Interviewer: What is the fundamental message
of Alpha, Omega?
Stephens: It’s the same message that
counselors give to substance abusers. The
same message that therapists give to people
who struggle with depression or rage or
damaged self-esteem. And the same message
that emotionally healthy parents give to their
kids: “Be proud of yourself, just the way you
are! Live without crutches. You are strong
enough to stand on your own two feet.”
As I sorted through the teachings of my own
childhood, considering which were worth
keeping and which weren’t, it struck me that
there are religious paths that look exactly like
drug addiction. You see people who are
willing—even happy—to give up absolutely
anything for their religious convictions. They
will abstain from any number of physical
pleasures. They will give of their time, energy,
and money. They will desert friends or family
members who refuse to join them in their
pursuit of salvation. They will donate their last
dollar to their church. Sometimes, they commit
horrible crimes because “God told them to.”
Consider the drug addict. This person loses
everything—friends, family, possessions,
money, job, health, self-esteem—because they
are physically addicted to a chemical. The
third-party observer can look at the person
and say, “He made a bad choice in starting
down the path of drug addiction, but at this
point, the problem is chemical. It’s
physiological. He isn’t feeding a purely
emotional craving, he is feeding something
that has taken over his physical system.”
Compare this to the religious addict. Here, we
see someone who may bankrupt himself just
as badly as the drug addict—may believe that it’
s okay to behave in ways that do severe harm
to himself and those that he loves, or used to
love. He will not listen to those who try to get
him to see the dangers of his ways; he
distains their “lack of faith.” He “feels sorry”
for those who do not share in the bliss, and
the tumult, of his beliefs.
This person isn’t battling a medically
diagnosable condition. He’s taken on a
psychological addiction, one that gives him a
high in a way that nothing else can. And he
won’t let go of it no matter what. Try taking it
away—and watch out.
Religious addiction is not only rampant in our
culture, it is glorified. It is the heroin that
sends people running for their checkbooks
and credit cards so that the megachurch can
build its new million-dollar auditorium. It’s what
ignites the soul of a suicide-bomber who
“knows” that he will have eternal bliss in
Paradise.
Most of all, I wrote the book to highlight how
religious addiction strips the human being of
three abilities: the ability to think for himself,
to love himself exactly as he is (realizing that
there is no “higher power” than the connection
between living, breathing human beings), and
the ability to take full responsibility for his own
failures and his own achievements.
of Alpha, Omega?
Stephens: It’s the same message that
counselors give to substance abusers. The
same message that therapists give to people
who struggle with depression or rage or
damaged self-esteem. And the same message
that emotionally healthy parents give to their
kids: “Be proud of yourself, just the way you
are! Live without crutches. You are strong
enough to stand on your own two feet.”
As I sorted through the teachings of my own
childhood, considering which were worth
keeping and which weren’t, it struck me that
there are religious paths that look exactly like
drug addiction. You see people who are
willing—even happy—to give up absolutely
anything for their religious convictions. They
will abstain from any number of physical
pleasures. They will give of their time, energy,
and money. They will desert friends or family
members who refuse to join them in their
pursuit of salvation. They will donate their last
dollar to their church. Sometimes, they commit
horrible crimes because “God told them to.”
Consider the drug addict. This person loses
everything—friends, family, possessions,
money, job, health, self-esteem—because they
are physically addicted to a chemical. The
third-party observer can look at the person
and say, “He made a bad choice in starting
down the path of drug addiction, but at this
point, the problem is chemical. It’s
physiological. He isn’t feeding a purely
emotional craving, he is feeding something
that has taken over his physical system.”
Compare this to the religious addict. Here, we
see someone who may bankrupt himself just
as badly as the drug addict—may believe that it’
s okay to behave in ways that do severe harm
to himself and those that he loves, or used to
love. He will not listen to those who try to get
him to see the dangers of his ways; he
distains their “lack of faith.” He “feels sorry”
for those who do not share in the bliss, and
the tumult, of his beliefs.
This person isn’t battling a medically
diagnosable condition. He’s taken on a
psychological addiction, one that gives him a
high in a way that nothing else can. And he
won’t let go of it no matter what. Try taking it
away—and watch out.
Religious addiction is not only rampant in our
culture, it is glorified. It is the heroin that
sends people running for their checkbooks
and credit cards so that the megachurch can
build its new million-dollar auditorium. It’s what
ignites the soul of a suicide-bomber who
“knows” that he will have eternal bliss in
Paradise.
Most of all, I wrote the book to highlight how
religious addiction strips the human being of
three abilities: the ability to think for himself,
to love himself exactly as he is (realizing that
there is no “higher power” than the connection
between living, breathing human beings), and
the ability to take full responsibility for his own
failures and his own achievements.
| INTERVIEW with Lori Stephens, Author of Alpha, Omega |
| Copyright (C) 2008 Big Bang Books - All Rights Reserved |
The Official Web Site of Alpha, Omega
Religion is not about individuality; it is about
conformity. It’s about fitting in with the gang,
club, society, culture, clique (pick your term).
It’s about a type of social glue that bonds
people of a similar faith (value system or mass
delusion, pick your definition). Religion is not
for those who swim against the tide, it’s for
those who run with the pack. And in this realm
of conformity—where you can find an almost
militaristic mirroring of those in charge—
questioning isn’t allowed. Confrontation,
objection, deliberation, conjecture, positing a
different hypothesis? These are the engines
that drive the human race forward, that fuel
our evolution. They are NOT the behaviors
encouraged by religion.
