Create Your Own Religion (39 page)

197
. Sura 4:98

198
. Sura 4:15

199
. Sura 37:22–23

200
. Sura 4:34

201
. To those who argued that widows may starve without a provider if they were not allowed to remarry, the neo-Confucian Ch'eng I responded by saying “. . . to starve to death is a very small matter. To lose one's integrity, however, is a very serious matter” (Sharma,
Women in World Religions
, 155–6).

202
. As one Buddhist wrote, “Woman is not worthy even of being forgotten” [Jon Covell and Yamada Sobin,
Zen at Daitoku-Ji
(Tokyo: Kodansha International Ltd., 1974), 185].

203
. Zen master Dogen is an example of this more progressive brand of Buddhism, since he argued that any man who couldn't accept a woman as his teacher had not really understood much about Buddhism (see Sharma,
Women in World Religions
, 126).

204
. The misogynist Buddhist team attributes this highly questionable sentence to Buddha, “The one thing that enslaves a man above all else is a woman . . . Stay away from them at all costs” (Stevens,
Lust for Enlightenment
, 23).

205
. It is not a coincidence that Elizabeth Stanton, one of the early leaders of the women's rights movement in the 1800s, identified organized religion as one of the main obstacles to change (Jacoby,
Freethinkers
).

206
. For example, the 17th Karmapa, one of the leading figures of Tibetan Buddhism, argues that those Buddhists who promoted patriarchy over the centuries misunderstood Buddha's teachings. Whereas many Buddhists don't like to discuss this dark stain on their historical record, the 17th Karmapa is very outspoken about the need to eliminate patriarchy from Asian culture. See an interview with him in the January 2010 issue of
Shambala Sun
.

Another famous example is offered by the Indian reformer Gandhi, who insisted on including women's rights as part of the Indian constitution (Sharma,
Women in World Religions
, 95).

207
. I am always amazed by ultraconservative women attacking the liberal politics and religious interpretations that are responsible for giving them rights in the first place. The Sarah Palins of the world, in fact, would never have had the opportunities they enjoy if not for those very ideologies that they despise.

208
. Consider a resolution adopted in 1984 by the Southern Baptist Convention, in which they reasserted their belief in female submission to male authority (Phillips,
American Theocracy
, 241).

209
. John Micklethwait and Adrian Wooldridge,
The Right Nation: Conservative Power in America
(New York: Penguin, 2004), 122.

210
. Kimball,
When Religion Becomes Evil
, 219.

211
. The title of this section and much of its vision owes inspiration to a book written by my father. If you can read Italian, check it out. Franco Bolelli,
Con Il Cuore e Con Le Palle
(Garzanti Libri: Milano, 2005).

212
. Examples of this neo-patriarchy can be seen everywhere. The worldview advocated by evangelical leaders like Tim LaHaye and James Dobson, or organizations like Promise Keepers, are perfect examples.

213
. For anyone who may be wondering, the lady was Sharon Wikel, an 8th degree black belt in Tsoi Li Ho Fut Hung (a.k.a. San Soo).

214
. Deuteronomy 26:10, Leviticus 19:910

215
. Matthew 6:24

216
. Matthew 6:19–21

217
. Luke 6:24

218
. 1 Timothy 6:7–10

219
. Matthew 19:23–24

220
. Matthew 6:24–34 and Luke 12: 24–27

221
. Lao Tzu,
The Sayings of Lao Tzu
, trans. Lin Yutang, 227.

222
. Ibid., 176.

223
. Ibid., poems 53 and 75.

224
. Ibid., 262.

225
. Stevens,
Three Zen Masters
, 120.

226
. Paul Reps and Nyogen Senzaki,
Zen Flesh, Zen Bones: A Collection of Zen and Pre-Zen Writings
(Boston: Tuttle Publishing, 1998 [1957]), 27.

227
. Guy Davenport, trans.,
Herakleitos & Diogenes
(Bolinas, CA: Grey Fox Press, 1976), fragment 97 of Diogenes.

