Why I don't care about the church anymore

 Some years ago I was affiliated with the Coptic Orthodox Church and in our specific church there was some controversy with a priest abusing his authority. I had posted what had been done and my feelings about it and was urged to take the post down by church members, people I respected, as I was threatened with a lawsuit. So I took it down and of course nothing was done by the clergy. This incident shook me and my faith. I started questioning Christianity as a whole, the doctrines, the history, the dogma, everything I had been taught and everything I had learned. When I had opened my eyes I seen all the errors and problems, all the contradictions, literally everywhere. Because of my inflammatory post I lost a lot of followers, my book sales came to a halt and I was essentially an outcast at church. So, I stopped caring at all. The Orthodox is no different than the Catholic Church, perhaps more homophobic but their clergy operate exactly like the Roman Church. They protect each other, not the laity. So, I really couldn't care less about it.

Transactional nature of capitalism leads to mistrust and delusion, a hypothesis

 There are countless shows and podcasts seeking to understand why people delve into delusion and or the general mistrust of anyone who has any expertise in virtually anything. I have not been able to look at the literature on the psychology of this and not being an expert myself, I am not guaranteed to understand any peer reviewed paper on the subject. I want to make that known that I am not an expert, just a lay person hypothesizing about something that I have long pondered. Why are there so many people mistrustful of, say, medical experts? Those same people will take advice from a random person with absolutely no expertise speaking on a subject they are not qualified to speak on over the internet, but mistrust the people who have spent their lifetime dedicated to said subject. Why are people generally distrustful of people? 

Capitalism reduces everything to a transaction. You only do something for someone because you get something from it, generally money or something of value. This means that in every interaction every person in the back of their mind, be it consciously or unconsciously, think "What does this person want?" or perhaps "What are they seeking to gain from this interaction?" Helping someone or doing something for someone is meant to be what it is, altruistic without the intention of receiving anything in return. But capitalism says "Don't do anything for free." Therefore as capitalism speeds towards fascism the transactional nature of every encounter ramps up. Every call could be a scammer, every incident could be a false flag, etc. In my hypothesis I believe that these minor encounters lead us to doubt the intentions of more major encounters with powerful corporations, which is not unwarranted necessarily, or encounters with experts who may have an ulterior motives. Why would any expert just give us information for free? It could not possibly be because they care about what they do and they care about informing the public, it has to be ill intentions because they must be seeking to benefit. 

Capitalism strips all human interaction of its merit and turns everything into a transaction and the transactional nature of capitalism only gets worse and the worse it gets, the more you are going to see cult like mentality around virtually any subject. A general mistrust of any and all experts in virtually any field. The odd veneration of their idols who are more like the general public telling them what they want to hear. I suspect, but do not know for sure, that this is the beginning of delusion and because of its implication of capitalism perhaps nobody has thought of it?

We are still hunter-gatherers

 Mentally humans are still hunter-gatherers living in a society that has far surpassed who we have been for nearly 99% of human existence. Anthropologists often note that in hunter-gatherer society there is a lot of leisure time and certain societal or cultural norms that keep people in line. In the tribes I visited while living in Ethiopia I was shocked to find that they did not have a word for work. They undoubtedly did what I would consider work, but they did not see it as work. When a group would go out gathering firewood, water, or to forage they made it a communal and fun activity. Chatting or sometimes singing songs that had been passed down for who knows how long. There was always a sense of community in everything they did.

This is not how the west works, specifically the US. It is a highly individualized society and one is expected to fend for ones self very early on with the constant threat of losing it all if anything were to go wrong. This "civilized" society is a far cry from that of our ancestors leisurely and laid back lifestyle. You may think "civilization has enabled us to live longer, and has drastically improved our lives." The only single reason people like Steven Pinker say our ancestors only lived to, say, 30, is because they include the high infant mortality rate which drastically brings overall lifespan down to around 30-35. In reality if one were to make it out of childhood, they could be expected to live about the same lifespan we do today. 

You say civilization has improved our lives? In what way? Modern healthcare has drastically reduced infant mortality rate for specific demographics in this country, that's for sure. You could argue vaccines have saved countless lives, however if we did not live in dense city settings then these diseases would not be a large scale issue and pandemics likely would not even happen at all. Has it made our lives easier? Imagine working hard and most of your value is taken by someone who doesn't work. To top that off you likely have healthcare tied to your job, so if you lose your job, you lose your insurance. If you do not find a job quickly then you will likely lose everything else too. 

