What if the Opiate is Withdrawn?
By ghost writer ~
I got hit with a bout of depression today. It followed a movie I watched entitled, "The Apostle". Robert Duvall played a southern evangelist, very charismatic, who killed the man who was having an affair with his wife. Then he left town and with a new identity was able to get a new church started in a mostly African American area in a town in Louisiana. Good movie, but I got depressed, anyway.
Despite the fact that I have been an exchristian for years this movie touched me deeply. It brought back memories of what I thought Christianity could be. The members of the church in this movie were all poor and had practically nothing to call their own. The evangelist was a true believer. He was not mean or arrogant, but loved the people. His sermons were of the kind commonly seen in Southern black churches, highly emotional and effective to people in emotional need, especially. He filled a definite need of these people for love and special attention.
Jesus, as the preacher presented him, gave them meaning and purpose. Otherwise, what did life have to offer them? They had virtually no education were barely scraping by economically and no real future This evangelist gave them hope, albeit through the mythical Jesus. This phenomenon is common in poor areas in the South and other poor areas of the country. Xtianity fills a definite need there. This is not the kind of Xtianity from whom we see so much hate, who are involved in right wing politics. These people are the real thing, so to speak.
I think all or at least virtually all members of exchristian.net are educated middle class folks, at the least. The various methods discussed on the forums are for educated people, people who have choices, people who have better coping mechanisms than the uneducated or poor. I don't mean that deconversion is not a real tough struggle for many exchristians; it can be and is. But how much more so is it for the kind of people I'm talking about?
I don't believe that there are many of the uneducated or poor who deconvert for the every reason I am addressing. So I started thinking about what we have to offer those people? What if the opiate of the people were withdrawn from them? Joseph Campbell's position was that we need a new myth, because myth serves a purpose. My question is, should Xtianity be withdrawn from these poor folks? And, if so, what should be used in its place?
I got hit with a bout of depression today. It followed a movie I watched entitled, "The Apostle". Robert Duvall played a southern evangelist, very charismatic, who killed the man who was having an affair with his wife. Then he left town and with a new identity was able to get a new church started in a mostly African American area in a town in Louisiana. Good movie, but I got depressed, anyway.
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| Film poster for The Apostle (Photo credit: Wikipedia) |
Jesus, as the preacher presented him, gave them meaning and purpose. Otherwise, what did life have to offer them? They had virtually no education were barely scraping by economically and no real future This evangelist gave them hope, albeit through the mythical Jesus. This phenomenon is common in poor areas in the South and other poor areas of the country. Xtianity fills a definite need there. This is not the kind of Xtianity from whom we see so much hate, who are involved in right wing politics. These people are the real thing, so to speak.
I think all or at least virtually all members of exchristian.net are educated middle class folks, at the least. The various methods discussed on the forums are for educated people, people who have choices, people who have better coping mechanisms than the uneducated or poor. I don't mean that deconversion is not a real tough struggle for many exchristians; it can be and is. But how much more so is it for the kind of people I'm talking about?
I don't believe that there are many of the uneducated or poor who deconvert for the every reason I am addressing. So I started thinking about what we have to offer those people? What if the opiate of the people were withdrawn from them? Joseph Campbell's position was that we need a new myth, because myth serves a purpose. My question is, should Xtianity be withdrawn from these poor folks? And, if so, what should be used in its place?
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