228
. Philip Wheelwright, trans.,
Heraclitus
(Oxford, UK: Oxford University Press, 1999 [1959]), fragment 96.

229
. Thoreau,
Walden
, 6, 10.

230
. As the missionaries preached to the Lakota Indians, “Believe that property and wealth are signs of divine approval.” [Richard Erdoes and Mary Crow Dog,
Lakota Woman
(New York: Harper Perennial, 1991), 31].

231
. David Stannard,
American Holocaust
(New York: Oxford University Press, 1992), 233.

232
. Hedges,
American Fascists
, 166

233
. McGirr,
Suburban Warriors
, 106.

234
. Weyler,
Blood of the Land
, 64.

235
. Loftin,
The Big Picture
, 247.

236
. See Phillips'
American Theocracy
for a good exploration of this topic.

237
. In “Einstein's Letter: God and Superstition—What He Wrote,”
The Guardian
, May 12, 2008. Translated from the German by Joan Stambaugh.

238
. Matthew 10:5–6

239
. Matthew 15:22–28

240
. Kirsch,
God Against the Gods
.

241
. Romans 13:1–4

242
. Kirsch,
God Against the Gods
, 172.

243
. Charles T. Wood,
Joan of Arc and Richard III: Sex, Saints, and Government in the Middle Ages
(Oxford: Oxford University Press, 1991), 146.

244
. Kirsch,
God Against the Gods
, 282.

245
. Lewis Mumford,
The Culture of Cities
(Mariner Books, 1970 [1938]), 273.

246
. On the concept of a nation Lewis Mumford writes, “a term inherently so vague and so contradictory that it must always be taken in a mystic sense, as meaning whatever the ruling classes hold it convenient to mean at the moment” (Mumford,
The Culture of Cities
, 349). Similarly, historian Howard Zinn writes, “Nations are not communities and never have been” [Howard Zinn,
A People's History of the United States: 1492–Present
(New York: Harper Perennial, 2003), 10]. And in a beautiful quote (that, however, I'm beginning to hate since I can't find the source despite much searching . . . ) George Bernard Shaw had this to say, “Patriotism is your conviction that this country is superior to all others because you were born in it.”

247
. Just to give you an idea of how wild this man was, when Alexander the Great, impressed by the philosopher's reputation, accosted Diogenes while he was sunbathing and offered to give him anything he wished, Diogenes's only request was for Alexander to move out of the way so that his shadow would stop blocking the sun. [Luis E. Navia,
Diogenes the Cynic: The War Against the World
(New York: Humanity Books, 2005)].

248
. Jacoby,
Freethinkers
.

249
. Armstrong,
A History of God
, 277.

250
. Ecclesiastes 8:15

251
. Ecclesiastes 7:3-4

252
. Nietzsche,
Thus Spoke Zarathustra
, 210.

253
. Even though she died in 2011, this entire paragraph is in the present tense because I can't quite bring myself to writing about my wife using the past tense.

254
. Nietzsche, trans. Kaufmann,
Basic Writings of Nietzsche
, 714.

255
. Tom Robbins,
Wild Ducks Flying Backwards
(New York: Bantam, 2006), 184.

256
. Matthiessen,
The Snow Leopard
, 35.

257
. Stevens,
Three Zen Masters
, 33–34.

258
. Tom Robbins,
Wild Ducks Flying Backwards
, 186.

259
. Tom Robbins,
Fierce Invalids Home from Hot Climates
, 44.

260
. Joe Starita,
The Dull Knifes of Pine Ridge: A Lakota Odyssey
(Berkley Books, 1996), 107.

261
. Linda Richards,
January Magazine
Interview of Tom Robbins (June, 2000),
januarymagazine.com/profiles/robbins.html
.

262
. Nietzsche,
Thus Spoke Zarathustra
, 40–41.

263
. Henry David Thoreau,
Uncommon Learning: Thoreau on Education
(New York: Mariner Books, 1999 [1840]), 53.

