"Wine"
As Malcolm sat back on the couch with his physics book, there was a knock on the door. His heart jumped, hoping it was who he was hoping for. He opened the door and to his surprise he wasn't surprised. It was Becky.
"Hi, Malcolm!" Becky beamed. "I was just walking by and saw your light on. I hope I'm not disturbing you."
"Not at all!" Malcolm emphasized. "Actually, maybe you can help me."
He invited her in and offered her a glass of wine. "Do you like merlot?"
"Absolutely," she replied. "I've heard so many good things about red wine. Apparently, it contains some potent phytochemicals proving to be very beneficial to the body. Did you know red wine contains anti-oxidants? They fight free radicals, the ionized oxygen atoms that destroy cells, one of the causes of cancer and premature aging.
Malcolm nodded and added, "Studies I've seen say red wine reduces blood pressure and the chance of strokes. It raises blood levels of protective HDL cholesterol, which cleans fatty deposits found in our arteries. They also say a drop in bad cholesterol levels and reduced DNA damage follows when a person drinks a glass of wine."
Becky nodded and said, "Then you better pour us a glass!"
"It's the drink of the Gods for good reason. No wonder the Bible makes a point of relegating red wine to divine status. Jesus even turned water, the essence of all life, into wine. And what did he offer his disciples at his last supper? Wine. To symbolize his blood of all things," Malcolm commented. "Makes you wonder if he were a vampire," Malcolm joked.
"Funny we were talking about symbols last night," Becky remarked.
"Yeah. Do you suppose Jesus knew about associative memory? Do you think he wanted his disciples to emotionally remember him in their slightly inebriated state after consuming wine? I mean, really remember him, who he was and what he stood for? Feeling the love that was his essence and thus be better people? Maybe he even knew about the health benefits. So, not only was he a spiritual doctor prescribing soul salvation, but he also was a physical doctor prescribing red wine."
"I don't know. Maybe he was taking advantage of his disciples by getting them drunk, lowering their inhibitions and coning them into thinking he was their savior," Becky said cynically. "I guess not much different or better than your average vampire.
"I'm not a fan of religion," Becky admitted. "It's in the same area as politics for me. It seems like there's been a lot of corruption, suffering and death involved in religion. Justified by the Will of God, of course," she said angrily.
"I agree, though I'm fascinated by it. Religions and the churches that represent them have been powerful institutions dominating humanity throughout history. An overwhelming social force. Here we have belief systems representing humanities quest to understand ourselves. Systems intended to explain our existence, to give us purpose beyond our animalistic behaviors. Systems inspiring us to reach our lofty ideals. But, it's a system designed by men and thus subject to man's corruptibility.
"Perhaps God exists. Perhaps God gave people an explanation and a path. Perhaps the people who first heard the Word of God were pure and enlightened and desirous of sharing God's Truth with the rest of humanity. Perhaps they wrote it down, depicted it in art or told stories that became myths. Perhaps all the religions in the world are based on this original Truth.
"The problem is men, and I emphasize the male portion of humanity here, have been in control of the churches that represent this Truth. And men are corruptible. They fear death and thus more than likely would've manipulated the Truth to fit their selfish needs to promote their power and prevent their suffering. All it would've taken was a few men here and there to distort the original Truth. Considering most religions have been around for thousands of years, it's not much of a stretch to assume more than a few people would've tainted the religion. Thus, you have the contradictions and well known despicable acts people in the name of religions have done over time.
"For example, back in 300 AD, Constantine, the Emperor of Rome, decided to make Christianity the official religion of Rome. He said it was because he had a vision, which converted him into a believer. True or not, the militaristic Holy Roman Empire now had a divine mandate from the Lord himself to conquer the surrounding territories. They used religion to justify the slaughter of countless people.
"What's amazing is people still have blind faith in their religion without questioning it or studying other religions," Malcolm said.
"It's probably because of tradition," Becky responded. "People have been conditioned to accept their religion. It's part of their culture. In the past, when people were more confined to their immediate community, they weren't exposed to too much else and if they didn't believe in the mainstream religion, they were ostracized.
"Once a belief system becomes embedded in the psyche of the community or person, it's hard to shake it loose. It's who they are. It provides structure and stability to their society. It gives them something to stand behind. To be loyal to, like a local football team.
"Plus, it offers salvation and the threat of damnation. Fear of damnation is as great a motivator as the fear of death. For a believer, death is temporary. Damnation is eternal."
Becky reflected for a moment and then continued. "I used to be involved with the church. I was raised Methodist. Most of my friends were as well. We had church events, Bible camps and socials fairly often. Actually, it was a pretty important part of my life.
"When I got older and started thinking for myself, I began to learn more about the church and Christianity in general. The more I learned, the more I began to question my faith. I began to feel guilty. Feeling like I was betraying my friends, my family and my God. I was at a crossroads.
"The irony was the ideals I learned from Jesus’ teachings were being contradicted by what I learned about the Bible and the structure of the church. If I accepted these ideals as my own, I could no longer believe the Bible as being the ultimate Word of God. In other words, the God I loved and believed to exist wouldn't be the God portrayed in the Bible. That God was created in the image of man: jealous, judgmental, insecure, temperamental and male.
"Sometimes, I'd think if there were ever a devil, he'd use religion to promote self-righteous thought and thus corrupt the love of God. It's not good when you start to think your unwitting pastor, with all good intension, is actually doing the devil’s bidding. How can a mere mortal, with so much contradictory information, know what’s really the will God? It's too big a decision to make purely on faith and God’s too big to fit in one religion. It doesn't seem right God would send his children to Hell just because they didn't except someone else's interpretation of Jesus as their savior. That seems satanic to me.
"When I realized that, I abandoned the church. I lost some friends. My parents were devastated and prayed for my straying soul to heal my blasphemous ways. My identity in my community, which I had been a part of my whole life, no longer existed.
"It was liberating, but also extremely confusing. I missed the comfort of the church. I missed the security of being told what to believe in, of knowing Heaven existed. I became very skeptical and cynical of religions and believers. I felt very lost. I felt very lonely.
"It was the first time my heart was broken. I lost my first lover, God. I no longer have a God outside of me because of this. I want to believe, but I can't. I guess I'm still living in the past because this trauma still scars me."
Becky paused to gather her thoughts and then continued, "I study psychology to try and understand the brain and human nature and perhaps get an idea of a purpose for my existence.
"One good thing I came away with from my exposure to the church was Jesus' teachings. I truly believe peace, love, forgiveness and all the virtues he lived and taught are the most important ideals a person can strive for.
"With my understanding of human psychology, it makes even more sense. When a person focuses on these ideals, the brain chemistry creates a healthy and stable environment in the body. A person's sane and the brain's healing the body. When a person's angry, upset or stressed because he's holding onto resentment and the past, the brain chemistry creates an unhealthy and unstable environment in the body. A person's demented or insane and the brain's wearing the body out.
"So, I try to stay positive and live with a light heart. I'm not perfect yet, but I usually succeed!" Becky
She took a sip of merlot. "Maybe that's why I like wine so much! Maybe I'm unconsciously remembering the things I liked about the church. Or maybe you're right and I'm remembering the ideals Jesus stood for. Either case, can I get a refill?"