Northrop Frye (1912-1991), a Canadian literary critic, is probably best known for his book THE GREAT CODE: THE BIBLE AND LITERATURE (1983). In it, he demonstrates how the Bible is foundational for our understanding of Western literature, a body of work replete with Biblical allusions.
Today, most of us are not familiar enough with the Bible to appreciate where many literary themes take root. We fail to see how its stories—gathered over centuries—relate to us. Not only does Western literature mine from Biblical text, our lives as we experience them mirror much of Biblical story and narrative.
I was raised on the Protestant Bible. To this day, I experience the world through Biblical story. There is nothing sacrosanct (to me) about the familiar text. The Bible is not unique.
Wisdom oozes from texts we call sacred—Torah, New Testament, Rig Veda, Tripitaka, Qur’an and others not as well-known such as the Book of Mormon. Shakespeare and other literature also contain heavy doses of wisdom. Many of us, but especially Christians and Muslims (not all), believe their Scriptures were penned by God and therefore, inerrant and infallible. We forget that no text is off limits to critical analysis. (It’s unfortunate that in many circles, Biblical mythology is read and understood literally, obfuscating the broad, larger meaning(s) that myths convey.)
All texts (sacred and secular) are meaningless unless they are “read out.” Humans are essential for creating the text through their imagination and experience. Whether we realize it or not, we absorb the texts that have shaped our communities and live out the mythology in those texts. In the U.S., the Bible lives in the interstices of public and private life.
In this piece, I want to focus on our current president’s desire to reign as king. Seems he has anointed himself with that title.
The Old Testament (I Samuel 8) has a great story about the ancient Israelites who got a notion in their head that they needed a king like the other nations around them. Samuel, their current leader and judge, was a great guy, but the times they were a’changing. Yahweh (God) had been the Israelites’ king, ruler, and leader. Samuel was growing old and his sons were dishonest. They “accepted bribes and perverted justice.” The elders of Israel pushed their king agenda forward.
Samuel brought this “king idea” before the Lord. The Lord responded, “Listen to all that the people are saying to you: it is not you they have rejected, but…me as their king.” The Israelites had a history of forsaking God and serving other gods. God then told Samuel, “Now listen to them; but warn them solemnly and let them know what the king who will reign over them will claim as his rights.”
Samuel delivered God’s message to the people. “This is what the king who will reign over you will claim as his rights: He will take your sons and make them serve with his chariots and horses….Some he will assign to be commanders…and others to plow his ground and reap his harvest, and…others to make weapons of war and equipment for his chariots. He will take your daughters to be perfumers and cooks and bakers. He will take the best of your fields and vineyards and olive groves and give them to his attendants….Your male and female servants and the best of your cattle and donkeys he will take for his own use….and you yourselves will become his slaves.” Then this warning, “When that day comes, you will cry out for relief from the king you have chosen, but the Lord will not answer….”
The people refused to listen to Samuel. “No! We want a king over us. Then we will be like all the other nations, with a king to lead us and to go out before us and fight our battles.” When Samuel reported back to the Lord, the Lord answered, “Listen to them and give them a king.”
It doesn’t take much imagination to see the parallels between this ancient Biblical story (circa 1100 BCE) and our current situation in the U.S. (2025 CE).
The Constitution, establishing three branches of government (legislative, executive, and judicial) went into effect in the U.S. on March 4, 1789. The framers of the Constitution separated and balanced the powers of the branches (at least theoretically) to protect the rights both of the majority and minority (LGBQTIA+, immigrants, women, disabled, for example), liberty and equality, as well as the federal and state governments. The Constitution is not static and “set.” It has evolved over time—hence, the amendments to meet the population’s changing needs.
The Constitution is an unwieldy instrument to use when governing a country much like the ancient Israelites who lived under a system of Biblical judges. Samuel was not happy with the Israelites’ demand for a king to rule them. The framers of the Constitution, having lived under kings, surely would not be happy with our country’s headlong rush into being led by a felon who crowns himself king.
Many decent people of goodwill, wrapping the Constitution around themselves, have warned us about the dangers of our current administration’s rush toward monarchy. Most people don’t listen. They are enthralled by our self-appointed king’s swashbuckling ways—firing a slew of workers here, cutting aid to needy people both in this country and throughout the world. He’s threatening to annex people’s countries and is intent as well on taking away funding for medical research, environmental research, and education. Long live the king!
