Crusade to be God: Ego that Binds Believers and Atheists Alike
Written by Teodrose Fikre, July 8, 2017
Humans want to be gods. Nothing else so succinctly explains why we insist on trying to conquer each other with endless streams of ideologies and belief systems. Instead of being humble and admitting that we don’t know it all, each day most of us venture into the world to prove that our way of thinking is supreme apart from the rest. There was a time where elders taught the youth and the younger generation sought advice from wiser counsel. The age of Google has eradicated the notion of deference as everyone now swears they are a fusion of Einstein and Imhotep with a dash of Confucius.
Hubris has become our calling card—from this virus few of us are detached. The more we advance technologically, the more we lose the very essence of what makes us human. Unless someone sings 100% from the choir sheet we sing from, the new normal has become to throw rhetorical bombs at people who think different and either cow them into silence or intimidate them into seeing our way. Conversation so passe, we now talk right past one another as people who are equally victimized by this global system of capital larceny turn on each other instead of working together to alleviate our collective struggle.
Religion is one of the foundations on which the tower of antipathy is built upon. None of us can say with certainty what resides outside of us—the very meaning of faith is believing in spite of doubt. Religion has subverted the essence of faith by peddling dogma as biblical truth and preaching conformity to ideology above all else. Iyesus himself said don’t judge and hypocrisy was one of the things he spoke against the most. Other faiths besides Christianity teach the very same principles, all prophets and enlightened thinkers implored to lead with love and to let kindness and understanding be our moral compass. All teachings cast aside, mankind keeps insisting on hijacking faith and using religion as a cudgel to conquer others.
People keep asking all the time “what would Jesus do”—t’s really not that hard. Love all, do not be selfish, and defend the least among us. Sadly, the same way pharisees crucified Yeshua for speaking against their hustle, modern day pharisees continue to put nails to His hands and heart by using religion as a means to enrich themselves and oppress the masses. It is for this reason that more and more people are turning to atheism and why people reserve abject animus for Christianity and religion as a whole. We believers and Christians alike play a part in this paradigm for too many of us would rather preach to others instead of leading by example.
We all devolve into the abyss together; believers and atheists alike are intent on proving their moral and intellectual supremacy above all else. As much as atheists proclaim to hate the hypocrisy of believers, too many revert to the same snobbery they detest as they try to disprove God’s existence as if they have it all figured out. Atheism has become a religion within itself as non-believers set out to evangelize nihilism as a virtuous dogma. In all honesty, some of the biggest zealots I know are atheists, so convinced are they that God doesn’t exist that they make it their mission to mock and dismiss anyone who believes in a creator of this universe. Arrogance is the watch word for too many as the religious and irreligious alike set out to conquer those who have the temerity to think different.
Why don’t we just admit that none of us know the truth. There is no way on proving or disproving God’s existence so why then do we waste our time trying to substantiate that which we can’t affirm. Even science is flawed in this way, today’s accepted scientific fact will eventually be dismissed and disproved. There was a time humans thought that the earth was the center of the universe and that belief was accepted as a scientific law. Then astronomers “proved” that our galaxy was heliocentric, now science tells us that our galaxy is one of millions and that our sun is one among billions in this universe. We are but a speck of a speck of a speck of dust—we are insignificant in the grand scope of this universe. We are not the center of our own earth let alone the focal point of the infinite space that exists outside our realm.
How many millions must perish as we keep fighting wars in the name of God? The struggle is within each of us to let good win out over wickedness in our hearts, but that struggle too hard to take on, we instead spend our time and resources trying to defeat others. We fight wars for peace and fight hatred with hatred and look where it got us. If each one of us committed to be nice to five people around us, the world would change instantly but yet we keep on looking for bankrupt politicians to do for us what we refuse to do for ourselves. We get the government and circumstance we deserve, the more we let our ego and pride lead the more we get leaders that will lead us with ego and pride right into the ditch.
Instead of trying to prove that we are superior, why don’t we try humility and just accept each other without trying to colonize others with our ideologies. Whether the issue is faith, politics, or identity, let us appreciate what makes us unique and stop trying to impose our beliefs on others. If we really want to make this world into a better place, let us do so not with judgement or anger but with kindness and forbearance. The way to stand for justice is not through clenched fists and a shuttered mind but with extended hands of friendship and a mind that is open to divergent ideas. Above all, be love and stop letting our egos dictate our actions. #LetGoEgo
“Where there is strife, there is pride, but wisdom is found in those who take advice.” ~ Proverbs 13:10
If you appreciated the message behind this write up and think others should hear it as well, share this article on social media using #LetGoEgo
Check out the Ghion Cast below where I discuss humility and reaching within to find the purpose we all have instead of looking outward to seek acceptance.
Teodrose Fikre
Teodrose was born in Ethiopia the same year Emperor Haile Selassie was deposed by the communist Derg junta. The great grandson five generations removed of Atse (emperor) Tewodros Kassa II, the greatest king of Ethiopia, Teodrose is clearly influenced by the history and his connection to Ethiopia. Through his experiences growing up as first generation refugee in America, Teodrose writes poignantly about the universal experiences of joys, pains and a hope for a better tomorrow that binds all of humanity.
Teodrose has written extensively about the intersection of politics, economic policies, identity, and history. He is the author of "Serendipity's Trace" and newly released "Soul to Soil", two works that inspect the ways we are dissected as a people and shows how we can overcome injustice through the inclusive vision of togetherness.
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