Photo: Unsplash/Matt Collamer

The Less I Believe

Susan E. Stutz
Sep 1, 2018 · 3 min read

The older I get, the less I believe. The less I believe in the notion of an old white guy who pre-determined the course of humanity. The less I believe in the righteousness of a bearded grandfather-figure in whose name hegemonic men deign to weigh in on the conditions and aspects of my life. The less I believe in a deity credited with the creation of all humanity who in the same turn rejects that which has been created. The less I believe in the benevolence of a god who offers shelter to a chosen few while turning a blind eye to those who do not fulfill an unwritten code of requirements. We cannot have it both ways. Either the Christian god loves us all, failings and triumphs, similarities and differences alike, or he is not the spirit to whom so much allegiance is owed.

If we reflect upon the circumstances that brought colonists to the shore of this land, we know that in part what they sought was freedom of religion. They came in search of a freedom to worship as they chose, with all of the ceremonies attendant upon their belief system. Fleeing from an overbearing monarchy, the settlers came looking for a home in which they could escape religious persecution and live life on their own terms. Ironically, while in search of their own independence, they did not see fit to extend that same hand of charity to those for whom this land had already been home to for thousands of years. Since the birth of our nation, religion has been a weapon in the hands of an overbearing, overreaching, and tyrannical mob — namely misogynistic white men — with women and people of color having paid, and continuing to pay, the ultimate price.

The Bible tells us to love our neighbor. It does not include the caveat of “but only if they are white and believe the way that you do.” The Bible says that god intended humans to have dominion over all that is not human. The Bible does not say that only white men may hold such power. The Bible tells the story of creation and nowhere in that story is a declaration that Adam and Eve were white. Yet, millions of individuals have claimed the story of creation as proof positive of a superior race. Millions of men have used the story of Eve having been created from Adam’s rib as justification for the unceasing, and far too often, violent oppression of women — she is beholden to he and best she not forget that.

Millenia have passed with the Bible having been used as a bludgeon against those who do not fulfill the tenets of an underlying narrative. In a world that claims an all-knowing and all-forgiving ‘father’ there is an abhorrent amount of violence, oppression, and hate perpetrated in his name. For those that claim to hear the voice of this god, surely you must hear his disappointment. Surely you know, this is not what he intended for his children. Surely, you must hear him when he says that this is not the tale he meant to tell.

Susan E. Stutz
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