Dogma

Dogma: Noun

• a system of principles or tenets, as of a church
• a specific tenet or doctrine authoritatively laid down, as by a church: the dogma of the Assumption.
• prescribed doctrine: political dogma
• a settled or established opinion, belief, or principle

If there is a God, why are there so many religions, branches of religions and differences of opinion even within the same institution? How can the holy books have so many different translations, interpretations and incarnations? Why is it that we don't have a single definitive text which is immutable and accepted by all who experience it? Why is there nothing for the illiterate prior to the last century?

The answer is simple and refers back to the definition of God; Omnipotent, Omniscient and Perfect. We reviewed in the last segment that if a creator possessed these aspects then there would be no need for micromanagement. A holy book would constitute micromanagement. There simply is no way that method of communication can reach all of us through out all of time.

The only message that can be sent by God must be always and universally available to everyone. I submit that our intellect and reason are that message.

This cuts to the core of one of the most divisive issues we come across when discussing religion. "The book says this!" Someone declares, "Well it also says that, and that is contradictory to this!"

What are this and that? In Islam there is the unfortunate divide between the Sunni and the Shiite; primarily focusing on the ancestry of Muhammad. We see a similar rift in the wars in Europe with the Catholics and Protestants. These are people who's fundamental understanding of the divine is, at a minimum, very similar to that of their neighbor. Yet they are killing said neighbor over what amounts to minor details!

We also see this in the total lack of credible miracles in modern times despite there being a regular event in the scriptures. Miracles would also represent micromanagement and are therefore unacceptable. The universe designed by God would not need to be tweaked by supernatural means, it would occur as it should within the rules set defined for it.

Why then do we have Dogma? I attribute it to two factors which work together and amplify their degenerative effects over time. Ignorance and Manipulation.

First ignorance. As humans we often make the mistake of seeking simple solutions to complicated problems. You can see this in any political debate. At least one if not both candidates will attempt to reduce an issue into a sound bite. They will claim the problem is simple and present a straight forward approach for a 'resolution'. Most often these promises are pure smoke and mirrors and they are often contrary to the position the candidate takes when in office. Everyone seems to know and accept this yet it still works. The reason is that simple solutions are comfortable. They require little in the way of mental exercise. They do not challenge our state of ignorance.

In religion we see this often from authority figures questioned about a moral issue when they either don't know the complete rationale or do not believe that the asker will understand the complex nuances. Instead they resort to the Santa Clause argument, "Behave as I tell you or you will not receive the reward." When this is used on children they internalize the argument and pass it on. Over the generations people forget there was a proper answer and merely focus on the promised reward. A truly moral person understands that good behavior is it's own reward. The relationships and interactions built from a solid basis are far more lasting and stable than those created through manipulation and deceit.

That brings us nicely to Manipulation. Because many of us have been raised to expect unexplained pronouncements of what God wants we are susceptible to individuals who wrap themselves in the trappings of the religion but use those trappings to manipulate the believers. This can take many forms but is universally used for control. Control of people is power. It brings vast wealth and an army of fanatically devoted individuals eager to be aimed at the manipulator's cause. It is precisely to guard against this abuse that we should be strongly suspicious of anyone or anything advocating "Blind Faith".

Dogma builds over time as those manipulating the institution add unreasonable things to gain more control and those who do not recognize the control use ignorance to reinforce these notions with blind faith assertions of correctness. Because these assertions are inherently illogical they rub against the subconscious of the religious participants who can be shown to be leaving most major faiths at a greater rate than they are being recruited.

This is not to say that all organized religion is wrong or that the books we consider holy are entirely bad. It is to say that all the confusion stemming from the interpretations, inconsistencies and rewrites of these books is best explained by realizing that even if the individuals writing the books were inspired by their perception of the divine, through reason and intellect; they were only human and could not be expected to produce the kind of work we'd recognize as universally and inherently divine.

When viewing these works we need to understand the limited social understanding of the era, multiple thousands of years ago. The concepts of the value of human life and liberty were not in anyway widespread; nor was the idea of tolerance and large scale cooperation. In fact large scale cooperation is often discouraged in religious texts despite it's proven ability to elevate human endeavors. This is because it threatens authoritarian regimes. Exactly the kind likely to have manipulative leaders claiming a divine mandate. Statements from the texts in opposition to these moral concepts need to be understood as erroneous, not propped up by blind faith where they can be used to attack target groups by manipulative leaders.