When
Religion Becomes Evil
II. Blind Obedience
Craig
Anderson
Mark 4:1-9
March
16, 2003
To
continue our Lenten series of sermons based on Charles Kimball’s book When
Religion Becomes Evil, I probably should have prepared a mix and match quiz
to hand out at this juncture. I
didn’t... but you’re not off the hook.
Let me throw out some items for you to match up: religious movements, charismatic leaders and
body counts, (yes, body counts!).
Aum Shinrikyo
Heaven’s Gate
People’s Temple
Branch Davidians
Asahara Shoko
Marshall Applewhite
Jim Jones
David Koresh
18 deaths, 5500 injured
39 deaths
914 deaths
75 deaths inspired 168 more
Today we are talking about blind obedience in
religion, which sometimes spirals into murder, suicide and mayhem. Asahara’s followers in the Aum Shinrikyo
cult in Japan used sarin gas in Tokyo’s subways. Jim Jones preferred Kool-Aid in the jungle. Marshall Applewhite timed his group’s
departure to coincide with the arrival of the Hale-Bopp comet. And David Koresh unleashed a cycle of events
which lead to a stand-off with the government, conflagration; and Timothy’s
McVeigh’s terrorist attack exactly two years later.
Do note the title of this series. It is not, “When Religion Becomes Saccharine
Sweet... but Evil. And we’re
into the swamp now, big time!
Oddly enough however, the topic of Blind Obedience
and the characteristics of religious communities which lead to such tragic
outcomes, is not a topic confined to evil excesses. Indeed today, we will be describing characteristics of religious
communities which are widely thought to be successful movements in our
time. Think of this topic as a matter of
degrees; or as a question of tipping points: when certain sought-after
behaviors either subtly or suddenly go off a cliff with disastrous
results. More on that in a minute. First, what are the characteristics of
religious communities which demand blind obedience?
Back in the early 80's when the Hare Krishna’s were a
presence in airports, and the Moonies worked street corners, we heard a lot
about religious sects and cults. One of
the things you will remember, rightly, is that virtually every major religious
movement began as a small group of dedicated believers. Think of the disciples; think of the
Pilgrims; think of the people who formed a Sunday school across Water Street a
century ago on the second floor of a school house. Not every sect or cult is evil.
There are more examples of healthy ones than toxic ones by far. But when they go bad, they are awful.
Drawing on Kimball, the characteristics of
destructive groups include: “an impulse to withdraw from society;” “charismatic
leadership;” calls for “unwavering commitment” and “unquestioning devotion;”
“dire apocalyptic doctrines;” techniques of physical and psychological coercion
to bind wavering believers in community; and often, finally, “sexual licence for the leader.” Some of the groups I mentioned earlier,
started out positively with high ideals and noble aspirations. Kimball notes that Jim Jones “preached a
social gospel of human freedom, equality, and love.” But he “also preached constantly about an impending nuclear conflagration
that would end the world, and conducted faith healing services in which people
with ailments from cancer to arthritis were allegedly cured.”
“In the beginning,” says Kimball, “Asahara’s
teachings spoke to both the hearts and minds of his idealistic young
followers. Less than a decade later,
however, Asahara demanded unquestioning devotion to his destructive and
apocalyptic vision. Those who had
renounced society and were living in his communities no longer needed to think
for themselves. Master Asahara’s views
were all that mattered.”
The comment I wrote in the margin of my book, when
Kimball observed that the “Veneration of a religious leader becomes dangerous
when that leader has unrestricted power and total control,” is “DUH!” Unthinking, blind obedience to abusive,
authoritarian leaders certainly has potential for evil in it.
If we break down the topic “Blind Obedience” into its
two parts, the dangers become more clear.
Obedience in and of itself is not destructive. But the immediate questions to ask are: to whom; under what
circumstances; who sets the rules; is it possible to appeal; and do we have any
say in these matters? Obedience can
pretty quickly devolve into matters of power, control, and coercion. Examples are rife in religious movements
which turn evil, of physical constraints, psychological manipulation, and even
murder to keep disciples in line. I
could have read the story of Ananias and Sapphira from the book of Acts to curl
your hair, but decided we’re anxious enough already these days. The Bible has its share of “texts of
terror.” We didn’t have to wait for
Jonestown for an illustration.
Add blind to obedience: add not thinking to the abuse of power, and the
possibilities for evil increase dramatically.
Asahara’s disciples, we have noted, “no longer needed to think for
themselves.” When someone else does our
thinking for us; when we follow without question; believe without debate; and
act without examining consequences, the swamp gets deeper. Kimball observes that,
This is a pivotal point at which religion often
becomes evil. Authentic religion
engages the intellect as people wrestle with the mystery of existence and the
challenges of living in an imperfect world.
Conversely, blind obedience is a sure sign of corrupt religion. Beware of any religious movement that seeks
to limit the intellectual freedom and individual integrity of its
adherents. When individual believers
abdicate personal responsibility and yield to the authority of a charismatic
leader or become enslaved to particular ideas or teachings, religion can easily
become the framework for violence and destruction.
