08.11.05
Why I am not a Universist
I first found out about Universism, a “progressive natural religious philosophy” that aims to unite the freethinking traditions of atheism, agnosticism, deism, transcendentalism and pantheism, through ReligiousTolerance.org. I was intrigued by this individualistic religion founded on reason and personal experience instead of revelation and experience or revelation alone. I appreciated the emphasis on other religious issues besides the God question. (I still wonder why it this singular topic has become the centerpiece in religious discourse). I found Universism’s acknowledgment of the uncertainty of the universe and human nature quite mature.
And yet…
I couldn’t shake the feeling that Universism wasn’t the path for me, though I had no reason yet to trust this intuition. Only one thing stood out thus far as being off to me. Universism proclaims itself “humanity’s future religion movement”. For a religion that based itself on uncertainty this seemed all too presumptuous.
I decided to do some deeper research, but quickly I came across some stuff which honestly made me angry. Ford Vox, the founder of Universism, had this to say about UUism, “Unitarian Universalism is belief in anything for the sake of belief.” If wasn’t enough, I found this on the Universism FAQ:
The root word of Universism is universe – a noun. Universism is a faithless religious perspective in which the individual strives to perceive the universe as it really is. The root word of Universalism is universal – an adjective. Universalism is a universally accepting philosophy, equally accepting reason and faith as valid, accepting many Truths, and in Unitarian Universalism, often making claims about various faith traditions serving as alternate paths to the same end – salvation. Universism, by contrast, takes a stand on reason and evidence, the right tools for a natural universe. On a practical level, Universists believe we cannot combat the ill effects of faith and offer a positive alternative if we do not take a clear stand against those faiths. Unitarian Universalism cannot do this.
It is all too often that I hear the “UUs believe everything/nothing” misconception, so I was not surprised. Yet, even pantheism and Buddhism are mischaracterized in the FAQ. It is distressing to see such intellectual dishonesty, or at the least honest confusion, coming from people as clearly intelligent as Universism’s founders. However, I reminded myself, “one person does not a people make”. I chose not to judge Universists or Universism by these few, despite their positions of influence.
It was not until a read the essay On Universism by one David Mann that I had reason to reject Universism’s fundamental principles. Mann’s essay is a great critical analysis of Universism, and I will not try to reiterate here what he wrote so well. Granted, I do not agree with Mann on all counts, but his essay forced me to look at Universism’s principles in a much more critical way. What I found most salient is Universism’s first principle:
I. The most important thing is the search for meaning and purpose, as in relationships and love, understanding and knowledge, experiences and emotions, or elsewhere.
Presumably, the notion that the Search is the most important thing in life was reached by reason, but I cannot deduce why. In the end, (although I gladly participate in it) I have no reason to conclude that the Search is paramount.
Another reason I cannot accept Universism is its dedication to uncertainty. I consider myself a freethinker, and I therefore, as I mentioned earlier, approve of the acknowledgment of the uncertainty of many things. However, Universism seems to go beyond simple acknowledgment. According to the FAQ:
Our conclusion was that the opposite of faith, Uncertainty itself, is the only satisfying antidote, and only when it is fully embraced and celebrated for its contribution to our daily lives and human progress as a whole.
My first qualm with this is semantic. I do not see uncertainty as the antithesis of faith. Even for the faithful, not all is certain. There is a relationship between faith and uncertainty, but as someone who has come to believe a great number of things through reason I can say with… some certainty… that the two are not perfect opposites. Second, I don’t understand how one derives satisfaction absolutely from uncertainty. Uncertainty can lead to life’s best and worst surprises.
Ford Vox has done a superb job of being a media darling. In the mass media he found the perfect means of spreading the Universist gospel without actual proselytization. However, Universism has not yet been deemed notable enough to have an entry on Wikipedia. Whether Universism is here to stay or just a flash in the pan, is uncertain. Although it has its shortcomings Universism has an interesting philosophy. And although I ultimately rejected it as a whole, Universism has helped me to further my own beliefs.
08.05.05
You pay, Jesus saves
For my public speaking class today I was asked to do a persuasive speech. To my delight, the class really liked it:
If any man shall say unto you, Lo, here is Christ, or there; believe it not. For there shall arise false Christs, and false prophets, and shall show great signs and wonders; insomuch that, if it were possible, they shall deceive the very elect. Behold, I have told you ahead of time. Wherefore if they shall say unto you, “Behold, he is in the desert,” go not forth: “behold, he is in the secret chambers,” believe it not. For as the lightning cometh out of the east, and shineth even unto the west; so shall also the coming of the Son of man be. For wheresoever the carcass is, there will the Vultures be gathered together.
