Dualistic Deception

By James Hollingsworth ~

I read Exchristian.net from time to time because I enjoy hearing people's stories about when and how the light bulb came on for them. My fellow exchristians have taken multiple paths to the realization that religion is all made up. For some it happens in a flash, for others it is a long painful process. For me it was when my friend Joe used the word "dualism" to describe religion.

Dualism means that there are two separate and distinct worlds. One is physical. It has substance, flesh and blood; the stuff we feel, taste, and experience. It is where carrots grow, fish swim, birds fly, and galaxies revolve. The other world is supernatural. It exists outside the physical experience and will be our reward or punishment once we die. Religion is the struggle to reconcile these two worlds. This is a contrived dichotomy that only serves to justify the need for religion. There is only one world. What you see is what you get. And, religious superstition ain't got nothin' to do with it.

The spiritual world and the physical world are one and the same The spiritual world and the physical world are one and the same. All the "reward-in-heaven" fairy-tale is bunkum. The hocus-pocus of christianity is a feeble distraction from our earthly and holy existence. Can you think of a greater miracle than this magical planet that we co-evolved with? Here we are, spinning through space at just the right speed to maintain orbit around a sun at just the right distance to promote photosynthesis and life. It's a miracle! Our vast universe is a sacrament. It is all that there is. It is all that need be. Be thankful and stop making stuff up.

Moses went up the mountain and came back down with more than the Ten Commandments. He came back down with dualism: the promise of heaven. When Moses descended the mountain, he found the pagans worshipping the "golden calf." Those terrible pagans were worshiping nature, the sacred source of life. Moses was so incensed that he smashed the tablets, cursed the pagans, and went back up the mountain for a copy of his road-map to heaven. Open your bible to Genesis and check it out. Moses stripped the earthly world of its sacredness. You will also read that Moses slaughtered pagans by the thousands for their indiscretion. So much for "thou shalt not kill."

My friend Joe died last week. He went just like the billions of others before him. He is not with Moses in some imaginary world. He is here, decomposing on earth pushing up daisies. That is all there is and it's good enough. Joe passed on a little truth, and in his honor, I share his wisdom with you. The world, the real world, the only world, is a little bit better because of Joe.

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