There is a giant purple monster standing in the middle of the Christian church, and no one seems to be willing or able to see it. Should the rare Christian notice it and try to  point it out, or ask "what's this giant purple monster doing here?" the others begin to get all agitated and upset and frantically deny that there are any monsters there. And they'll rigidly refuse to turn around to see if it's actually there or not. Should this rare Christian dare to ask again, he will be shouted at violently and called names like "heretic" and "antiChrist". It's a humorous image, really, like something from a Monty Python skit, but it's really sad, too. It's sad both for the Christians who expend so much time and energy insisting that the monster isn't there, and for the rare one who actually does see it, and is foolish enough to try and point it out.

One would like to think that people who hold to religious principals and beliefs might be a little more willing to look within themselves to see if these sorts of monsters are lurking there, and causing them to behave in ways that are not in keeping with their religious principals. But the sad fact is that the religions themselves are designed to ignore and deny the very flaws they aspire to overcome. And as a result, they create a giant blind spot where all sorts of monsters can hide, even in plain sight. And the spiritual goals the religions profess remain forever beyond their grasp because of this blind spot. Religious Christianity is certainly not alone in this systematic denial of it's own demons, most institutions and I suppose most individuals will tend to work harder at denying a flaw then at correcting it. But religious Christianity is the subject on hand at the moment.

So what is this giant purple monster? It's the demon of religious prejudice and elitism. It's the assumption that "our" ideas of God ARE God, and so by default anyone else's ideas of God must be fiction. It's the assumption that "we" are God's chosen ones, because "we" are the one's who know who God really is, and therefor anyone who is not one of "us" must be rejecting God. "We" are right, so "they" must not be. In fact, our righteousness depends on them being wrong.

Whenever people adopt this presumption of exclusive truth, they're looking down on everyone else as ignorant and dishonest. They may not realize it, but they are defining themselves as superior by defining others as inferior. Crediting God with their "election" does not excuse or justify this presumption. It's still their presumption. Nor does it mitigate the humiliating attitude it projects upon other people, and the harm done to them as a result. This presumption is insulting to other people, and naturally creates resentments that fuel animosity and only further deepen the division. And worse, to maintain this presumption of exclusive truth, the presumption of the other's ignorance and dishonesty must also be maintained. That means that to hold to a religion based on the exclusivity of God and truth is to live a life defaming and humiliating anyone who does not hold the same religion. The religious pretext itself, requires this. And because it requires this it renders itself unable to fulfill the altruistic goals it professes to pursue. It's an ideology designed to fail at it's own stated intent, as long as it refuses to let go of this need to be the exclusive "truth".

Some people do see this giant purple monster in the church, but claim that it can't be gotten rid of. They say that all ideologies have to proclaim themselves as "truth" to maintain their integrity as an ideology. After all, who would hold to a religious ideology that proposes it's own inaccuracy? But this is an argument based on imaginary extremes. In the real world, all ideologies are bound to be somewhat incorrect, and somewhat truthful at the same time. Ideologies exist in men's minds, and men are not omniscient or perfect. Neither, then, are their ideologies. Neither, then, can their religions be.

There is a whole litany of excuses used to deny the fallibility of man's religious ideologies, so that they can claim themselves to be the exclusive truth. Magically inerrant religious texts, the magical manipulation of divine spirits within the otherwise flawed men who proclaimed the religion's doctrines, divine visions and prophesies, direct interventions by God, are a few examples. But all these excuses are based on fantasies of divine intervention and superstitions and have no basis in actual fact. The harder one tries to point out the irrationality of these excuses the more insistent, bizarre, and cultish they become.

The giant purple monster will not be acknowledged. To do so would mean that "our" religion will become just a religion. To do so would mean we no longer get to claim we have the exclusive truth, and that others may see more of it than we do. To do so would mean that we would have to really listen to the religious views and experiences of others, and seek in them a truth that we are missing. To do so would mean that we can be wrong. We can be in error. We will have to continue seeking, and we will have to change ourselves as we learn along the way. It means that we will have to become just one man/woman among many, and that our views of God are also just our own. And our egos will not like this one little bit. It's so much easier to just believe in the fantasies of divine magic, and believe that we are the special chosen few who know what the truth is. That way we can rest easy in our good fortune and superiority, even if it is at the expense of others.

Peace,
Dave