Sunday, April 19, 2015

Chapter Twenty Five



“When I think back on these wars of religion, these inquisitions, these burnings of precious cities and artifacts, I am ashamed that this myth of God has persisted for so long.  The Greeks were keen enough to its character.  Why then do we persist in this delusion?  

“Yes, one might argue that the Greeks had their own deities, but they widely acknowledged that such deities were only to be tolerated for the sake of the unlearned, and did not in any way represent the true order of things.  They understood that superstitions abound within the minds of less educated people, and they designed – yes, designed – their state cults with a practicality that escapes the modern mind.  They knew that ignorance could never be completely eradicated – not immediately – and so they engineered their religions with the sole intention of keeping this ignorance at bay, of making it less harmful to the state.

How I wish we shared their sense of rationality on such subjects, so that we might do away with such superstitions among the educated classes.  Better to hand the likes of God over to the common people, for we have not needed Him for a great many years now.”

The coachman found a place near the edge of the crowd, and could advance no further.  The press at the perimeter of the floor was too advanced to allow any further ingress.  He would have been right up front if it had been in his power to approach any closer, but there were too many others collected there, all just as eager as he to hear the day’s speech.

They watched him as he stood there like a fool, with his ragged hat in his hand, and his muscles visible through the white shirt he wore.  They worried over their wives as they saw him.  They wondered what it was that their wives were doing.  Had this man molested their wives as well?  Or had their wives found yet another peasant?  Or someone worse still?

“We are the greatest empire in the history of the world, or if not yet such, then we will soon be.  Our navy is already the finest among all the civilized nations, our trade extends from the New World to Africa and China, and our laws and institutions – the glory of our people – stand ready to serve us through all adversities.  I, for one, am only too thankful that we have risen above the superstitious belief in a Creator that previously guided our race, for it is through the forbearance of such ridiculous beliefs that we proceed onwards to further triumphs, both within and without our great nation.”

One of the men just behind the coachman, a gentleman near fifty years of age, could not help but wonder aloud how such statements could be made in this place, in the hearing of Christian people.  They complimented the speaker on his love of country, but it was clear that his statements struck many as offensive.  Some even spoke of having the speaker ejected from that assembly, forcibly if necessary.

The coachman paid them little mind, his ears trained upon the speaker.  His mouth hung open, as if it any moment he would speak aloud.  None could understand why he had come to that particular forum, or what a beggar such as himself might say in such distinguished company.

“I have heard it bandied about this very room, nay, in my very presence, that I am a corrupt, irreligious man who would lead you all astray.  To this charge I can only answer that the truth only has a corrupting influence upon what is backward and evil in mankind, and that on the score of being irreligious I am avowedly so.  It is not for me to lead any man astray, save from the idolatries of past generations.  I espouse only the love of one’s nation, one’s culture, and one’s people.  My aim has ever been the same, and this aim is the glorification of our country, the freedom of our seas, and the supremacy of our territories over all those with hostile intentions.  In this I stand before you as a true man, and not as a fool ready to bow down before some God he dare not contemplate closely.”

Yes, thought the coachman.  Yes, I have thought this same thing before.  I have seen all of this in a dream, and while I was dreaming I was lying in his wife’s embrace.  This other man and I are not so different.  

We are both trying to throw off the old superstitions, but we are approaching the problem from different angles.  He wants to change the world through words.  I want to do it through my actions.  He wants to raise us up to his level.  I want to bring them all down into the world where I have suffered, where I have been insulted, and where I have been denied what was owed me.

We are one and the same.  Were he a saint, I would have to play the sinner.  Were he the scapegoat, I would be the one casting sins upon him.  I would have to do it, because it is in my nature.  I would always have to prove him wrong, perhaps because I know that he is right.

“Some would argue that our nation is still a Christian nation, and that we still possess a church for the sake of religious observance.  This, they say, puts me at odds with the order of things.  I submit, however, that this church was since its inception meant for the lower orders of people, so that their ignorance might be channeled into safer avenues, and not mediate against our public institutions.  This church was never meant for the entirety of our judges, our magistrates, and those others burdened with the governance of this great land.  For precedent one need only look back to the formation of our church, during which…”

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