To keep his focus on what he knows, which is
comparative religion and theology, Kimball avoids discussing group dynamics and
mob psychology. This omission is a
shortcoming. Somewhere in two hundred
pages, Kimball might have discussed lemming-like behavior, as successive religious
groups jump off cliffs. Fortunately we
have yesterday’s newspaper stories about Elizabeth Smart in Utah to fill the
gaps. Combine fear, abuse, being cut
off from one’s family and friends, with a delusional, charismatic person, upon
whose mercy one’s existence depends, and what happens to a person’s psyche can
be dramatic. A child psychologist said,
In such intense situations, particularly those
involving extreme fear, you go through a transformation. You’re no longer the same person.
Your personality changes. The person who has captured you has literally broken you down and
reconstructed you. You don’t even think
of running away at this point. The
abuser takes total control and can manipulate what you think and feel.
Beyond individual personality changes, throw in the
behavior of mobs, as witnessed apparently in a current movie about what,
stock-brokers in New York(?!), and the mix is potent.
But how do we get from the dangers of blind obedience
to successful religious movements across our land? Well, as I say, it was curious to study the characteristics of
destructive groups and be reminded about successful contemporary churches. Kimball alludes to the phenomenon of the
mega-churches which have sprung up across the religious landscape: churches with 5, 10, and 15 thousand
members; churches with campuses like those of a college. These institutions are often founded on the
premise that society is so corrupt, that family-values have eroded to such a
degree, that the only safe alternative is to surround ones’ self with other
like-minded, Bible-believing people.
Successful churches, argues one prominent consultant are churches which
elicit high degrees of commitment from their people: regular and frequent
participation in worship; regimens of Bible study in small groups;
authoritative preaching and teaching, and of course to keep the whole thing
going, tithing: 10% off the top, not the one and half percent of net we UCC’ers
are known for. For good measure many of
these churches operate schools and Christian academies and offer programs for
everyone from cradle to grave. My
favorite story is about a huge complex in Houston which not only has several
bowling alleys and multiple gyms, but also a restaurant overlooking it all from
the mezzanine level, called the “Garden of Eatin.”
In a very real and important sense these mega-churches
demonstrate that religious movements can remain faithful and healthy while
embracing characteristics similar to destructive groups which have tipped over
the edge into moral oblivion. I
acknowledge this reality, and would not lump all such pull-away-from-the-world,
follow the charismatic leader kinds of sectarian organizations together. I’d guess that obedience in the healthy
religious movements differs most in not being blind. But it does seem to me that there are alternatives to calls for
obedience and high degrees of commitment.
Kimball points to this alternate path, by calling attention to the
teaching styles of Jesus, Buddha, Moses and Mohammed. Speaking first of Jesus, Kimball says,
It is telling that he often taught in parables,
enigmatic stories that illuminated one or more points. He was a rabbi, a teacher, not a dictator
who demanded blind obedience. Jesus
welcomed honest questions. So, too, did
the Buddha, who also frequently used parables in his discourse with
followers. In fact, the Buddha’s
primary mode of teaching was in response to questions. We also know that Muhammad welcomed inquiry
on all manner of things. Jews have a
long tradition of questioning the most fundamental teachings or even debating
with God.
What strikes me about these teaching styles is how
open they are, how non-coercive, how much they encourage people to think for
themselves, and to examine the motives behind their actions. Rather than exercising power over people to
get them to conform to an external program, a subtle change is made, so that
instead of power-over, this becomes a model of sharing power with. Instead of a top-down, “we know what’s best
for you; commit yourself to our program,” there is rather an egalitarian,
empowering dynamic implicit in this style of teaching. Instead of, “we have the answer,” there is a more open-ended exploring of the
many paths where our lives might lead.
In this contrasting style more than likely, there is no one answer, but
a host of possibilities we can pull and tug over, taking away our own insights
and understandings.
Far from the formulas of the guru, or the life style
implicit in a 24/7, cradle to grave closed community: teaching in parables and exploring life’s persistent questions
like Guy Noir, have their own appeal.
To illustrate this respectful, empowering style, Kimball recites a story
about Buddha on his death bed. In
essence, at the end, Buddha instructed his followers not to be followers:
Do not accept what you hear by report, do not accept
tradition, do not accept a statement because it is found in our books, nor
because it is in accord with your belief, nor because it is the saying of your
teacher.... Be ye lamps unto
yourselves....
That advice leads to some chaos. Instead of a disciplined army of God
marching as to war; the dynamic of this looks more like herding cats. Instead of exclusive communities of the
highly-committed, you might end up with an inclusive community of doubters,
pilgrims and seekers. I’d rather take
my chances with the latter. In fact we
have cast our lots with the latter. We
might look more successful if our answers were more definitive. Decision making would be less cumbersome, if
you would just let me decide. But I’m
guessing we’re here because none of us has ever done very well with calls to
blind obedience. It’s a risk in another
direction, but Buddha provides a good corrective: “Be ye lamps unto
yourselves.”
This Lenten sermon series relies on:
Charles Kimball, When Religion Becomes Evil,
Harper Collins Publishers, Inc. New
York, 2002.
“Charles Kimball is a professor of religion and chair
of the department of religion at Wake Forest University. An ordained Baptist minister who received
his Th.D from Harvard University in comparative religion with specialization in
Islamic studies, Dr. Kimball is the author of three books about religion in the
Middle East.” ...from
the book jacket
Would you like to raise a question or make a comment (even a provocative one)? If so, e-mail Craig Anderson at craig@brooksidechurch.org