The ancient Israelites suffered when they rejected God as their king. We are suffering too by allowing a self-appointed king to reject the Constitution (with its checks and balances) as our template.
We are currently “living out” in real time the Biblical story in I Samuel. We asked for a king and got one. It didn’t end well for the Israelites and it won’t for us either.
Discover more from Feminism and Religion
Subscribe to get the latest posts sent to your email.
Feminism and Religion 
Thank you for this spot on exegesis!
LikeLiked by 1 person
Thank you, Elizabeth!
LikeLike
This is a wonderful essay, Esther, and I am with you on your central point. To digress a bit, I was wondering, when did the Israelites make the change to be ruled by a king and under what circumstances, as we know they eventually were (Solomon, David)? Also, you say that not all Muslims believe the Qur’an to be written by God. Can you say which ones those are?
Sorry for focusing on these minor points but they really piqued my curiosity. The book by Northrop Frye looks like something I should pursue, as he is one of my great favorites. I was lucky enough to take a class from him in college when he came as a visiting professor.
LikeLike
Thank you! You indeed were fortunate to take Frye’s class in college. My “Bible as Literature” teacher (undergrad) introduced me to him and from the get-go, Frye seemed “spot on.”
So, from what I can tell, it’s at this juncture in I Samuel when kings became the “norm” for Israel. I remember lots of talk (growing up in a fundamental, literalist household) about how really it wasn’t “God’s will” for Israel to demand a king, but God either “changed his mind” or “gave in” to a “stiff-necked people” and “allowed” Israel to have its own way. Whatever happened “took” because as you note kings became standard after Saul.
Regarding the Qur’an being written by God: The whole thing becomes complex. Many scholarly Muslims I rubbed shoulders with during my time in The Netherlands while working with Nasr Abu Zaid (d.2010), understood the difference between confessional and academic study of holy texts. In my upbringing, the Protestant Bible was believed to be THE Word of God–inspired by God and, therefore, free of error “in its original languages.” Most conservative branches of Christianity and Islam (and right now, there seems to be more conservative Muslims than Christians) believe in this absolute “truth” of their own theology–“truth” taking on the form of “undisputed facts.” One of the hardest tasks I had as a Religious Studies professor was getting students to see that sacred story is NOT scientific reality. That doesn’t make sacred story invalid–it requires us to understand things differently and Northrup Frye got this right–hands down (IMO). Sacred texts are “wisdom texts.” They are filled with concepts that integrate science and mythology–two things that are not mutually exclusive. (Science is not something that’s automatically true and mythology is not something that’s automatically false.) So when the Qur’an talks about itself as having an original copy in heaven written with huge, gold letters, it is talking about the importance and value that a culture places upon its wisdom.
LikeLiked by 2 people
Thanks so much for this, Esther. Let’s hope that this is not the time when we permanently switch over to kings too! Still time to backtrack and resist.
LikeLiked by 1 person
True enough! The sad part (to me) is that we (as a society/culture) still don’t “get” Northup Frye’s message. Sacred texts carry human experience and response to circumstances. We don’t seem able (or willing) to connect the dots.
LikeLiked by 1 person
Thank you for this. It seems that humans rarely learn from our mistakes. We are a very flawed species – making clever inventions, with little understanding of the future implications, and we have not learned how to get along with each other. It’s sad. We seemed like such a promising bunch…
LikeLike
Wonderful reply, Katharine. Your last sentence is poignant and sad.
LikeLike
I grew up as a Jehovah’s Witness. And I have since come into contact with Mormons (their experience is so similar to ours it’s creepy). And other people who have left fringe Christian cults. And one thing I have noticed, is that they all leave accounts like this out of their teaching. Even Witness proclaim that Jehovah (the Anglicized version of Hebrew Yahuah) is the Supreme Emperor. And his son Jesus is the King. And the JW Leadership (The Anointed Ones or Anointed is what they call themselves) are all “princes” who shall reign in Heaven with Christ and all his disciples and rule over us all etc…
But not once did they mention that Adonai
(unless you are using a name of God for magic, you should refer to him as Adonai which means “The Lord” or Hashem which means “the presence”)
Warned us against having Kings. In fact it seems he wanted the Hebrews to continue to be a communal society. This would suggest that if anything, even if you don’t believe in Jesus, Adonai favors a more equalitarian society. Not a monarchy. Or a feudal society like capitalism.
That’s why it’s important to read the Bible on your own separate from churches. Because they teach you their ideologies. And if you’re lucky, you’ll have liberal teachers. Who will more often than not be honest to you. And help you to open your mind.