Religion also strips the individual of full
appreciation of himself AS a human being and
as a necessary component of the cosmic
ecosystem. It sets up a hierarchy within which
humans are lesser creatures and invisible
friends are all-powerful. A person can
successfully convince himself that all the
credit for his extraordinary achievement must
go to “God”—but in the moment of handing off
that recognition, he loses both the elements
that create healthy ego and the opportunity to
act as a role model for others. By refuting our
own accomplishments, devaluing ourselves,
we rob ourselves of otherwise shining
moments that could have inspired other to
greatness.
The flip side of lack of self-appreciation is
lack of responsibility. Putting all the events of
the future “into God’s hands” is the most
convenient of excuses for an inability to take
risk. It is the easy out for rationalizing a
terrible deed or act of neglect—such as
parents who refuse to give their dying child
medical treatment and instead pray for a
miraculous recovery.
When there is no one else to credit for your
achievements, and no one to blame for your
misdeeds—then you are living in authentic
responsibility. You are able to say “I am
responsible and no one else.” No imaginary
friend pushed you to run harder or to pull the
trigger—YOU did it. By claiming credit or
admitting culpability, you are living in
authentic responsibility and, in that, are a
credit to the human race.
Religion is a type of sugary junk food for the
soul. It feels good to consume but provides no
real nutrition. Unchecked, it causes diabetes
of the soul.
So, by writing Alpha, Omega, I want to raise
cultural consciousness about the junk food—
the sugar, the alcohol, the heroin, the crack—
with which people are killing their capacity for
authentic responsibility. The drug of religion
can give a great high, no doubt about that,
but it slowly destroys the very core of the
human psyche.
Pick up any newspaper that’s been published
in the last ten years, and you will find a story
on people, somewhere in the world, fighting,
killing, and murdering in the name of their
phantasmal parent/authority figure. To fight,
even go to war, over fundamental resources
necessary for survival, such as water and
food? Or to protect yourself or your child from
physical harm? There’s an acceptable level of
logic in that. But to kill because your
mythological deity decrees that you do so?
This isn’t just ineffable folly, it’s insanity.
I hope that in my lifetime I see glimmers of
social change—people walking away from the
religious addiction that has consumed their
minds—and I’ll be actually doing something
toward that end, not just sitting around waiting
for a Big Invisible Friend to act as deus ex
machina.
conformity. It’s about fitting in with the gang,
club, society, culture, clique (pick your term).
It’s about a type of social glue that bonds
people of a similar faith (value system or mass
delusion, pick your definition). Religion is not
for those who swim against the tide, it’s for
those who run with the pack. And in this realm
of conformity—where you can find an almost
militaristic mirroring of those in charge—
questioning isn’t allowed. Confrontation,
objection, deliberation, conjecture, positing a
different hypothesis? These are the engines
that drive the human race forward, that fuel
our evolution. They are NOT the behaviors
encouraged by religion.
Religion also strips the individual of full
appreciation of himself AS a human being and
as a necessary component of the cosmic
ecosystem. It sets up a hierarchy within which
humans are lesser creatures and invisible
friends are all-powerful. A person can
successfully convince himself that all the
credit for his extraordinary achievement must
go to “God”—but in the moment of handing off
that recognition, he loses both the elements
that create healthy ego and the opportunity to
act as a role model for others. By refuting our
own accomplishments, devaluing ourselves,
we rob ourselves of otherwise shining
moments that could have inspired other to
greatness.
The flip side of lack of self-appreciation is
lack of responsibility. Putting all the events of
the future “into God’s hands” is the most
convenient of excuses for an inability to take
risk. It is the easy out for rationalizing a
terrible deed or act of neglect—such as
parents who refuse to give their dying child
medical treatment and instead pray for a
miraculous recovery.
When there is no one else to credit for your
achievements, and no one to blame for your
misdeeds—then you are living in authentic
responsibility. You are able to say “I am
responsible and no one else.” No imaginary
friend pushed you to run harder or to pull the
trigger—YOU did it. By claiming credit or
admitting culpability, you are living in
authentic responsibility and, in that, are a
credit to the human race.
Religion is a type of sugary junk food for the
soul. It feels good to consume but provides no
real nutrition. Unchecked, it causes diabetes
of the soul.
So, by writing Alpha, Omega, I want to raise
cultural consciousness about the junk food—
the sugar, the alcohol, the heroin, the crack—
with which people are killing their capacity for
authentic responsibility. The drug of religion
can give a great high, no doubt about that,
but it slowly destroys the very core of the
human psyche.
Pick up any newspaper that’s been published
in the last ten years, and you will find a story
on people, somewhere in the world, fighting,
killing, and murdering in the name of their
phantasmal parent/authority figure. To fight,
even go to war, over fundamental resources
necessary for survival, such as water and
food? Or to protect yourself or your child from
physical harm? There’s an acceptable level of
logic in that. But to kill because your
mythological deity decrees that you do so?
This isn’t just ineffable folly, it’s insanity.
I hope that in my lifetime I see glimmers of
social change—people walking away from the
religious addiction that has consumed their
minds—and I’ll be actually doing something
toward that end, not just sitting around waiting
for a Big Invisible Friend to act as deus ex
machina.