Why cant we create a society that more accurately reflects that of hunter-gatherer society? Why is it that our current civilization really only benefits a handful of people while the rest of us struggle to survive? If civilization is not meant to benefit all people, then it should be burned to the ground and everyone return to the wild like our ancestors. There is no point in living detestable miserable lives like domesticated animals when we could do otherwise. In reality we are at a point where civilization is global and all is interconnected, when there is a collapse, the whole world will feel it. So either we act now to set up a more eco friendly society that benefits all, or we suffer the consequences of total collapse. Each time history repeats itself, the price goes up. And this time the price is unfathomable, collapse will be catastrophic and wide spread.

The Connundrum of the Instinct to Survive

 We have one instinct; that is to survive. Yet we have one guarantee and that is that we wont. This survival instinct disables us from adequately dealing with the burden of death. So much so that I believe we have created entire, multiple, religions attempting to quell the anxiety we possess about death. The idea that we continue in some way after this life quells the anxiety we have about death but at the same time disables us from properly dealing with the fact that we will eventually no longer exist. Our drive for survival has led to multiple religious beliefs. Some posit a sort of paradise that our souls go to after death. Some posit the idea of reincarnation with the idea of escaping the cycle of birth and death. The major problem is that a "soul" is not easily definable and is yet to be proven. In fact many ideas in religion are yet unproven. They are merely attempts to satisfy our lust for survival which is apparently so strong that we cannot conceive of not existing upon our death. All the data we currently have points towards the fact that we merely cease to exist, but this is not satisfactory to billions of human beings. In their estimation there has to be something after this life. Why does there have to be anything at all? There must be a concept of life after death to contend with the overwhelming anxiety of death. There has to be something to curb mourning and loss of loved ones. Yet billions of people have become so overwhelmed with religion that we forget we live here and now and are currently on a path of self destruction. However many pay no mind to this as it does not matter since the after life is far superior to this one. How does one even know that there is an afterlife or that it is better than this current life? There is literally no way of knowing. This is something that many merely believe. Belief is not good enough, we must know as there is an element of doubt in belief. For instance you know your name, you don't say "I believe my name is..." You simply know it. We know the earth is spherical, and have for some time. To say you believe it is spherical is inviting doubt into the conversation. It is to say you are not positive, you do not know, that thing. For instance one can believe God exists, but one cannot know God exists. One can believe that we continue living after death, but one cannot in any capacity know this. It would be better for humans to process the idea of death and come to terms with its reality and work to make the here and now better, and if there is life after this one, then I guess thats a bonus. Though we should not bank on this idea as it benefits nobody.

Religion as a Cultural Expression

 One of the more fascinating aspects of the human condition is religion and or spirituality. How it came about to how it is expressed in all different cultures. Some religions have a holy book or books while some do not. Some have doctrine and dogma, others simply do not. Religion does not develop uniformly in every culture or region. For instance it is now known that early Jews were polytheistic, and with a proper study of the Old Testament one can actually see this and how it evolved into strict monotheism. But this same evolution cannot be applied to other religions as religious development is not uniform across all cultures, for instance the Hindu religion. This is why I have concluded that religion is the cultural expression of the divine. As culture evolves and changes overtime, so too does religion. We can witness a sort of culture war taking place right now in the USA and how it is effecting the overall religious nature of the citizens. There are many Christians turning their back on religion all together, there are Christians who have become more tolerant and accepting, shaping their God into a more tolerant a loving God. Then there are those traditionalists who adhere to a more vengeful God who are actively resisting this cultural shift in the societal fabric as a whole. 

I would argue this change is natural and should be embraced, but to each their own and I have no interest in forcing anyone to change anything about what it is they believe. I am, however, baffled at the idea that people revel in the idea of a vengeful and angry God who would send his creation to eternal punishment for a variety of things. We as human beings could not fathom sending our children to a lifetime of torment over virtually anything, let alone eternal torment. So I think this shift towards a more loving and accepting God is a good thing for everyone. I cannot imagine thinking an infinite being is overly concerned with what finite beings are doing with themselves. I cannot help but think that life after death is not torture, it would be reconcilliation. That itself is love, reconciling with the people we have wronged and who have wronged us. That is love. And we all know that God is love and if God is love, then there is no eternal torment. The idea of this type of justice is derived from human minds, the desire to see someone suffer for their wrongs. After the terrible events in Rwanda, they did not seek this type of justice, they sought reconcilliation. Thus showing us what true love actually is. Seeking punishment for a person who has wronged you does not make you feel better, it does not change what has already taken place and it does nothing to the person who caused the ill. But reconcilliation is a cure that benefits all.

