Several years ago I got to travel to the Middle East and this trip included a stop in Jerusalem, birthplace of the three great monotheistic religions: Christianity, Judiasm, and Islam. (As a side note isn't it ironic that these movements, full of wars and bloodshed and hatred, all originated in the same place? The more cynical among us could point out that these people all come from the same ancestors, the same gene pool, so WTF, you know? Maybe everyone could just relax and get along.) I grew up in a Christian church and - as a fearful, anxious child - found the idea of something bigger than me comforting. As a child I was able to overlook all of the inconsistencies and hypocrisy which lurk in the weeds, but as I grew older and my cynicism flowered I drifted into self-sufficiency and addiction.
Anyway, we had a Jewish tour guide and a Palestinian driver. The irony of these two good men sharing a job and a friendship was not lost on me. The guide made a point of telling the group what was true, what was false, and what could not be verified one way or another. For instance, one enclosed building housed the rock upon which Jesus was crucified, allegedly. Our guide rolled his eyes. He knew a tourist trap when he saw one. Because of my reading and study and upbringing I was familiar with a lot of the places we visited. What struck me was how some spots I didn't think would strike me struck me almost dead and some spots imbued with great significance in Christian mythology struck me not at all. E.g., the ridiculous crucifixtion rock.
Some examples . . .
We stopped by the Jordan River where Jesus was reputedly baptized by John - wait for it - The Baptist. The tourist trap area had a number of outdoor pavilions set up so that groups could come and recreated the baptism ceremony. In one enclosure there was a group of very black, very ethnic looking pilgrims cooking food, singing, just generally whooping it up as their pastor baptized members. Being me I had to go over and talk to them and here's the thing: they were Muslims from Ethiopa who admired Jesus and thought, what the fuck, let's travel to the Jordan River and get baptized. It looked like a party. It was a party. And if these people had walked into any Christian church and asked to be baptized they would have been laughed out of countenance because there would be a long list of rules they'd have to adhere to. So they said: "Let's drive up there, cook some good food, hang around together outside, sing some, dance some, party down." THAT'S what I'm talking about.
We also traveled to the spot where Jesus spoke of The Beatitudes:
Blessed are the poor in spirit for theirs is the Kingdom of Heaven.
Blessed are the meek for they shall possess the land.
Blessed are they who mourn for they shall be comforted.
Blessed are those who hunger and thirst after justice for they shall have their fill.
Blessed are the merciful for they shall obtain mercy.
Blessed are the clean of heart for they shall see God.
Blessed are the peacemakers for they shall be called the Children of God.
Blessed are those who suffer persecution for justice sake for theirs is the Kingdom of Heaven.
I don't care what kind of spiritual life you have it's not possible to call bullshit on that stuff. That's beautiful stuff. And the site built to commemorate the sermon included a big, beautiful garden set on a hill overlooking the Sea of Gaililee far below. It was incredibly peaceful. I was almost moved to tears. Did Jesus preach right here, right on this spot? Probably not but who cares? If that was a big deal for me I would have missed the whole point which was that if I lost my wits because someone didn't use a turn signal in front of me or I couldn't be bothered to put my cell phone down and greet the young person making a cup of coffee for me then I was not on any kind of good spiritual path.
So far Muslims and Christians. The other site that blew my socks off was as Jewish a place as exists on earth: The Wailing Wall. This wall is the only surviving structure of the second temple built in Jerusalem, said temple having been destroyed and rebuilt so many times who knows what is original and what is not? This area has different sections for males and females and is reversed for the myth or belief or certainty that if you write down a prayer and place it into one of the ancient cracks or crevices in the wall that the prayer will be answered or heard or something like that. SuperK blew my socks off by putting on a head scarf and heading to the women's side of the site - the same socks that I had painstakingly put back on after having them blown off at the Jordan River which was the third time in one day they had been blown off because I didn't mention they were blown off for the second time in the Beatitudes Garden - holding a note to place into the Wall. Okay, if my religious skeptic of a wife can head in so can I. Almost immediately an Orthodox Jew asked if I was also Jewish myself (if so I needed to put on a yarmulke) so when I said no, he smiled and waved me in with a cheery "Enjoy your visit." I found myself standing in front of a century old wall, stuffed with thousands of prayers and requests. It was overwhelming to be in this sea of Jews - some of them praying and chanting - and pondering the mysteries of this ancient site.
So, because I was able to turn off the Cynicism Machine for a day I got to experience the beauty of three different religions instead of trying to expose the warts and flaws that exist in almost everything.
So there, Skeptics, from a once hardened Skeptic himself.
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