Tomichan Matheikal's blog

Book Religious fundamentalism has existed for centuries.   For any secular person who seeks to be guided by reason rather than myth and scriptures, the history of religious fundamentalism will tower like a daunting vampire that has sucked too much human blood already. Why does so much violence continue to plague the human civilisation in spite of the tremendous progress we have made in science and technology which are antithetical to religion?   What prompts our scientists to offer coconuts or milk to granite idols for the successful take-off of a scientific marvel like a satellite launcher?   Why does religion, especially the fundamentalist version of it, linger on persistently and stubbornly when it has wreaked more havoc than done anything substantially good for mankind? Karen Armstrong’s book, The Battle for God , answers these questions. Originally published in 2000, the book is subtitled Fundamentalism in Judaism, Christianity and Islam and traces the history

I am mad because I see what you don’t and I also see what you do. Do you hear what the deep midnight declares? The night is deep, deeper than day is ever aware, deep is its woe, and its joy, deeper yet than agony. But all joy wants eternity, wants deep, deep eternity. Eternity is as transparent as the darkest midnight to me, insane me. Dark me, Transparent me. You are destined to traverse between the poles of dark and light. To you dark is dark and light is light and in the twilight between you discover your idols, fabricate your gods, fornicate with scriptures, slander your neighbour, plunder the thunder, covet your neighbour’s spouse, castrate the mountains, ravage the rivers, darken the light, and light up the dark. Because  you are sane, I am insane. PS. Inspired by Nietzsche’s Zarathustra

The iciest judge whom I have across up to now is the biblical god.   On the day of the final judgment, according to the Bible, god will stand in all his glory before the entire nations and divide the countless souls into good and bad.   As simple as that.   Those on his right are good and the others “cursed.” The next harshest judges I have come across are in real life and are the priests of the biblical god.   They condemn people every moment, in the church homilies, retreat sermons, biblical conventions and the simple conversations you may have with them on the roadside.   There’s a whole list of sins, mortal and venial, to guide their judgment, in addition to whatever the men of god may decide to be right and wrong according to the expediency of the situation. And yet Jesus was a very compassionate man.   He asked his followers never to judge others.   He wanted his followers to be compassionate so much so that they should offer the other cheek when one is slapped.