Consider America during chattel slavery. The south vehemently preached that slavery was ordained by God and that black people were inferior, all using the Bible to support this. Unfortunate that this still exists but there are people who use the Bible to justify racism. But overall the culture changed and this is no longer deemed acceptable by the culture at large. It’s a good thing too as I cannot picture a God who thinks white people are superior just for lacking melanin.

Culture is superior to law

 In the west, long gone are the days when culture was at all relevant, except for maybe to few people who carry their culture to this land with them and practice it as such. As a whole there is little if any culture left in the west, in many ways this is good when speaking of western culture. The culture that was brought to the west by white people was nothing special, it was a self centered ethnocentric culture of domination and genocide. So as far as cultures go, good riddance to that one, though many are trying to maintain this as Christian nationalism and white supremacy, which go hand in hand. So for this piece I am going to focus on cultures I have either read about or personally experienced. Ive read of a handful of tribes and lived in Ethiopia. 

One of the major things I noticed in Ethiopia was there are not that many laws or even law enforcement to enforce the laws they do have. Initially this perplexed me as I could not see with my western eyes how a country could maintain itself without law and those who enforce it. However, being steeped in this culture for two years in Ethiopia and another 16 in my marriage I learned that it was culture that governed the behavior of people, not law and not law enforcement enforcing laws. In fact at that time I began to see how creating numerous laws and a police to enforce them actually created more problems and less freedom than say Ethiopia. 

I was able to see how so many cultures and ethnicities got along in Ethiopia so well. Although occasionally there are political tensions that spill over and create problems. As for the everyday Ethiopian, theres little problem in getting along with fellow Ethiopians of a different ethnicity or religion. 

One of the character traits that western capitalism rewards is a sort of brash self centeredness. It seems as if those who get rewarded in this society must be sociopaths who care for nothing but profits. By contrast, Ethiopian culture shuns this sort of behavior. While it most certainly exists there, as with any capitalist society, its not as rampant. As an example its never looked upon favorably to talk or brag about ones self or ones accomplishments, where in the west thats exactly how you get a job, you basically have to brag about yourself and accomplishments, its how you get ahead. Now, this isnt to say people will not know about what you are doing or have done, as your family will talk you up, but for you to talk yourself up? That is frowned upon. This is just one example of many on how culture is superior to law. 

When I read about different tribes this is one of the things I seek out in the writings, about the culture and of how the culture treats those that deviate from it. How the culture keeps people from getting big heads, how the culture keeps people from behaving in a way that would disrupt the tribe, and the consequences. Shunning someone for deviating is a common practice amongst tribes until the person has suffered and appropriate amount of time. The most severe that I have read thus far is being banished from the tribe completely, which is basically a death sentence in most cases as you need a good size group in order to have a functioning tribe, depending on the tribe and region in which the tribe is located. 

What the west needs is a new culture and it will get one eventually as the United States is currently engaged in a culture war between fascists and communists/socialists/anarchists. So it may be a culture that reverts to fascism, or it may be one that actually has the interests of the people in mind. You may disagree but you should be able to see that more laws do not solve problems, they in fact create more problems and more law enforcement clearly solves nothing but again creates more problems. This idea that laws and law enforcement is meant to solve crime is an absurdity told to us by a country rapidly descending into total fascism. The police state serves their interests, not ours, especially when the supreme court ruled that police have no obligation to protect citizens. It is pretty obvious to anyone that they do not serve us, only the ruling class to protect their property.

Other examples from Ethiopian Culture

In Ethiopia there is no legal drinking age. If a 13 year old was so inclined they could get some beer and get drunk. In Ethiopia you do not see teens doing this. In my two years there I dont think I once seen any teens drinking at any point in time. So what is stopping them from doing this? Its culture that keeps them from doing this. Being a drunk in Ethiopia is culturally frowned upon as it reflects on friends and family that you are in fact a drunk. This would ostracize you from them and you would be more likely to quit drinking so that you could again be with your family and friends without the shame of ruining your life.

