Smoking the Dogma (beliefs, creation, hell, attending, America)

[Rev. Thomas Keister]

Smoking the Dogma

Sometimes, I have to wonder to myself, is my whole involvement with religion even worth it in the end? It's not exactly an easy time to count yourself among the faithful.Why shoudn't I expect anybody to not give me or my beliefs the same cynical once-over I hand out, given reversed roles. Is it because my views are considered so...controversial? I would like to say no, but come on. I'm a Cannabis Sacrament minister, not exactly an ideal position from a mainstream standard. You got a hot button issue, the use and/or legalization of marijuana, whether for medical reasons or for intellectual honesty, given the utterly bleak and financially irresponsible War on Drugs, and at the same turn, you have a society that has never been more divided on religion in this country than the one we have now.
It would be easy to write some "bleeding heart" or "fundamentalist" rant or op-ed about why either side of the fence is right or wrong, or going to hell as a result of either, but it is the easy factor that has helped the playing field. Easy is saying 'yes, I believe in (insert diety here)', and leave it at that. Where do I fall into the mix? I am currently attending college, working toward a degree in Finance/Accounting. Like the majority of Americans, higher education is and can be an uphill battle, so I have student loans and grants and all the trimmings, but what happens if those signing the checks for my education find out I am a committed marijuana smoker? For the record, I doubt seriously that the fact I have both perfect attendance and a 4.0 grade average at the time I'm writing this (proof provided upon contact if you absolutely must verify this) would help me out very much. I would be facing jail time quicker and harder than anyone involved with Tyco, WorldCom, or Enron.
Why? Because most people would either take the stance that drugs are bad mkay, or look at this jerk trying to hide behind a religious loophole. The fact that my beliefs, whether or not anyone likes them, are valid, is moot. My only hope would be from the support of the Constitution, current case law, the Religious Freedom Restoration Act, and other members of my congregation and congregations around the world (for the record, yes, there are Cannabis Sacrament ministries in America and internationally, if you should want to take a look, thc-ministry.org or thc-ministry.net). I'm sure some people who believe in legalization but not necessarily God, or from any cross-section of the population would stand behind me, but it is the the cross sections themselves that a lot of the complications have come from, helping to warp the playing field, so to speak.
Could it be that my faith is tolerated more in Europe because on a whole, Europeans know far more about religion that we do in America? Europe has already shown the successes of legalization or deprioritization of marijuana, but we only seem to want to agree with Europe when Europe agrees with our wars. From the elementary grades on up the ladder, religious education is the rule, but try to suggest that in the United States and see what happens. I am not endorsing that suggestion, but you take a greater level of education, both religious or secular, and a more level study of the issue is taken. Education is constantly assailed here in America, but can you deny that there is a section that may be holding itself back either from secular education due to fear of religious persecution, ignoring religious education due to secular perception, or living in denial of their faith just to get through life without a hassle? .
And how did we as a nation allow this to happen? Is education to blame, or apathy, or anyone of a half-dozen other reasons the moderators on talk-about-news-without-actually-covering-news shows scream at each other when our nation's leaders aren't busy hamfisting their way through sessions? Who knows, I'm not speculating anymore than usual, but it is apparent to anyone paying even the slightest bit of attention that religion has become the best way for the new guard to effectively smoke screen any issue they can't contain. Social Security? Unpopular war? Shadier administration tactics by the day? Hell with that, let's throw gay marriage at 'em. They knew this was going to play in Peoria, but they needed the weight that only clergy could provide. When you have party line talking heads standing in chorus, as it were, with religious leaders, how are you not going to shift more of your attention to what the new crusade seems to be, especially when it is something so surprisingly devisive as a civil rights issue.
To simply suggest separation of church and state has become antiquated thought, as far the Bush White House is concerned. Hard as it is for me to say, I'm inclined to agree. Organized religion, and by that I mean this monolithic, vaguely corporate ministries, hell-bent, pardon the pun, on righting their ships with an expense-be-damned agenda. That's the school of thought that scares me. Southeast Christian Church in Louisville, KY has more members than my little hometown in Illinois (Centralia, pop. 13,000), and that scares me even more, given the sway they can have on pubic opinion. When you have reporters going to jail over stories they haven't even written, like Judith Miller at Time, does it make you feel like jumping to the front of the line to lodge grievance? Our President and his administration already doesn't mind a little torture to get what they need, regardless of the usefulness of the information gathered, and the apathy or fear of hassle will provide the free space to run past the public.
In my mind, that just tells me that eventually, and probably closer than we think, the next big 'crusade' could just be what religious beliefs will and will not be tolerated. Who's gonna try and stop them. Throw a few slick PR campaigns out there, flood FNC, and the other right-friendly (remember when that had a different context?) media outlets with ministers and doctors and all manner pushing snake oil as policy. It worked so well with the gay marriage amendments, that given time, even 'outlaws' like myself will have to ponder inconvenience versus faith. This time around, there won't be any doors to nail edicts on. Hell, we barely know what we can or can't take a photo of. I trust my faith, but I won't be the one approaching any buildings with a hammer.




for more by the Rev.Dr. Thomas Keister:
http://www.chemicallyfulfilled.blogspot.com

[Isis-Astoroth]

There are so many issues raised I don't know where to start! In the UK marijuana has become deprioritised, but it has been suggested that is only to take pressure off the police force. Religious Education the UK is compulsory and it's definately a good thing. It's amazing how little people know about other religions. Now that paganism has finally been acknowledged by our government, it won't be too long before it is taught in schools too.

Though I feel that my country's got too involved in the Iraq war, I am proud of my country, as, despite the slow creation of a nanny-state and absurd political correctness, acceptable behaviour for this century is being acknowledged.
What scares me is the extent of Christianity in America. While Europe is going more Liberal, it appears to me that many Christian groups in America are going in the complete backwards direction towards the kind of beliefs that Europe has tried to break away from. What else that scares me? The fact that the government does what it can to ignore its public. A government should govern, not rule.

[michel]

Hey isis Astoroth,

Hail fellow brit!

quote:[Though I feel that my country's got too involved in the Iraq war, I am proud of my country, as, despite the slow creation of a nanny-state and absurd political correctness, acceptable behaviour for this century is being acknowledged.
What scares me is the extent of Christianity in America. While Europe is going more Liberal, it appears to me that many Christian groups in America are going in the complete backwards direction towards the kind of beliefs that Europe has tried to break away from. What else that scares me? The fact that the government does what it can to ignore its public. A government should govern, not rule.]

I can't say anything; you have said it all so eloquently!
Michel

[lilithu]

Originally Posted by Isis-Astoroth

What scares me is the extent of Christianity in America. While Europe is going more Liberal, it appears to me that many Christian groups in America are going in the complete backwards direction towards the kind of beliefs that Europe has tried to break away from.

The U.S. was founded by all the religious zealots that left Europe, so what do you expect?

Seriously, that's one factor. Another is our separation of church and state and the fact that we have so many denominations. Without state funding and with so much competition, ministers have to appeal more to emotion than reason in order to attract converts. Like everything else in the U.S., it's capitalism at work.