And think critically. But most people go towards conservative Bible thumpers who don’t actually read the Bible. What they know is ideology. And how that ideology cherry picks Bible verses without context. Let me give you an example.
Jw’s and the Poor
I once asked when I was 15, why Witnesses don’t use their (economic) power to aid the homeless. And trust me, they have a lot of economic power. Their leaders are effectively kings that live in a tiny little version of the Vatican in New York City called Bethel. I told my friends this when lawn mowing the Kingdom Hall on Saturdays (that’s what they call their churches, because they announce God’s kingdom supposedly). You see we actually thought it was a fun social gathering event.
Not free slave labor to maintain their church. Now I know better. They sucker people into thinking the “privileges” they get, are some kind of gift. Their privileges are always handing out the microphones. Or cleaning up the hall.
It’s basically the church version of Tom Sawyer tricking people into white washing his fence for him. And they had us so brainwashed that it only took me until recently to figure that out. How grown “adults” who raised us, never figured that out is truly a testament to cult power. They let these people enslave their kids and do work for them. And back during a time when the only Ave you could work was 15.
I remember even 12 year olds were working. They passing out drinks and food to everyone while we fixing roof tiles some times. It never occurred to even one of those people that “hey we’re being exploited for our labor “. Or that they were allowing kids to be exploited too. And they could ignore answering the call to do these things (to a point).
But those who didn’t were usually seen as spiritually weak Christians. That’s why I’m glad they don’t vote. Can you imagine what kind of policies they would vote into power if they did? Well you don’t have to. You’re seeing some of those policies right now. The only reason they don’t vote is because they already have Kings on Earth to serve.
Who conveniently “represent God “.
Sorry I digress. But I brought up in one of these social gathering (free labor) sessions that we should also help the homeless. And right away people my own age shot me down. They said that would eventually corrupt us. Or lead us away from the “truth”.
And I was like, “Why?”
Them,
“Well because then we would spend more time helping the poor than preaching,”
(As if that were a bad thing, but I didn’t say that out loud)
Me :
“Not necessarily. We don’t have to preach ALL of the time. We could easily divide our time helping the poor and other people. Some of us could preach and others could help them in shifts. We already preach in shifts because people have different schedules.
And we already help the elderly and needy in our own congregations. I don’t see how this is different. so we should be able to do this easily. We could even promote social programs to aid them with breakfast and what not,”
My one “friend” (who later became my JW Bully) just looked at me as if to say ‘You’re already being corrupted right now and don’t even realize it,’. The look of complete disgust on his face. And the others just ignored me. As if I had said something so morally wrong. Because you see, I didn’t realize then what I do now.
It isn’t that helping the poor and needy is bad. It’s that, we were already slaves. And wouldn’t acknowledge it out loud. They even like to throw around Matthew 6:24 about not serving two masters (the text is about not loving money more than God but oh well). So they didn’t want us to help the poor.
Because they saw it as us not serving them. That’s one reason. The other is that cults keep people ignorant and trapped in a collective bubble of delusion. But if people venture out into the world, and see different peoples and view points, they’ll realize they’ve been lied to. They’ll realize that someone has been feeding them poison disguised as Christianity.
And that’s why they won’t allow any members to go and help the poor. You could on your own time do it I suppose. But eventually they’ll send an elder to your house saying they fear for you. Because you are spending more time on the soup kitchen than in the hall. And sending money to charity instead of the collection box etc…
They will try to tell you God won’t be pleased. And then people in the hall will do one of two things, either shun you and stay away from you. Or attempt to visit you to convince you of the “error of your ways,” and if that doesn’t work, they will find ways of shunning you. Because that’s how they are. That’s why I knew from a young age that I didn’t want this to be my life.
Leaving that it’s a cult aside for a moment. What kind of religious organization thinks that helping the poor is leading you Away from God instead of Towards him/her? Why is it wrong to spend more time helping the hungry? Instead of let’s say, knocking on the doors of tired people who are sleeping in on Saturdays. And don’t want their much needed rest disturbed.
All to hear propaganda. Heck I could use the extra sleep myself. We all could I thought. Then I thought,
‘Wouldn’t it in fact actually be more effective to recruit this way, because those homeless people would be more inclined to learn about us and join?’
And as soon as I thought that, it bothered me.
