Am I My Brother’s Keeper?
I was assigned to babysit my little brother one day when I was a teenager. All was well until I got distracted by a neighborhood girl. While I was talking to her, my little brother had somehow gotten up the street and was playing with a neighbor’s dalmatian. The dalmatian jumped up on my brother and ripped open his cheek.
I don’t remember seeing him until he had already come back from the emergency room. I had been so oblivious of the situation that my parents found out before I did and managed to take him to the hospital without me knowing. My brother still has the scars to prove it. I still regret that I was derelict in my duty, and that my brother payed the price instead of me.
I often hear that I should leave religious beliefs alone, that I should just live and let live. I’ve already highlighted one reason why I choose not to do that. My desire to do right by my brothers and sisters is another. My love and sense of responsibility push me to share what I’ve learned.
It is strange to me that some of my religious friends would prefer that I keep to myself and allow everyone to find their own way. The Judeo-Christian scriptures are replete with injunctions against this attitude.
Cain the murderer who was cursed from the earth which received his brother’s blood was the first to espouse this callous live and let die attitude when he uttered “Am I my brother’s keeper?”
Jesus gave us the parable of the good Samaritan who succored his neighbor instead of leaving him in the ditch like two pious passersby had done. Jesus also esteemed the commandment to love our neighbors as ourselves as the second greatest. From the tenor of Jesus’ teachings, I’m confident that his idea of love was not a passive, warm-fuzzy feeling of endearment, but an action which demonstrated our concern for our neighbor’s wellbeing.
The Mormon scriptures tell us “it becometh every man who hath been warned to warn his neighbor.” (D&C 88:81)
So why shouldn’t I warn my neighbors?
To be fair, I think most who tell me to leave well enough alone see what I say as destructive, not constructive. To them it seems that I am tearing down something good and dear to the believer. I see it differently. I must be completely honest about how I feel in order to show why I feel the need to warn my brothers and sisters.
Religion is a vapor of darkness which blinds our eyes and binds us down to the foolish traditions of our ancestors. It is a collection of the ideas of fallible men mingled with ancient scripture. It is a collection of half-truths and obfuscated wisdom which has outlived the peak of its usefulness. It feels good, so we don’t question its foundations. It is often the tool of the powerful to control the powerless, to lull them into complacency. Promises of rewards in heaven keep us from acting against the injustices in the only life we know that we have. It destroys our natural propensity to think and ask questions. It causes good people to do evil things. It diverts our energy and our resources from more useful efforts. Whatever benefits we derive from religion can be replaced by less destructive methods.
You may disagree, but if you try to step into my shoes for a moment, I think you’ll agree. If this is how I truly feel, then I would be a schmuck if I kept to myself.
Tags: Atheism, belief, Christianity, conscience, duty, happiness, illusion, love, mindfuck, religion, skepticism, superstition
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August 6, 2007 @ 9:56 am
Let me add that I try to be respectful. I don’t go around telling random people that there is no god. When I attend church services, I sit quietly not participating, thankful for the respect of my hosts, desiring to be a respectful guest. I don’t knock on doors peddling my beliefs.
In the blog world, I only bring up my beliefs where I think they’re warranted by the discussion. Because I am respectful everywhere else, I reserve the right to be blunt here on my blog. I want people to be blunt here: respectful of people but not necessarily of ideas.
his nice neice said,
August 6, 2007 @ 7:42 pm
This is why I have tried my best to understand your way of thinking….because no matter how differently I feel and think, I care about you. One thing that has helped me to understand these changes in you is my knowledge that you would never change beliefs on a whim. I know how studious you are, and how intense you can be. I guess, like I’ve said before, I would rather have you stand up for something you truly believed in than to half-heartedly pretend to care about something you didn’t believe in.
I do appreciate your respectfulness of others…thank you for that. I also agree that our blogs are our own, and we should be able to share our thoughts and beliefs if we want to. If someone felt offended, they just wouldn’t have to read it.
I agree with the concept of sharing what we know to be true. One thing that I shy away from is claiming to be something I’m not. I’m the first to say that I’m not perfect. This is why I won’t put myself on any kind of pedestal or profess to know better than you. But I will stand up for the things I believe, for the same reasons you mentioned in your post. Because how could we profess to believe something, and yet be afraid to share that belief? How could we claim to truly believe something if we were not willing to suffer the uncomfortable parts of sharing that belief? For these reasons, you will continue to share with us as you have in this post….and I will continue to share with you what I believe. Neither of expects to convert the other, we just know that we must share what we believe in order to fulfill our responsibilities to each other.
PS- there is a God…and he loves you.
August 6, 2007 @ 10:45 pm
In some circumstances, I think we have an obligation to others to offer them our opinion. Humans are a social animal. We did not evolve to see best by ourselves, but rather to see best in consultation with each other. The old adage, “Two heads are better than one” comes to mind. And the proof of that adage is science. Science is squarely based on cooperative inquiry. So, giving your honest opinion in some circumstances is not merely an option, but a moral duty that you owe to both yourself and others.
August 7, 2007 @ 8:55 am
nice niece,
Thank you for your efforts at understanding. There should be more of that going around.
This may sound perverse (not like that), but I think it’s good to be offended once in a while. Working in a place where being inoffensive is required, I see that being offended in moderate amounts is healthy. If the world were completely inoffensive, I think an important part of us would die. Being offended is another way to say being challenged. I visit a few blogs just so I can be offended.
I wouldn’t be honest if I said that I had no hope that my words would persuade someone to let go of religion. What I hope is that I’m not coercive or emotionally manipulative. I hope only to state my beliefs clearly and persuasively so that others who are ready to hear will experience the truth of what I say.
The important point is that my friendship and love is not contingent on someone sharing my views.
Paul Sunstone,
Well said. I’ve struggled to avoid to gain an independent view of myself, to disregard the opinions of others. The best path, however, is probably to take others’ opinions into consideration while maintaining my independence. Sometimes there is truth in the opinions of others, sometimes buried beneath a pile of crap.
On the flip side, it can be hard to decide when to let someone learn for themselves and when to offer your opinion.
Scientific inquiry is a wonderful example. The more we investigate things together and discuss our ideas, the faster we learn.
August 15, 2007 @ 4:06 pm
I’ve noticed you commenting on the Trapped By The Mormons blog and decided to check out your blog. It’s very interesting and I think you have a great way of wording things and some very interesting thoughts. Looking forward to reading more.
August 15, 2007 @ 5:56 pm
Thanks for you kind words and for stopping by. I look forward to reading your thoughts.
August 16, 2007 @ 6:23 am
I have placed a link to your blog on mine because I so enjoy your remarks. I hope you don’t mind but I may use your words on my next post. I have only begun my journy but I am feeling much better all the time.
August 16, 2007 @ 8:02 am
I’m happy you enjoy what I have to say. I don’t mind. Perhaps I’m a little old school, but no one needs permission to link here. If I didn’t want your links, I’d make this blog password protected or something.
I wish you happiness and truth on your journey.