By Hilary Franklin

“As the (atheist) physicist Steven Weinberg has famously put it, and as Drs. Dawkins and Dennett remind their readers, ‘good people tend to do good, evil people tend to do evil, but for a good person to do evil–that takes religion.’”–from the NY Times article “Books on Science: Faith, Reason, God and Other Imponderables,” 25 July 2006.

I did not read this article. A friend of mine who is Jewish told me about this quote, which she had read on another friend’s away message. I am Catholic, though I have questioned the Catholic Church since I was a young child, and questioned organized religion since I was a young adult. This does not mean that I am not interested in religion—far from it. I’m fascinated by religion. I took a course called “Comparative Religions” when I was in high school—it focused on the differences and similarities between the “Big Three” (Christianity, Judaism, and Islam). My mother is Catholic, my father Episcopalian. My father is the church-goer, my mother and I are not.

I would not call myself religious. My friends know that I don’t attend church or read the Bible. However, I believe strongly in faith, especially faith in oneself and the people around you. Many people will say that faith is believing in something that you don’t know for sure exists – and that’s true. I have faith that I will find a job. I have faith that my friends will be happy. And yes, I even have faith – no, hope – that someday the people who live in the Middle East will turn to their neighbors and see them as people, not as Jewish or Muslim.

While I believe strongly that faith is important, I think too many people place their “faith” in the idea of god(s) solving problems. I have encountered friends and strangers who have said they turn to god(s) to help them solve a problem. This is just my opinion: People should focus on solving problems themselves and seek guidance from those who are experienced, rather than hoping and waiting for a “higher power” to pave the road for them.

Reading the Torah, Qur’an (Koran) or Bible is good for moral fiber and learning lessons on how to treat oneself and one another; however, we must remember that the stories are just that — stories. Oral history happened for hundreds of years — nay, thousands, before those stories were finally put into print. (The printing press wasn’t developed until 1440.) If you’ve ever played the game “telephone” you know how it works. The spoken words change from the first person to the last. Jesus was born over a thousand years before the printing press was invented. Can you imagine how much those stories have been told and re-told over the course of a millennium before they were finally put into print? And then they had to be translated from Hebrew and Yiddish (and Arabic), and not always by trained scribes (linguists). (Read Misquoting Jesus for more about this.)

Speaking of historical texts: we know that Jesus did exist, but there are still questions about him as a religious leader. The movie “Dogma” basically satirizes religion. There’s a scene in the movie where Rufus (love that guy ) is talking about Jesus and the Bible – he points out that we first hear about Jesus as a baby being born in an inn stable in Bethlehem. Whoop-de-doo. But the next you read about him, he’s an adult. Where are the stories of his childhood and teenage years? (Don’t answer that–that’s a question posed for thinking, not for commenting.) Also, the first example of a killing in the name of religion is Jesus’s supposed crucifixion. That leads me to the following:

While I am not against the idea of believing in a god or gods, I feel oftentimes that organized religion is, at best, a support system; at worst, a travesty and an excuse for waging war or denouncing others simply because of individual and group beliefs.

I have always believed that people are inherently good, except when they believe so strongly in something that they will do whatever it takes to adhere to that belief. They shut their minds off to other possibilities, and may even wage war to promote their own ideals and mission. All we have to do is look at history to see that as truth. The crisis in Israel and Lebanon today is rooted in the differences between Arabs and Israelites – while the current war is “secular,” the root is religious in nature. Israel is surrounded on one side by the sea; and on other sides, bordered by Arab countries. It contains Jerusalem, Tel Aviv, Bethlehem – places that are known for religious events. As long as Arabs, Jews, and Christians focus on religious differences, how can we come together as people and be good?

Hilary Franklin is a native Texan who grew up in MoCo (Montgomery County). She has returned to her stomping grounds after a five-year absence, during which she obtained a B.A. in Public Policy Analysis from UNC-Chapel Hill and an M.A. in Teaching of ASL as a Foreign Language from Columbia University. She is also a certified instructor of Cued Speech.