Raising The Level of Religious Literacy
  by William Edelen

Walter Annenberg became my patron in 1990. He said he wanted me to be free to write and lecture full time, saying that "I consider your newspaper columns monumental in raising the level of religious literacy." He went on to add that this reduces the level of bigotry, superstition, and ignorance.

His use of that phrase was very interesting to me, because in my last class with my university students every semester, I would always ask them: "What part of this semester made the most significant contribution in raising your level of religious literacy?"

Without exception, there was always one included: the section that explained that all the rituals and beliefs of present day Christianity and Judaism had their origin in the primitive religions of magic, superstition, ignorance and witchcraft. Some examples:

1. RITUALISTIC CANNIBALISM: the sacred meal. Eating the flesh and drinking the blood of divinity. The Protestant Communion and Roman Catholic Mass are obviously a continuation of this ritual with the symbolic cannibalism of eating the body of Jesus and drinking of his blood. Men have believed that they acquired the powers of whatever organism they consumed. They came naturally to the conception of eating the god. Sir James Fraser in "The Golden Bough" wrote, "by eating the body of the god, he shares in the god's attributes and powers."

2. TALKING TO THE SUPERNATURAL: the belief that a human being can actually communicate with the gods, goddesses, spirits. From the origin, thousands of years ago, under the full moon of an ice age, to today's "prayer" meetings and Presidential "prayer" breakfasts, and to ministerial "invocations."

3. REPRESENTATIVES OF DIVINITY: the belief that special human beings are closer to the gods than the common person and that they are heard by the gods. From the dark leaf falls of medicine men and shamans, to today's ministers, priests and rabbis.

4. SYMPATHETIC MAGIC: "imitative magic" such as voodoo dolls. Includes the sacrifice of human beings or animals, sacrificed on behalf of a community, "saving" the community itself. If you have heard the phrase "Jesus died for your sins," and if you believe it, you are buried in primitive imitative magic and superstition.

5. TABOOS: "thou shalt nots" -- cultic taboos, such as the "ten commandments," have been everywhere in primitive and superstitious religions -- things you cannot "touch," cannot "eat," cannot "do," cannot "say." The Hebrew people were overwhelmed with 613 laws of things they could not do, as were -- and are -- Christians, along with Moslems, the people of the "book," (the bible).

Everything we believe today and act out in ritual, has its origin in the magic, witchcraft and superstitions of primitive religions.

Where did this great drama began to unfold? In some far away swamp, some cloudburst, some steaming pool, some electrical storm, gave forth life. Life that began to evolve to something that slunk through the glitter of a glacial night...that roamed under the full moons of many ice ages...to something that started to ask questions about storms and earthquakes...and births and deaths. And in the head of this earth-bound creature, the gods were born…created in man's image...and their primitive concepts continue on into today's multi-billion dollar cathedrals.

"Raising the level of religious literacy." Ah...it is no easy task in today's climate of religious ignorance.

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