Ever notice how patronizing police officers can be? But why wouldn't a police officer patronize? That is, in a sense, his role: To keep his tribe of citizens, often strangers unto one another, in line. His duty is to wave his arms, blow his whistle, and to look serious and strong. He is there to make sure we all get along, play fair, and no one gets hurt. She too, for there are female law enforcers.
Why can't we just be nice and proper on our own? It seems that in groups larger than a few dozen, the behavior-regulating force field of intimate relationships weakens precipitously. We are self-centered by nature; our own needs and desires predominate. Yet sometimes our needs and desires will oppose the needs and desires of others. And every village seems to have its bullies. Who's to decide "right" and "wrong;" how do you encourage citizens to be considerate of others they have no real relationship with; and what do you do about those bullies?
In our large, impersonal society, courts and politicians make the laws: they paint the roads with double yellow lines and put up stop signs. At least indirectly. Then law enforcement personnel do just that -- enforce the laws. For the greater good.
Have you ever heard, or been told yourself, "Wait until your father gets home!"? For a child, the family law-enforcer tends to be the biggest and most unyielding person in the house. But for adults, who or what fills that role? To some, it is the Big Daddy above. He makes the rules, keeps an eye out for violators, and never forgets who has what coming to them. He's lawyer, sheriff, and judge rolled into one. For many people, a god continues to fill the role of the Big Daddy on behavior patrol. But he just watches, for now. And maybe sends the occasional natural disaster as a warning.
In contemporary society the role of gods has largely been replaced by the government. Some people don't like this. Nonetheless, the gods have been effectively relegated to supplemental enforcers. Mighty deities may additionally be the sole enforcers of the special rules of their people which are not covered by public laws. Such as honoring thy father and thy step-mother.
The Big-Daddy-type god is considered the final arbiter. You can cross the double lines he has drawn in the sand, but you won't get away with it. Sure, maybe you can for a few weeks or years or even decades, but you can't escape him. Changing counties, changing states, changing your identity -- none of this will allow you to evade responsibility for your deeds.
Many believers argue that without religion -- and its allegation of inescapable accountability and ultimate punishment and reward -- we lose our way. Our rules become fools gold, something to be embraced or dropped at will. But research of all types fails to support that assumption. With or without a god people behave as the mellow peacenik, sometimes, other times as the inebriated hooligan at a soccer match. Peel away the veneer of religion and what you'll find is a human being tossed and pulled by the forces of genes, family, peers, community, and culture.
That's the reality. The "personal" supernatural agents of religion are like tin badges. They are created by people, and it takes people to make them work.
Tags: atheism, Freethought Musings, religion
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