The Danger of Religious Knowledge

Netflix just dropped a documentary “Waco: American Apocalypse” which I will not be commenting upon because it was a massive clusterfuck by all of the parties involved resulting in a great many people being killed.

What I will be commenting upon is a comment made by one of the survivor Branch Davidians. When interviewed she was asked whether her personal safety were of concern and she responded “I’m not a person; I am a tool of God.”

She apparently was told, and she accepted as a fact, that she was a “tool of God.” This factoid of knowledge was not something people were to examine, they were merely to accept it, like all other “religious truths.”

Now I do not know whether she felt proud to be so named or what her motivation was for accepting that status, but if one does apply reason one might ask why an all-powerful god needs “tools.” What can a lowly human do that couldn’t be accomplished more quickly and more easily by said god? How much arrogance do you need to believe that you are a tool that fits in God’s hand? And of course, no god was involved. A spiritual huckster claiming “son of god” status, was however.

This person claimed to be “the messiah,” a “prophet,” and a “son of God.” Messiahship is easy. All you need do is poor a little oil on your head and voila. (Use the right oil and it makes your hair shiny.) Messiah means “anointed one,” the anointing accompanying being chosen for a special task. (High Priests and Kings of the Hebrews were anointed ones. Their job titles tell of their special tasks.)

Prophets either announced themselves as such or were recognized as people making prophecies. Since prophecies are predictions, they cannot be fact checked, so you are good to go there. And to be a “son or daughter of God” was easy because everyone created by god was consider to be such and they considered everyone and everything to have been created by their god, so again, you are good to go.

Now to convince someone they are “tool of God,” you will need a little razzle-dazzle but not a great deal and you need some really gullible people, which, shall we say, are not in short supply. So how were these “tools” to be used? According to the documentary, their uses were manifold: they were to be used as soldiers, as human sacrifices (through suicide), and to do the dishes if asked.

People who think too little of themselves can be made into people who think way too much of themselves and can be made to do despicable things. Targeting them in a con is more than despicable.

It was/is sad.

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