And I didn’t know why. If it’s the “truth”, then why wouldn’t I want homeless people to convert? And then one day I got my answer. I learned by watching independent media. Like Democracy Now! With Amy Goodman (I watched it in secret because I knew my family would never approve). On World Link Tv or just Link tv.
And I learned that Right Wing Evangelical Christians have been used by business men and governments like the US. Because first they brain wash indigenous people into sacrificing their culture and religions. And then they move in to “civilize them” by stealing their land. And economically and politically exploiting them. A few years ago I even heard about a church in Mexico that told indigenous people who were starving that they would feed them.
But only IF they got baptized and joined the church. And renounced their ancestral religion. And so, all these starving and oppressed people seeing no way out, got baptized in a long line. And were given food in a pantry. And I realized ever since watching these segments, why it was immoral to use charity work to recruit for a faith.
Because you are essentially torturing people to convert. And the torture is one part physical (using starvation to hurt them) and one part mental torture. That the pain can end. All they need to do is embrace Jesus and they’ll be fed. And I realized I would never want to contribute to something so awful.
And that was one of the many downward spirals for me. I began to realize that they used us to work for them, (governing body) for free. That we were all willing slaves. And that they still get tax exemptions for being a church WHILE THEY EXPLOIT their own members and make money from it. Even asking(demanding) them for donations.
Yet claiming to be a charity when they help no one so they can get those exemptions.
And a few years ago when I was still in, they started telling witnesses that they needed to start asking at least for a donation of a penny. Or 50 cents when they give out magazines. Because most people throw them away anyways. And it’s necessary to at least collect a small donation to make up for it. That just made all the people they preached to even angrier with them knocking on their doors. Giving them shit they don’t want.
And then on top of that, soliciting from them. Homeless people are kicked out of communities for asking for money to EAT. Meanwhile, these people come to your door, in your apartment complex, and come to bother you on Saturdays and Sundays to join their cult. And then ask you for payment for their propaganda. One day I brought my concerns that we should do charity work, to an elder my mother had sent me to try and get me to stay in the religion.
This is when I wasn’t just fading (a term we use for when we are trying to fade away into the background so we can leave). I was cutting that shit Cold Turkey. So they were all on emergency trying to get me to stay. I told this man the same thing I had told my friends years before. Minus the recruiting the homeless part.
And he told me in the most sane, most (seemingly) normal and nonchalant way,
“The problem with that is, that it can open doors for Satan,”
This man almost chuckled as he said it. As if to say, ‘Oh Timmy, what’s wrong with you? Don’t you know any better? How could you think helping the homeless is a good idea?!’
And just like that, any hope they had of reeling me back in like a fish, died right then and there. I knew that I had to get out. And even after I kept having philosophical arguments with him. To try and get rid of him finally.
I attacked using logic and common sense. Two of their worst enemies. We didn’t scream at each other. But I can’t in earnest call those engagements “debates”. A debate is when two intelligent people with some level of common sense and logic, share views and express differences. And agree on a moral compass at least to a point.
In order to have an equal interaction with each other. We never had a serious discussion like that. Because he didn’t take me seriously. And I sure as hell no longer took this man or what he stood for seriously either. When I was in, I was fascinated by this person.
I used to think he was a cool JW. One of the better, more opened minded types. He had lived in Europe. He knew and had experienced Democratic Socialism and Social Democracy. Had expressed it was a better way of life than the extreme capitalism here in the US. And coming from a Far Right Cuban Exile JW Family in Florida of all places, that was a real fresh of breath air.
He was worldly, not in the negative, JW slander. But that he had lived and traveled. That he had experienced life. The good and the bad. Had read books.
Was for all intents and purposes an intelligent man. And I could not believe a man like that, really believed and bought the hunk of horse shit he had just peddled to me. So I learned that either he was cruel this whole time pretending to be a good man. And intentionally lying to us to control us. Or he’s not as intelligent as I thought he was. He might be smart with law or history. But not common sense. And worse than that, he was immoral. Because no one could think aiding the poor is a bad thing unless they had no morality to draw from.
And neither answer I came up with made me feel better. Because what did that say about me having been suckered into thinking he was a good and wise man before? Perhaps that I wasn’t so smart myself. He actually even tried to manipulate a text where he (claimed) Jesus speaks on the poor. I guess he thought I wouldn’t look it up because I hated reading the Bible.