Matthew 24:23-28
Who hasn’t, while channel surfing, seen a televangelist faith healing or preaching an emotion-filled speech? But have they ever piqued your curiosity? Have you stopped to listen to what they have to say? I have. When I was younger and quite impressionable this was my first view of Christianity. Having been raised in no religion myself, I knew very little about the religion of the majority of my peers. Much of what I did know, I learned from televangelists. It is thus no surprise that I had a very warped view of what it means to be Christian and that for a long time I held some rather unflattering views of Christians.
Are televangelists really this detrimental? By enumerating many televangelists short-comings I hope to prove this to you today.
In some cases televangelists have turned out to be outright scammers. Take charismatic Peter Popoff. Throughout the 80’s Popoff was a popular faith healer. Most notably, Popoff seemed to have the ability to know the ailments of his audience members before he “healed” them. As it turns out, this was really a con. Instead of hearing the voice of God, Popoff actually had a minature radio reciever in his ear. Backstage his wife would read to him cards the audience had filled out before broadcast. Naturally, many if not most of the people he supposedly healed were not cured. If scaming people in the name of the divine isn’t taking God’s name in vain, I don’t know what is. So maybe it was divine retribution when Popoff was debunked and his viewership sank so low that his fraudulent ministry went bankrupt.
But not all televangelists conmen have paid a heavy price. A former employee of Trinity Broadcasting Network’s Benny Hinn has claimed that he learned that none of the people Hinn “healed” have been reported to have gotten better. Not only that, Hinn made a number of prophecies in the 80’s concerning events in the 90’s, none of which came true. These included: the death of Fidel Castro, an earthquake on the east coast, and the death of all American homosexuals by fire. I am assuming that most people would react like myself to these prophecies and think that Hinn is a hack. I will, however, entertain the notion that maybe these prophecies were divinely inspired, and that some incomprehensible aspect of God’s plan prevented them from happening.
However, certain of Hinn’s actions I am sure are not part God’s plan. Raises millions, yet according to NBC’s Dateline lives a luxurious lifestyle. 10 million dollar beachfront mansion and 2 80,000 Mercedes’ and refuses to make ministry financial records public. Seems very little of the money went to caritable causes as it was supposed.
Hinn isn’t the only one. Jim Bakker was sentanced 8 years of imprisonment for fraud, tax evasion and racketeering in 1989. He was released in 93 for good behaviour, and publicly apologized for his crimes. Unfortunately Bakker’s actions the exception, not the rule among fraud televangelists.
Trinity Boradcast Network regularly asks for donations, claiming that those that give will reap the benefit of God’s blessing. Viewers are told if they give enough, even if they are in debt, God will erase their debt. And if God doesn’t ease their financial troubles, then they aren’t giving enough. This prinicple is known as the “prosperity gospel.” Most contemporary theologians reject the concept as a poor interpretation of the gospel at best. Ole Anthony of televangelist watchdog group Trinity Foundation claims he knows of many people who gave the last of their savings to TBN and were never compensated. Disabled veteren Thomas D. Horne gave $6000 of his disibility benefit to TBN, and when he asked for a refund, he received no reply.
Apparently TBN forgot Jesus’ warning that “It is easier for a camel to go through the eye of a needle than for a rich man to enter the kingdom of God,” found in Matthew 19:24, Mark 10:25 and Luke 19:25.
Aside from those that ignore the Bible’s warnings, there are those that violate the very Bible-based dictates they preach. Jimmy Swaggart was caught in 1987 by fellow preachers with a prostitute. He promised to confess his sin, but 4 months afterward, in Feburary 1988 these preachers got tired of waiting and broke the news to the press. He claimed the have been possesed by demons which were exorcised. However, in Swaggart was pulled over for speeding 1991 and was found to have a prostitute in the care with him, and yet again in 1995.
Jesus said, “You hypocrite, first take the plank out of your own eye, and then you will see clearly to remove the speck from your brother’s eye.” (Matthew 7:5)
Many, Christian and non-Christian alike echo this sentiment. With all that I have told you, it is no wonder that groups like the Trinity Foundation exist to combat corrupt televangelists. It is also no surprise, given the action of these televangelists that many have lost their faith. According to the Trinity Foundation a great number of people who have been scammed by the prosperity gospel have lost their faith. Instead of helping to make the faithful flourish, these televangelists have done the opposite.
Also, as I can tell you from experience, many who might be sympathetic to Christian messages are being turned off by these televangelists impious behaviour. These men are actually hurting Christianity rather than helping it. I wish I could be as certain as Ole Anthony that these men will get their comeuppance when he says, “[Their] ministry is based on lies, and it’s time to begin telling the truth, because [they]‘re going to meet [their] maker soon.”
