I found this while doing my weekly browse over in Post Secret. I love that site; I like the glimpse of people’s soul. (No, I’m not becoming religious! Just poetic!)You know, I wondered about this. If a minister, preacher, priest, or other holy person has trained his whole life to enter his profession, then what does he do if (when) he figures out that it is all a lie?
Who does he talk to? Are other priests ‘in’ on the secret too? What if he starts wondering if it is all a lie to provide people with a living – or a way to become wealthy and powerful.
Does he give it all up and start telling the truth, like Dan Barker? Or does he realize how powerful he has become and keeps milking it for all it’s worth, like James Dobson?
Maybe he goes a little nutty with the money and power, and starts to believe in his own divinity – like Pat Robertson.
Some people look at religions and get jealous of all that money and power and decide to start their own religion – like L. Ron Hubbard.
If you want to give it a try yourself, you can always get ordained, like me! No belief, or money, required!
3 comments:
don't forget operation clambake! lots of hubbards shit there
http://www.xenu.net/
I saw that one over at PostSecret too- and felt really bad for the guy. Eeek. Trapped (or feeling trapped, which isn't the same) in a life you know to be a lie. Awful.
Exclam: Yes, I've seen xenu.net before - I spent a lot of hours learning about the Cult of Scientology - it was one of the things that started me on my path to Atheism. "A Piece of Blue Sky" by Jon Atack is a wonderful book on them. You can read it free online on xenu.net. (or purchase it from Amazon)
Scientiae: In the church I grew up in, I knew a Doctorate of Divinity - this guy had literally studied years, his dissertation was based on his study in the middle east. (Israel, Jerusalem)
He was a very liberal minister, who once told me that he believed that large portions of the bible were not true. His opinion was that people added forgeries or embellishments when the manuscripts were copied by hand.
He told me (and I've since read about it myself) of how profitable a business it was for the con artists of the time to sell fake religious 'holy relics'.
I think he used this as an excuse to re-write the bible for himself, much like Thomas Jefferson did with the Jeffersonian Bible, to make it a kinder, more moral book that he could believe in.
I think he needed a way to balance the dichotomy of his beliefs.
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