Christmas Is More Important Than Irrational Religious Fantasy

      Are babies really as cute as “buttons” or some people as mean as “dogs?” Are there really doctors or ministers or holy men who are “miracle workers” and are there times we are all as happy as “larks?” There is hardly a human sentence uttered that is not somehow embellished by imagination and fantasy. In almost every sentence we appeal to fantasy to express that which we would have to otherwise struggle to say directly.

        Religions in particular depend upon fantasy because the purpose of religion is to provide answers to questions that cannot be answered directly, like “What is God?” or “What happens to me after I die?” Even though human intelligence is remarkable, it is limited and we are not capable of understanding reality beyond our limit. We are, however, capable of fantasizing answers to those questions, as were our ancestors, since the first of them became self-aware.

        As a result, all religious dogma, all professions of faith and all systems of theology are firmly founded on fantasy. However, some flights of fantasy can be evaluated and confirmed through our human and world experiences to be true or false.  Einstein essentially fantasized his theory of relativity because it was not derived directly from accepted theories of his day. His concepts seemed to come straight out of nowhere….fantasy. However, tests of his theory showed it to be true, for the most part, and it will gradually be improved and restructured as more is learned.

        The same is true for the fantasy behind most religious beliefs. It can be studied and confirmed as true or false, if those holding those beliefs would allow such scrutiny. The fact is, most do not, so the validation of religious beliefs lags the scientific community by hundreds, if not thousands of years. This leads to bizarre religious beliefs in fantasies such as virgin births and bodily resurrections of the dead which all of us understand are not confirmed or validated by anything we experience in our daily lives.

        This means the role of religious doctrine is not to express truth that can be confirmed by 21st century thinking, but to hold to irrational fantasies created by 1st century thinking before secular validation was possible.

        For me, such fundamentalism diminishes the meaning of Christian teachings to the point they have little practical value except to justify idol worship of  Jesus, God, the Bible, and all things considered holy for fear of retribution. For me, the deepest sense of human faith comes from realizing and accepting the fact there is only one reality and any separation of the spiritual from the scientific is an illusion. Rationality is the truth that sets you free to experience God, the foundation of life, in every moment.

      The fact is, however,  that invalid and irrational religious fantasy remains important to millions of people, of many religions, around the world. It appears to represent a stage of human spiritual evolution through which humanity must pass, but apparently, not quickly.

        It has been my experience that those individuals who are open to personal spiritual inquiry are able to look beyond the religious traditions of their family (tribe) without fear.  They tend to become more universal in their outlook and also tend to find themselves in close agreement with each other when by chance they meet. This seems true even when their religious beliefs as youngsters would have created serious conflicts among them.

        Personal spiritual inquiry appears to be how we as individuals move beyond institutional religion, particularly fundamentalism, and become responsible for our own sense of spirituality and faith. So, until religious organizations and family traditions change to support this growth of spirituality from within, the familiar traditions of religious fantasy and unyielding obedience to dogma will fill that void. In general, this is neither good nor bad, it is just where fundamentalists are in their thinking.

          It becomes negative and harmful, however, when fundamentalists and evangelicals become dogmatically political in order to force everyone else to live in accord with the institutional dogma they have accepted. If you look carefully at the political actions of socially conservative politicians it is clear that their collective goal is to force everyone else to look and act "Christian" (as they define it) by creating civil laws that abolish the most basic of individual freedoms; the freedom to control one's own body and mind. It's as if their mission is to create a repressive and punitive "Christian" police state, totally lacking compassion or love.

        Jesus did not teach dogma and did not want to be worshiped as a holy object. He invited us to follow his example and live as love expressed; the exact opposite of a theocracy that demands civil obedience to religious dogma. Worshiping Jesus as an idol shows we understand that his teachings were special, but it misses the core of his mission which was for us to gain personal wisdom far higher than icon worship. He invited us to seek, find, understand, and use our own Christ potential..."Seek first the Kingdom of God." I have always felt that the birth of the Christ spirit into human consciousness and within our hearts as individuals is the true mission of Christianity and the true meaning of Christmas.

      Having faith is something more important than joining popular religious bandwagons or pledging yourself to publicly express "Christian" talking points. It is withdrawing from the world and being touched by the peace and love of God in the solitude of your own heart and mind, then sharing your insights through living a God-filled life. That is what Jesus did. Life itself is the only miracle we have to experience and loving others is the only spiritual skill we need to master.

        This year may your Christmas experience be all that love is.