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Missionary Position

Should We Tolerate the Religious?

Successful religion is about stating absurdities in a voice that sounds reasonable and assured, or whatever mood your audience requires. Strip away the voice and the arguments are limp and flaccid.

Here is a thought experiment:

In the beginning was the Word, and the Word was with God, and the Word was God. The same was in the beginning with God. All things were made by him; and without him was not any thing made that was made. In him was life; and the life was the light of men.

And the light shineth in darkness; and the darkness comprehended it not. There was a man sent from God, whose name was John. The same came for a witness, to bear witness of the Light, that all men through him might believe. He was not that Light, but was sent to bear witness of that Light. That was the true Light, which lighteth every man that cometh into the world. He was in the world, and the world was made by him, and the world knew him not. He came unto his own, and his own received him not. But as many as received him, to them gave he power to become the sons of God, even to them that believe on his name: Which were born, not of blood, nor of the will of the flesh, nor of the will of man, but of God. And the Word was made flesh, and dwelt among us, (and we beheld his glory, the glory as of the only begotten of the Father,) full of grace and truth.

Try reading that to yourself in the voice of Richard Burton, Walter Cronkite, James Earl Jones, Lisa Simpson, Jack Kennedy or whichever voice you think has the most gravitas. Then try reading out the same words in the voice of Fozzie Bear, or Richard Nixon, Del Trotter, Woody Allen or Sir Les Patterson and see if it still has the same effect.

With a big dress, a spotlight, a microphone and the whole audience looking your way it is easy to sound profound. Say the same thing on a radio talk show and it sounds trite and limp, yell them at people as they walk past in the street and they sound psychotic.

Take away the reverence and pay attention to the words. Let them speak for themselves without you willing meaning, gravitas and significance into them. Truth doesn't need a voice coach. Reading any holy book (or political manifesto or philosophy) willing it to make sense to you and to resonate with you is not study, it is self-brainwashing.

© 1999 - 2008 by Martin Willett.

mwillett.org: Debate Unlimited