264
. Black Elk says, “people shall be made to feel jolly and happy first, so that it may be easier for the power to come to them” [John Neihardt,
Black Elk Speaks: Being the Life Story of a Holy Man of the Oglala Sioux
(Lincoln, NE: University of Nebraska Press, 1979 [1932]). 188]. Similarly, Hakuin insisted that laughter was the key to Zen. In his mind, the deeper one's enlightenment is, the deeper the laughter (Stevens,
Three Zen Masters
, 79).

265
. Friedrich Nietzsche,
Thus Spoke Zarathustra
, 40–41.

266
. John 20:29. New International Version.

267
. Genesis 22; Koran 37:101–113

268
. Harris,
The End of Faith
, 72.

269
. “In God's Name: A Special Report on Religion and Public Life,”
The Economist
. (November 3, 2007), 20.

270
. Ibid.

271
. Jacoby,
Freethinkers
, 360.

272
. Kimball,
When Religion Becomes Evil
, 29.

273
. Hitchens,
God Is Not Great
, 63.

274
. Ibid.

275
. James Reichley,
Faith in Politics
(Washington, DC: Brookings Institution Press, 2002), 44.

276
. Thomas Jefferson,
The Portable Thomas Jefferson
(New York: Penguin Books, 1977), 425. This quote comes from a letter Jefferson wrote to his nephew in 1787.

277
. Neihardt,
Black Elk Speaks
.

278
. Armstrong,
A History of God
, 205.

279
. Lao Tzu,
Tao Te Ching
, trans. Ralph Alan Dale.

280
. Burton Watson, trans.,
Chuang Tzu: Basic Writings
(New York: Columbia University Press, 1964), 140.

281
. Thoreau,
Uncommon Learning
, 3.

282
. Kirsch,
God Against the Gods
, 301.

283
. Lao Tzu,
The Sayings of Lao Tzu
, trans. Lin Yutang.

284
. William Shakespeare, “Hamlet” (New York: Washington Square Press, 2003), 67.

285
. Paine,
The Age of Reason
, 21.

286
. Lao Tzu,
The Sayings of Lao Tzu
, trans. Lin Yutang, 239.

287
. Diamond,
Collapse
, 373.

288
. Most of the more than 600 laws listed in the Old Testament were abandoned just a few generations later. See Leviticus to find many examples of such laws.

289
. Thoreau,
Walden
, 10.

290
. Ibid., 77.

291
. Lao Tzu,
The Sayings of Lao Tzu
, trans. Lin Yutang, 86.

292
. Blake,
Libri Profetici
, 38.

293
. Lao Tzu,
Tao Te Ching
, trans. Robert G. Henricks (New York: Modern Library, 1993), 101.

294
. Brooks, “The Dark Side of Faith,”
Los Angeles Times
. Brooks quotes a study by Creighton University's Center for the Study of Religion by Gregory Paul originally published in the
Journal of Religion and Society
. The title of the original report is “Cross-National Correlations of Quantifiable Societal Health with Popular Religiosity and Secularism in the Prosperous Democracies.”

295
. Alice Calaprice, ed.,
The Expanded Quotable Einstein
(Princeton, NJ: Princeton University Press, 2000), 216.

296
. Richards,
January Magazine
Interview of Tom Robbins.

297
. Lao Tzu,
The Sayings of Lao Tzu
, trans. Lin Yutang, 255.

298
. Gregory Bateson,
Steps to an Ecology of Mind: Collected Essays in Anthropology, Psychiatry, Evolution, and Epistemology
(Chicago: University of Chicago Press, 2000).

299
. Franco Bolelli,
Cartesio Non Balla: Definitiva Superiorita' della Cultura Pop (Quella Piu' Avanzata)
(Milano, Italy: Garzanti Libri, 2007), 54.

300
. Friedrich Nietzsche,
Ecce Homo: How One Becomes What Is
, trans. Duncan Large (New York: Oxford University Press, 2007 [1888]), 103.

301
. Nietzsche,
The Gay Science
, 45.

302
. Nabokov,
Where the Lightning Strikes
, 15.