I found it so boring. And he knew I didn’t memorize the texts like he had. So he probably thought he could say whatever he wanted and I would be none the wiser. He said something like “The poor will always be there but the kingdom of God won’t” or something to that effect. Later I went online because I didn’t remember any such text. So I typed in what he said and got,
Matthew 26: 11
“The poor you will always have with you, but you will not always have me,”
I found the text, but it didn’t provide any context. So I decided to read the whole chapter and see what it was about. And it turned out this guy really Did lie to me (big surprise). Chapter 26 is when Jesus knows he’s going to die. In fact you see him prepare for it in many ways.
Look at the following from the same chapter.
Verses 1-14,
1When Jesus had finished saying all these things, He told His disciples, 2“You know that the Passover is two days away, and the Son of Man will be handed over to be crucified.”
3At that time the chief priests and elders of the people assembled in the courtyard of the high priest, whose name was Caiaphas, 4and they conspired to arrest Jesus covertly and kill Him. 5“But not during the feast,” they said, “or there may be a riot among the people.”
(Now pay attention to this part)
Jesus Anointed at Bethany
6While Jesus was in Bethany in the home of Simon the Leper,
(Even then he was visiting the sick and down trodden much in the way I had suggested and was rebuked for)
7a woman came to Him with an alabaster jar of expensive perfume, which she poured on His head as He reclined at the table.
8When the disciples saw this, they were indignant and asked, “Why this waste? 9This perfume could have been sold at a high price, and the money given to the poor.”
10Aware of this, Jesus asked, “Why are you bothering this woman? She has done a beautiful deed to Me. 11The poor you will always have with you,but you will not always have Me. 12By pouring this perfume on Me, she has prepared My body for burial. 13Truly I tell you, wherever this gospel is preached in all the world, what she has done will also be told in memory of her.”
(I think it’s only fitting that Mary of Bethany, is immortalized in this text. She’s the same woman who had washed Jesus’s feet before and was a wise and noble disciple. Even more noble I dare say than the male Disciples were at the beginning)
So basically, all this alludes to the idea that the Apostles and even Christ himself actually DID do charity work for the poor. I later confirmed it because there are entire articles from various religious denominations online. All talking about Jesus and the first Christians helping out the poor. I even learned that the Stalkings used in Christmas, came from Nuns called the Sisters of St. Nikolas in France. They put food and money in their old stalkings.
At night they left them with homeless people the Eve before Christmas. That’s how the tradition was started. And it’s also part of the Santa Klaus myth. Because these women did it to honor St. Nikolas. Specifically his act of charity where he saved a group of sisters from being sold into sex slavery by their father. Because they were poor.
He would throw bags of gold into their window at night. Until the debt was paid. So that led me down another rabbit hole of Gasps! Liberal Christians! And that some even believe no matter how bad you are, you’ll be forgiven even if you die without repenting because God is love. It’s called Christian Universalism. A total change from what the Witnesses had preach.
That’s when I realized,
“My God I have been in a cult this whole time. They kept us in a mental bubble and we never knew!”
And that shattered me. Because I realized for all these years me and my family had been taken in and exploited for a lie. And they will never believe that or understand it. It’s more likely the Trumpers will finally see the truth about Trump than, a devoted witness comes to see all of this.
I read articles saying that the Apostles and Christ did help the poor. They had their own, ancient, version of a community social program. Only it was never political. It was just to help people. And they did it so much in fact, that when Mary of Bethany had bought the fancy perfume oil for Jesus it bothered them.
Because they would have asked her to use it to feed the poor.
But she understood better than his male Apostles, that his end was coming. And they harassed her for it. What she did was an act of love for a teacher. And a friend. A farewell.
That’s why Jesus said what he said. That they shouldn’t bother her for doing something so sweet. Because the poor would always be with them. But (very soon) he wouldn’t. At no point does he say not to help the poor.
As this man had tried to convince me.
The context to what Jesus is saying is rather simple. It’s a rebuke of them for rebuking her. And this was an act of charity in and of itself. Christ was an (economically) poor man. He had no house. He and his followers slept under the stars. It also adds greater context to Matthew 25:40
” ‘Truly I tell you, whatever you did for one of the least of these brothers and sisters of mine, you did for me,”
Because it’s literal. He was poor. So whatever you do to the poor and oppressed right now, is what you would have done to Jesus back then. You’re in the same moral category. Which paints the witnesses in a very dark light already.
Someone can come here and say to me,
“Oh but I can say you’re taking that text out of context too!”