Also, there are no laws against Marijuana. Ive met people that smoke it, Ive met people who grow it and sell it, but its not a big deal there. Again, why arent people in droves smoking mass amounts of Marijuana every day there? Again the answer is culture. Its frowned upon to become chemically dependent and this again reflects on family and friends which may lead to ostracizing of the individual. It would again encourage someone to stop smoking, at least too much, so that they can again be with family and friends.

This being said, nobody judges you, lectures you, or arrests you for doing either of these things. Abusing drugs and alcohol is culturally unacceptable and so more often than not people simply dont do them, at least in excess.

I am also reminded of an African proverb that "A child who is not embraced by the village will burn it down to feel its warmth" which is exactly the sort of thing we are seeing in America with mass shootings and gun violence almost as a whole. Ethiopias culture is very social, one could say its a socialist culture, not a socialist society but culture. What I mean by that is its very social and everyone is helping everyone to ensure that together they all succeed. I can recall going out for coffee in Ethiopia, thinking we would grab a coffee and then go on about our day. In reality coffee is a social activity. The coffee is roasted and brewed right in front of you and you drink while socializing. I think I spent around 3 hours drinking coffee and socializing. 

I quickly found out that almost everything in Ethiopia has a social aspect to it. Even when I would go out to eat with friends and family we would be dining and socializing for hours upon hours and the restraunt would not be trying to force us out or get us to spend more money. It was expected that we would be spending many hours eating and socializing. When there I truly felt as if I belonged, even when I was generally the only white person in the room. I did not feel the need to use my cell phone, or spend time on the internet at all. I was for the first time in my life comfortable, I felt embraced by the village. In Ethiopia they say the best medicine is another person and I believe that is true. When I came back to the US I remember sinking into a deep depression as the individualism, not the individual, embraced me here. I felt alone, not like when I was in Ethiopia. 

In the US there is a law for virtually everything, and a penalty of some kind for almost every violation. I can get cited for jaywalking as if I am not smart enough to safely cross the street I need the government regulating that and punishing me for not crossing in a crosswalk when I am fully capable of looking both ways and crossing the street safely. The US is a nation of laws which has created a people incapable of doing anything themselves and there are people who rebel against this, rightfully so. We do not need more laws, we do not need more law enforcement as those equal a reduction in freedom. We need a unified culture and less laws.

The Promise of Illusion

 Most famously the Bible speaks of a time, a golden age, in which humans did not toil. They lived blissfully in the garden having no care in the world, nor fear. Likewise the ancient Egyptians speak of a time called Zep Tepi, and nearly all ancient cultures have tales of a time in which man lived blissfully without a care and nature provided all they needed. These stories, I believe, speak of an actual time, albeit allegorically, before humankind invented agriculture and civilization. One only need to look at tribal societies today to understand this fact spoken of above. Civilization promises us something we already once had, a golden age. One in which humans had no need of toil, but spent their days enjoying each other and foraging for what the Earth naturally gave them. Taking not more than they need and being satisfied with life and the world as it is.

This promise is and always was an illusion. Civilization will not bring about any golden age and the idea that capitalism tells us that we can live a wealthy life if we work hard enough is just as much of an illusion as what civilization tells us. Instead civilization has preceded to create a dystopian nightmare in which the Earth and all its inhabitants are ravaged for another illusion, profit. There is barely any place in which civilization has not completely ruined with the sole intent to create profit. Humans squander their lives toiling away to achieve a life that they will never gain. We labor our lives away in the hopes of reaching this illusion of a golden age. We are promised retirement in our old age, but at what cost? Labor has taken its toll by that point and we are essentially used up and unable to enjoy our lives as we are merely moments away from death. 

While our tribal brothers and sisters are living in their own golden age, one without toil or worry, we toil and worry to try and achieve ours that will never come. We are mere cogs in the machine of civilization which only releases us from its bonds when it decrees we are used up and no longer useful to the machine. It tells us that this is our “golden years” and to enjoy retirement. Enjoy what at 65+ when we have used up our youth toiling away for the techno-industrial system? By then our bodies are weary, bruised and beaten from a life of unrelenting toil, stress, and anxiety. 

The promise civilization has made has cost us our lives. It is an illusion no human can achieve.