Tuesday 13 December 2005

Pic of the day: You wouldn't think the concept of a narrow path would sell particularly well. Then again, people don't really think about it. People don't really think a lot, do they?

Religion and filters

Vaguely related to yesterday's topic... When I was young, I recorded from radio a Norwegian song. I haven't played it in a couple decades I guess, but sometimes it automatically replays in my head. Lately this happened again, and that's when I thought of the connection to the brain's filter. The song is pretty funny, it is a young Christian who complains to God about how none of his friends are interested in hearing about the Gospel. One of them has no need for a God, you see he wants a Honda. Not lying in green fields, just a Honda. Another wants a girlfriend. Not a God, but a girlfriend. And so on, and they all laugh at the poor Christian and say that he has lost contact with the ground.

The song is almost certainly based on a parable by Jesus, although I did not notice for the first 20+ years. He compares the Kingdom of Heaven to a bunch of people who were invited to a grand wedding, but they came up with all kinds of mundane excuses for not going.

It is the filter, isn't it? They had already filtered it out before they were even invited. There are tons of people who have filtered out religion already when they were young, so it doesn't really matter what you say to them. It is no more relevant to them than a sex change or living in a bunker or replacing the fork with chopsticks. Sure there are people who do all these things, but it is not relevant to us. We will continue to live the way we have always done.

Of course, the same happens to almost all religious people. More often than not, they choose their religion when they are very young, or have it chosen for them when they are children. And then they adhere to that religion, even though they usually know almost nothing about it. Changing religion, or becoming agnostic, is simply not relevant to them. They filter it out. Even if you ask them, they will not consider it, not think about it, and will avoid you - or worse - if you keep it up. (Ask any Jehovah's Witness... Not that they are exactly the most receptive ears when the table is turned.)

I have seen people act the same way with politics and even with sports clubs they support, but I think it is particularly strong in matters of religion. In a way it is a shame, because religions touch on such deep things in a human life. But on the other hand, this attitude probably averts a landslide of insanity. Religion is not something to experiment with lightly, it has the power to utterly change a human life. But only if you approach it without filter.