NPR is doing a fascinating three-day in-depth biography of Farouk Abdulmutallab, the "Christmas Bomber" who hid bomb ingredients in his underwear and tried to blow up an airplane. And once again, I was struck by how truly perverse some religious beliefs are, especially regarding sex.
Islam, Christianity and Judaism have perverted natural, healthy sexual urges into something ugly. They first pretend that good, moral people don't have these urges (a lie). Then they teach that you are immoral when you have a healthy sexual arousal (a cruelty). And finally, when you (like Abdulmutallab) still have these feelings, they teach that you are weak and inadequate, because after all, look at everyone else, they're controlling their urges, but you can't! Of course, those other "exemplary" young men are not controlling their urges, they're just afraid to speak out, for the same reason you are."I think this loneliness leads me to other problems. As I get lonely, the natural sex drive awakens and I struggle to control it – sometimes leading to minor sinful activities, like not lowering the gaze [around unveiled women]. ... This problem makes me want to get married to avoid getting aroused. The Prophet advised young men to fast if they can't get married, but it has not been helping me much..." – Farouk Abdulmutallab
So Abdulmutallab, a perfectly normal young man, felt alone and isolated, sinful and dirty, and his anger and self-loathing turned into hatred of others. Surely sex wasn't the only thing that shaped this sad young man – a strict father, the stark contrast of his rich family to the poor of Nigeria, the wars against Islamic countries – these things surely contributed.
The natural, humanist view teaches that sexual arousal in a young man is a sign of good health and vigor. Sex and love are part of that wonderful circle of life that makes all life go forward. Any young man who doesn't feel these things has a serious problem.
The sexual-guilt meme, one of the most powerful ideas in the history of religion, the one that tells you that suffering is good, that the wonderful attraction men and woman feel for one another is somehow perverted, and that yielding to our most basic, healthy instincts is a terrible thing.
Here's a brief excerpt from my upcoming book, The Religion Virus, which will be published next month (preorder now!):
The Guilt meme began with the vilification of all natural human pleasures and desires, sex in particular. Tertullian [of Carthage] created the term "original sin," the idea that we inherit sin from Adam and Eve's transgressions, but Tertullian's influence was limited because of his truly extreme views. But Augustine, who became a Catholic bishop, picked up Tertullian's idea of original sin, and turned it into a powerful meme.
Augustine's revulsion with his own sexuality can be seen in his explanation of the male erection. Instead of considering it a healthy, natural reaction that a man experiences upon seeing a desirable woman, Augustine decided that the male erection was the flesh revolting against God's will. That is, the human soul naturally wants to be chaste (why? Augustine doesn't say), but the flesh revolts into sin, and is disgusting. Augustine carried this revulsion of sex to an extreme: All sex of any sort outside of marriage was sinful, and even within marriage sex was regrettable, and was only permitted for the procreation of children. This is particularly ironic given Augustine's ten-year relationship with his true love, a common country girl, who bore him his son, but whom he was forced to abandon when his mother insisted on a society marriage. Some argue that the heartbroken Augustine's deep anguish over this lost love may have caused him to reject love and sex; that as a post-facto justification for his loss, Augustine formulated his anti-sex philosophy that became entrenched in Christianity.
Although this excerpt is about Christianity, it really describes how all of the "Abrahamic" religions (Islam, Christianity, Judaism) view sex. And it's a terrible thing.Augustine's revulsion with his own sexuality can be seen in his explanation of the male erection. Instead of considering it a healthy, natural reaction that a man experiences upon seeing a desirable woman, Augustine decided that the male erection was the flesh revolting against God's will. That is, the human soul naturally wants to be chaste (why? Augustine doesn't say), but the flesh revolts into sin, and is disgusting. Augustine carried this revulsion of sex to an extreme: All sex of any sort outside of marriage was sinful, and even within marriage sex was regrettable, and was only permitted for the procreation of children. This is particularly ironic given Augustine's ten-year relationship with his true love, a common country girl, who bore him his son, but whom he was forced to abandon when his mother insisted on a society marriage. Some argue that the heartbroken Augustine's deep anguish over this lost love may have caused him to reject love and sex; that as a post-facto justification for his loss, Augustine formulated his anti-sex philosophy that became entrenched in Christianity.
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"And you will know them by their fruit." - jesus
ReplyDeleteThat is to say, you will know an atheist by the hate built up in his heart. You will know what Islam truly is by the violence it spawns.
The ridiculous rules of Islam were never meant to be obeyed because they are not from God, but rather from man. So terrible things happen when people try to follow the laws of Islam.
Might I add that Christianity spawned the KKK and was instrumental in a HUGE amount of slavery in the last 2000 years, not just in our country either. So perhaps you misinterpreted the twice translated words of your savior. Perhaps He meant you will know sinners by their fruit.
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