Ponderings

Meet the new fear, same as the old fear

So, everyone and their mother is talking about A New Earth. People at work have read it. The county library is completely booked with reservations. The fundies are in a tizzy over what they call “The Cult of Oprah”.

I’ve been blog-hopping to see what people are saying, and those that fear totally amuse me. “She’s now promoting a book called “The New Earth” by a new-age spiritual guru called Eckhart Tolle, who wants to start a new religion…” “The reason I believe that Oprah is the anti-Christ, is because she is reaching people on a massive scale, misleading Christians to follow in her ways.”

Why is it that anytime someone suggests that there’s more to God than what’s in the Bible, people freak out? Thinking about yourself in a spiritual sense doesn’t mean you’re part of a cult. Questioning what’s been shoved down your throat for years and years doesn’t mean you’re being misled by Satan.

Listen, I’m not saying that just because Oprah tells you she’s reading a book, you should think that it’s the best thing since sliced bread. I happen to love Oprah, the things she does, the fact that she’s built this life for herself, but I don’t blindly follow her opinions because of it. I also would never presume to think that every word in The Bible is true - especially seeing as it has been translated and rewritten down for centuries by people with *gasp* agendas. Don’t you think that if God is on some plane of existence that humans can’t quite understand, that it’s possible they might have mistranslated what He said to them? No? Okay, but non-Christians are the ones drinking the Kool-Aid. Ohhhhkay. Let’s not even go into the fact that there are so many different denominations under Christianity. The World Christian Encyclopedia says there are thirty-four thousand separate Christian groups on the planet. Which one of you are right? What makes you right and the 33,999 wrong? Your faith? I bet Tom Cruise has complete faith that he’s right, too. New answer, please.

In my opinion, if you are so unswayed in your faith and beliefs, then you should have no fear of Oprah or Eckhart Tolle or Bugs Bunny misleading you or any of your Brothers and Sisters in Christ into wandering off of your predestined path. If you believe that there is only one way to God, hey, great. Peace be with you (and also with you). I’m curious as to whether any of the ANE naysayers have actually read the book. I’m waiting for my copy in the mail, but I’ve been listening to the podcasts of the online web classes. There is nothing dangerous or hateful or evil being said. Have you listened? Are you just ranting and raving against it out of fear? Did you know that a lot of the things Tolle writes about are ideas that have been around for centuries? The Tao Te Ching has some of the same ideas. Is Taoism also going to lead us all astray? Buddhism?

I do not pretend to be an expert on any religions. I was born out of wedlock and baptized Catholic, but since Mom had to fight for that to happen, seeing as I was begat of sin, that was it as far as the church went. Mom believes in God and in Jesus, but not in the need for a church in between you and Them. We were raised with the idea of “being good people” - not confessing to a man of the cloth and living with guilt for who we are.

Here is the thing I’m not getting. Religion is supposed to bring people together, right? But all I see is how it tears people apart. People blow up buildings, each other, and themselves in the name of their gods. Two groups claim one land as their Holy Land. They war about it for years. Sounds a bit as though all this organized religion stuff is tearing people apart, because no one can definitively prove they are right. Fight to the death for what you believe in, and then say it’s God’s will for that to happen. Yeah, that sounds like something I can get behind. Except, you know, not really.

None of this stuff is alarming, though. It’s Oprah who’s scaring you all. Oprah has ten seconds of silence on a webcast broadcast all over the planet, and people are in an uproar. There’s a crazy video on YouTube that mentions how Oprah has the power to put her “cult” into a mass trance. Silence equates with a trance. Okay. Tell all who meditate to stop it! The Devil done possessed them! Oprah talks about her personal experience as a Christian, and how the moment her pastor said that God was jealous, she had an Aha moment. Well, obviously, she can’t be Christian. She’s questioning what she was told! How dare she? How dare she suggest that there are many ways to God?

I have seen some condescending, fear-mongering posts on the Oprah ANE boards. “I know you are lost, so I’m not talking to you. I’m here to talk to other Christians who see this for what it is. We’ll pray for you.” Who are you to deem anyone as “lost”, anyway? If we all came from God, anyway, why doesn’t it make sense to question whether who we are is more spiritual than life and ego suggests?

I can’t buy into the possibility that God gave us free will to question things in our lives in the hopes that fear and tradition would force us into submission anyway. It seems counterproductive. “Homosexuality is a sin, so don’t be gay! Your life will be a billion times harder if you’re gay, but we know you chose to do it! Oh, and also? NO BIRTH CONTROL! UNDER ANY CIRCUMSTANCES! Be on welfare with eight kids if you have to, but do not take preventative measures!” But don’t forget, God loves you. He knows you will make the right decision (or burn in the fires of Hell). No pressure!

I’ll end by saying that fundies of any type scare me. It’s not all Christians, or Muslims, or Republicans, or Scientologists. It’s the ones who live in fear and try to spread it to me. Thinking and questioning and finding your own way on this planet is what it’s all about. Propaganda and the other shit? You can keep it.

Tags: A New Earth, Catholicism, Christianity, Eckhart Tolle, Oprah, religion, spirituality, the Bible

© 2008 barelymyself.com.