hooptyscoop

A hooptyscoop is a society that survives on rules. Codes of conduct by which we all must live. In Western society, these codes are based almost entirely in Judaeo-Christian morality. In this kind of society, murderers and sex offenders - those who ignore these codes - are, along with their acts, considered `evil' because they exist outside of conventional religion moral/legal structures. One of the most intriguing arguments raised in the debate between religion and atheism, over the existence (or not) of `the one, the only, the indivisible' mono-deity, is the notion that murderers and sex offenders are not simply driven by impulses brought on by `evil' (an obscenely simplistic analysis) but are in fact flawed human individuals, in desperate need of much more than simply an abstract concept of an Almighty to guide and protect them... or for that matter, an `evil one' or `demon' to justify their excesses.

It's always worth pointing out afresh just how much our lives are influenced by indoctrinated religious prejudices. One of the advantages of rational atheism is the ability to look beyond these prejudices and try to find reasonable, level-headed and truly egalitarian ways in which to address those aspects of our society deemed `less enlightened'. The disadvantage is that it presents a serious challenge to the faith-based legal/moral standards and, as a result, sets itself up for considerable antagonism, if not outright fascism.

Man, at heart, is a fundamental, primal creature - capable of immense intellectual and spiritual capacities to be sure, but, ultimately, a creature that needs to fuck and to kill in order to survive.

So, why then do religious authorities instil within the impressionable of our society the ultimately fascist idea that we must either annihilate or ignore those within our society who embrace their primal desires? Power perhaps? An assumed sense of responsibility over those they consider somehow helpless and in need of guidance as though we can't assess and conclude on our own?

Who knows? Surely, embracing our primal desires serves to complete us all as human beings. After all, aren't we supposed to embrace all aspects of ourselves in order to become complete?

The trouble is, if you're a paedophile that doesn't apply.

Organised religions suggest that enlightenment must be mutually exclusive to baseness. You can only be higher if you completely reject the lower. You're either Tamino or Papageno Apparently, you can't be both at once. It seems they've forgotten the lotus. Or maybe they simply never learnt that the lotus not only grows in mud, but actually needs the mud to survive, and would die if placed in a more rarefied atmosphere.