The Moral Insanity of Religion V

"The only thing necessary for the triumph [of evil] is for good men to do nothing."--Edmund Burke

One of the most insidious ways in which belief in god destroys the morality of the believer is that it teaches the believer to sit by passively when he or she observes injustice.  After all, this is what god does.  Horrific evil happens in the world and god, if he exists, apparently does nothing to stop it.  (This is known as theodicy:  the topic of attempting to reconcile the fact of evil with the alleged existence of god.)

Not only is the believer following god's example, the believer is taught to think that the matter is "in god's hands".  If god doesn't see fit to intervene, then why should the believer be so arrogant as to question his decision?

I have mentioned before the many ways in which religion is useful for controlling others by unscrupulous, manipulative types.  It allows them to convince believers that they should suffer injustice without complaint.  It allows them to hide in plain sight.  It allows them to use the believers as their personal lynch mob.

Those members of the congregation who are not entirely comfortable with being part of a lynch mob are able to quiet their consciences by telling themselves that "it's not up to them" to do something about injustice that god chooses to allow.

Previous related posts:

The Moral Insanity of Religion IV

The Moral Insanity of Religion III

The Moral Insanity of Religion II

The Moral Insanity of Religion