Verses 31-40 (the whole chapter talks about how God sees people who claim to follow him in general)
The Sheep and the Goats
“31When the Son of Man comes in His glory, and all the angels with Him, He will sit on His glorious throne. 32All the nations will be gathered before Him, and He will separate the people one from another, as a shepherd separates the sheep from the goats. 33He will place the sheep on His right and the goats on His left.
(Yes I know Jesus is seen as a Royal, but he’s seen as an ideal, equalitarian leader rather than the kings we were discussing here)
34Then the King will say to those on His right, ‘Come, you who are blessed by My Father, inherit the kingdom prepared for you from the foundation of the world. 35For I was hungry and you gave Me something to eat, I was thirsty and you gave Me something to drink, I was a stranger and you took Me in, 36I was naked and you clothed Me, I was sick and you looked after Me, I was in prison and you visited Me.’
37Then the righteous will answer Him, ‘Lord, when did we see You hungry and feed You, or thirsty and give You something to drink? 38When did we see You a stranger and take You in, or naked and clothe You? 39When did we see You sick or in prison and visit You?’
40And the King will reply, ‘Truly I tell you, whatever you did for one of the least of these brothers of Mine, you did for Me.”
And as for me saying the text casts the witnesses (and all Christian Right in general) in an even darker light?
Verses 41-46 of the same chapter
“41Then He will say to those on His left, ‘Depart from Me, you who are cursed, into the eternal fire prepared for the Devil and his angels. 42For I was hungry and you gave Me nothing to eat, I was thirsty and you gave Me nothing to drink, 43I was a stranger and you did not take Me in, I was naked and you did not clothe Me, I was sick and in prison and you did not look after Me.’
44And they too will reply, ‘Lord, when did we see You hungry or thirsty or a stranger or naked or sick or in prison, and did not minister to You?’
45Then the King will answer, ‘Truly I tell you, whatever you did not do for one of the least of these, you did not do for Me.’
46And they will go away into eternal punishment, but the righteous into eternal life.”
So from the moral and Biblical point of view I was right, for wanting to help the poor. But they are wrong. And that is both empowering, and frightening all at once. To know so many people are so easily deceived. So I say this : To all the kings and their cults, don’t ever take them at their word.
For anything. Research everything they tell you. You’ll find the BS somewhere. Because they will all lie and twist scriptures and anything else they can find to their point of view. Even if they don’t mean to and are just brainwashed.
And I say this as someone who was born in this cult and left at 18. I wasted 18 years of my life for a lie. Years I can never get back. And I wasted even more years trying to live a normal life. And not be socially awkward.
I’m 39 and still haven’t mastered that. I lost my whole life to them. My childhood was stained by them. And because of them it took me years to learn things most people knew in their teen years. Please don’t ever allow any of these groups to your door.
Do not open it. And don’t answer them ever. Talk to your condo or apartment associations about this. So what you can to stop them from being allowed to enter your neighborhood. They should not be allowed to trespass.
Especially if you pay rent and are supposed to be safe there. Remember that they take children to church meetings once they are healthy enough to leave the hospital after birth. They want “the truth” to be ingrained into their psyches as soon as they can think. They did that to me. They want you to bow down to their own Kings.
LikeLiked by 1 person
Thank you for this! Your experience(s) growing up mirror mine on so many levels. I like this from your text:
“That’s why it’s important to read the Bible on your own separate from churches. Because they teach you their ideologies. And if you’re lucky, you’ll have liberal teachers. Who will more often than not be honest to you. And help you to open your mind. And think critically. But most people go towards conservative Bible thumpers who don’t actually read the Bible. What they know is ideology. And how that ideology cherry picks Bible verses without context.”
I think what we need to “get over” as a culture is believing that thinking critically about religion is a no-no. Just because it’s “religion” (a loaded term), we so often eschew pushing back on religious ideology. Why? Afraid of God–whatever that is? Afraid of being rude? It’s “their” religion, after all. Religion ought not to be IMO a sacred cow. There should be no sacred cows in a free society.
LikeLiked by 2 people
I agree 100%, I also find it funny that many of these groups started, because someone, somewhere, had a philosophical difference with their own superior. That means they had to reason that their teachers were wrong. And somewhere along the line they created these different Christian offshoots. And more than likely they became corrupted from their original intentions. I’d like to believe that those who started these groups did not intend to make them into the insane cults they are now.
More that, their followers made them that way. Which is why we need to follow God/Goddess, and not mortals. Because we are all made from the same exact material. And when we perish, we leave the same way. No one has an inside tract into what happens when we go.
LikeLiked by 1 person