Belief kills and ...

Michael Abrahams, Online Columnist

Religion fascinates me. I will read and watch material on the subject and engage persons of faith on their beliefs in an attempt to understand the origins and logic, if any, of their points of view.

I was raised as a Christian and held on to that belief system for many years, before starting to ask some pertinent questions about matters that I not only did not understand, but also made no sense to me. I have now come to the conclusion that many, but certainly not all, persons of faith have been so brainwashed in their belief systems and by their religious leaders that they are no longer capable of thinking rationally for themselves or simply fail to do so.

Boko Haram and the Taliban and their followers are appropriate examples of this phenomenon. In 2005, after studying the Qu’ran, Mohammed Yusuf decided that Western-style education was wrong, and founded Jamaatu Ahlisunnah Lidawati wal Jihad (People Committed to the Propagation of the Prophet's Teachings and Jihad), better known as Boko Haram, which translates as ‘books are blasphemous’ or ‘Western education is forbidden’. Like the Taliban, this organisation has decided that education is evil, especially for girls, and that kidnapping, maiming and killing children is quite all right in the sight of Allah.

So the shooting of Malala Yousafzai in the head in Pakistan, the kidnapping of girls in Nigeria, and dousing of the faces of schoolgirls in Afghanistan with acid are, in the eyes of the perpetrators, ordained by the Creator. It is also believed by fundamentalists that if one is killed in the line of performing one's spiritual duty, a greater reward awaits in the afterlife. Some Islamists even believe that one of the rewards of martyrdom is the availability to the martyr of 72 virgins in heaven.

Ridiculous, isn't it? I know. Many Christians scoff at this, and will agree that taking innocent lives and inflicting pain on others is not right. In all fairness to Christians, they have, for the most part, put aside murdering others who are at odds with their faith. I guess they had enough with the Crusades, the inquisitions and burning witches at stakes and all, but Christendom, at least some branches of it, has still been taking lives, albeit in a less violent fashion.

According to the United Nations Population Fund, "comprehensive condom programming is a key institutional priority, as condoms are the only available and effective way to prevent HIV - and other sexually transmitted infections - among sexually active people".

However, when Popes and other members of the clergy in the Roman Catholic Church advise persons in HIV-ravaged countries, especially on the African continent, to avoid using condoms and other forms of artificial contraception, they put people at risk and no doubt contribute to morbidity and mortality from AIDS and pregnancy-related complications.

Ironically, Catholic Church-based organisations provide approximately a quarter of all HIV treatment, care and support throughout the world, which is to be commended. But as the saying goes, ‘Prevention is better than cure’. Unfortunately, we have not yet found a cure for AIDS, making preventive measures even more crucial.

Similarly, Jehovah's Witnesses who refuse to give permission for their children and other family members to receive blood and blood products have caused many deaths over the years. All this from scriptural interpretation.

I have tried reasoning with some of these folk, but to no avail. Some tell me that because of my background in science, I question things too much and that I should ‘just have faith and believe’. But why? If you believe in the existence of God and that He designed complex brains for us, why not use them to think for ourselves? Why take some fallible man's interpretation as 'gospel'?

Having faith and believing never helped the followers of Jim Jones in Guyana or David Koresh in Waco, Texas. Their followers perceived Jones and Koresh as great holy men capable of divine scriptural interpretation, only for the faithful to be poisoned, shot or incinerated.

Some beliefs are relatively harmless, such as Mormons believing that 'magic underwear' will protect them from evil, or some Roman Catholics believing in transubstantiation, the 'miracle' of a priest blessing wine and literally transforming it into Jesus' blood, or the insistence by some Christians that the Earth is only a few thousand years old despite overwhelming evidence that it has been around way longer than that. However, as the previously mentioned examples illustrate, religion is not always benign.

It would be nice if people would just keep their beliefs to themselves. Unfortunately, this is unlikely to ever happen, as some religions actively encourage 'spreading the word'. Christians are required to witness, and in Islam, backsliders are supposed to be punished, but some of these people just seem to be delusional to me. So, is there a thin line between religious zeal and mental instability, or is there no line at all?

Michael Abrahams is a gynaecologist and obstetrician, comedian and poet. Email feedback to columns@gleanerjm.com and michabe_1999@hotmail.com, or tweet @mikeyabrahams.