Tuesday, October 15, 2013

Too Organized Too

"I don't believe in organized religion."

Really, is it that you don't believe in organized religion, or is it that you don't like organized religion?

If you don't believe in God, the supernatural, a world we cannot see, you could identify as an atheist of one sort or another.

If you don't believe truth is knowable, then I suppose you'd be a kind of agnostic.

If, however, you believe that there is something real beyond what we can detect with our senses, and there are potentially knowable truths about that unseen world, we would expect people to study the unseen world, and as they come to conclusions, we would expect them to organize into camps of sorts.

And if that unseen world had made itself known to man we would definitely expect those men to organize and pass down what they had learned, even if they were not instructed to do so.

If we look at the Bible, and find that it is an account of the contact between man and the supernatural, man and God, we see that God indeed established two organized religions. First God established Judaism, which was first more loosely organized, but eventually God gave his people specific rules, rites of worship, a formal priesthood, etc. Later, Jesus came and fulfilled the prophecies of Judaism and established the new Christian Church. We then see in Acts and the Epistles as Jesus Christ's chosen Apostles begin to expand the Church and formalize its hierarchy, rules, and rites.

In the end, if religion deals with truth, organized religion is a given, just as organized dentistry is a given. And whether we like organized religion or not has no more bearing on its validity than whether we enjoy root canals or not.

So, does God love us? Does he love us enough to share the truth with us? Does he love us enough to come down and die for us? That is what we need to know. And if he loves us that much, of course religion is organized.

Too Organized

I don't like organization.

I don't believe in organized medicine. Don't get me wrong, I'm very health-minded, but a special class of highly paid doctors, anatomy charts, medical journals, lab tested drugs, the passing of knowledge from one generation to the next... I don't know, I don't know, that's just not my thing.

If you don't get what I'm saying, look at the medical bills, the hassle of check ups and vaccinations. I just think a person's health should be dealt with in the home.

If you still have your doubts, look at the history of medicine. They used to treat people with leeches. You're always hearing about new lawsuits over dangerous medications. And doctors are sent to jail for all kinds of crimes.

Also, why can't I just drive without organized traffic laws?

Even worse, organized libraries, with the cataloging systems and shelves. What about the librarian's feelings, her ability to creatively express herself?

But enough with the satire. Let's go back to medicine. Religion is much like medicine. The medical field deals with the health of the body, while religion deals with the health of the soul.

It is true that just by having lived with a body I gain a certain degree of medical knowledge, but really the majority of what I know was handed to me by others. And most of this was handed to us by those specialized in medicine.

Without organization, a quack would seem as reliable as a real doctor. A shot could contain a lifesaving vaccine or a deadly poison. Even if one man did make a medical breakthrough it could only be spread in a haphazard way, eventually being lost to time.

If there are ANY religious truths, and if there is any chance that these truths have bearing on an immortal soul, does it not make sense that those who know these truths must organize, so that they can protect these truths, build upon them, and share them?

Oh, but seriously, I'm against organized sports. I'm all for running around with balls and sticks, but what's with the rules, funny uniforms, expensive stadiums, and teams?

For a less satirical response try Too Organized Too.