A Challenge to the Churches

By Punkerslut

I offer a challenge to the churches… I challenge that they
release their mentality, that they must deal with matters wholly
supernatural, and that they offer knowledge with actual
relevance to the physical world. That I may go into a church
without hearing talk of how the gods see us, what we must do to
save our souls, or the thoughts which the immortals have at the
moment, to avoid hearing such manifestations of superstition, is
one of my challenges to the churches. That they may offer
guidance to people in matters of their lives and how they live,
instead of condemning and praising, instead of preachery and
oratory — I challenge that the churches serve the people in
ways that help the people. That they base their foundation in
offering moral support of the people, that they may live and
work in a way that benefits themselves and their community in
the greatest manner. To have services that conform to the needs
of the people, instead of trying to conform the people to some
divine mandate beyond the reach of any mortal; to hold the
belief that a person’s innate nature can never be their own
blame; to hold the belief that individuals must travel their own
path in life to achieve the happiness they desire — to
understand that a person is not just another two needs bent on a
pew, this is what I desire of the church.

I challenge that the churches offer sympathy and kindliness to
all people, whether they worships a different god, many gods, or
no god at all. Had I been given power to write the constitution
of the hearts of the clergy, I would have the first article
dictate that all men are their brothers, that there is no crime
that can be committed that would grant them a writ of cruelty to
the criminal, that they will close their doors to no man, deny
refuge to no soul, hold in contempt any spirit that reaches
towards the sanctuary of the inner heart, and the result of
inner peace. A man can believe in whatever he wishes, whatever
insane ideologies or obscure myths, and he may refer to my own
dedicated beliefs in the same manner: they will say it is
ridiculous to refrain from eating meat, they will claim it is an
absurdity to deny the existence of god, they will state that sex
outside of a committed relationship is outlandish. Their opinion
is their own, and they have a right to it. Whatever that opinion
is, it must be understand that this opinion is held by a person
— it is held by a conscious being, one that is not unknown to
the torments of misery, one that is not beyond the understanding
of happiness, one that knows and feels conflict and suffering,
joy and ecstacy. I have known many Christian men who have said
that if you take away the beliefs of a man, you have nothing
left! Such a creed is founded on the unconventional orthodoxy of
religion. I say this: that a person is a person, and no matter
what beliefs they have formed about the universe, that they
should form them by their own mind’s inquiry and investigation,
and that no matter what conclusions they come to, they are to be
regarded in a manner that takes into consideration that they are
still persons, capable of emotion, just as much as any person. I
would have this: that the churches accept and honor every man
and woman, regardless of their beliefs.

If a person were to sit in the pews of a church and listen to
the sermon, for every one hundred words spoken on religion and
matters of the unseen, they will hear one word on how to treat
their fellow men like their brothers. For every one thousand
times the preacher touches upon the topic of how we must respect
our father who resides in heaven, he will touch upon once the
obligation that we have to respect our brothers and sisters —
our family of humanity — who reside on this planet. There are
ten less times that a preacher will speak on behalf of those who
are mortal than those who are immortal, and one hundred fewer
times a preacher will claim our duty to the unseen than to the
living and breathing mass of creatures on this planet. I make
this challenge to the churches: that instead of being burdens on
the community, to become a benefit to their lives. Instead of
exerting their energy in such a directionless manner as to
demand prayer, do not demand anything; instead, only make pleas
with them that they are humane in all their dealings with their
fellow men, that they do not destroy the lives of those around
them, that to plant flowers of joy on this planet is the
greatest of duties. Churches, if you have one humane sentiment,
then express it with every manner you have at disposal! That is
my challenge to the churches: that they place more emphasis on
being humane than being religious.

In travelling the United States, my friends and I have seen
many glorious churches and temples, but we all confess that
there is nothing so enchanting to our soul than that of the
cathedral of nature. For every dollar the church puts towards
its architectural impressiveness, I challenge that they put ten
dollars to feeding the hungry and housing the homeless, that
their deeds should impress my heart rather than their buildings
sicken my mind. Instead of purchasing another stone, that the
height of the tallest church may be increased by just one foot,
I challenge the church and all the clergy, that the money goes
to buying ten meals, that the unfortunate, neglected, and
abandoned may have food for today. Without filling their pockets
with the coin of pew-fillers, I challenge the church to reach
out to every downtrodden individual, to every oppressed mass,
and give them the necessities, so that their existence is not
without aid. I challenge the church to do this: to treat the
world as its cathedral and spread the wealth, and to abandon its
current doctrine, that the world is its cemetery, where things
unwanted are to be placed. Before the sun rises and sets again,
over a million will still be yearning for the basic needs of
life, and over a million will be refused. Instead of preaching
on the goodness of god, I demand the churches to call upon the
goodness of man, and to show respect and charity to those who
have little to live for in this life. Give them not the Bible,
but give them food. Teach not of the divine, but teach with
actions. I challenge the churches to help end poverty instead of
expanding their cathedrals and temples.

The world is emerging from a time where societies have become
industrial, where a worker is regarded no more than the cogs in
the machine he runs, where living has been reduced to the
economy of space. For thousands of years, different forms of
tyrannies have slowly been overcome, different revolutions have
occured in the hearts and minds of men, and slowly as
Humanitarian ideals spread, we have struggled to reach the
shores of our lives. I challenge the churches this: that no
injustice will be overlooked, that there should be a light for
those who must presside in the dark, that cruelty and malice are
forever to be considered a weakness and not a strength, a vice
and not a virtue. I challenge the churches to aid the workers of
the world in their struggle to liberate themselves, to give
support to Animal Rights and Human Rights activists as they work
patiently for the conclusion of Democracy and liberty, to not
ask people to reform themselves but to ask them to take part in
the reform of society, and reform themselves only insomuch that
a better society may be the result of it. That is my challenge
to the churches, no matter what nation they hail from, or what
people attend it. Unless this challenge is met and bested, I
only remain at my conclusion: that a world without churches, is
a world with one more virtue.

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