A Series of Unfortunate Dogma: 6 of 7

This series explores the credo behind the Seven Deadly Sins and the nearly comical manner that Christian based religion disobeys them. As a sober parallel to the Sin’s menace, all paintings are layered with the Eight Auspicious Symbols represented in teachings of the Buddha.

If religion is a stew pot, greed is like the broth, there’s just no way to make the soup without it. Greed for money, greed for power, greed for more, this is a sin that is perhaps the very reason religion still overwhelmingly relevant. Reading over the abhorrent leverage the church receives from the IRS while researching Gluttony, I had sort of a bubble around the whole problem. While, yes, a church as a whole entity can be corrupt- oh yeah, Hi sin of Lust- greed hammers down a much smaller phenomenon in the formula of religious efforts: Leaders.

There is a vast difference between an establishment and the people who run it. Enron could have gone down in history without infamy, if the collective leaders didn’t have as much handiwork with their accounting. Would anyone remember the People’s Temple if not for Jim Jones? Nazis suck, of course, but Hitler will stand as the face of hate for the rest of history.

This is when drawing the responsibility away from the establishment as a whole and focusing on the person at the head is most important. Churches are a blatant offender of this type of top-heavy wealth and fame.

Joel Osteen. There’s one. I bet anyone who lives with electricity and wifi will know that name. The famous Televangelist/pastor/millionaire is sitting pretty good on his Earthly rewards. His preaching of prosperity based on donation- contribute to the church and God will reward you- is hard to stomach when considering that his 2.9 million dollar estate wasn’t quite enough, so he added in a 10.5 million dollar mansion to his assets. The Lakewood Church he pastors is a former sports stadium in Houston, TX, holding 16,000 seats. Inherited from his father, he turned the congregation into a megachurch along with books and tours promoting his tune that God will repay those who invest in his preaching. Praise Twitter and persistent Osteen critics, who began interrogating his church after Hurricane Harvey plundered the people of Houston, and with emergency shelters filling up,  the community noticed this massive church was closed and empty. Of course he ducked and covered, claiming the church had been flooded, though pictures proved otherwise. Finally offering help after days of desperate need, his gesture seemed anything but Christ-like, most likely from pressure on social media and local reporters collecting, knocking on his gates. Even though his wealth is an obvious result of swindling his followers to buy his brand, Christians seem to grasp his word and hold it as prophecy- which is the terrifying idea that just about anyone can claim to be a chosen voice of God, and people will believe them.

Take Prophet Mboro, a charismatic South African man, with thousands of worshipers in his Johannesburg megachurch. Though he wears designer suits and has a posse of Escalades, he is self proclaimed as a telephone to God. The heavily religious and superstitious society brings their sick, disabled, last hope and of course, money, to the prophet, for the chance of an individualized, custom prayer. Unsurprisingly, this comes with stories of fatalities from not seeking medical care. Again, Twitter, that sly broad, bit him in the ass hard, when he announced that being the elite, supreme prophet he is, he was granted a visit to Heaven. If that isn’t an insult of his follower’s intelligence, he also boasted that he had custom photos of his smiling face behind the Pearly Gates. These Heavenly selfies were sold on his Church’s website for hundreds of dollars, or Rand equivalent, each. Worse, was the absurdity of what they actually looked like: his face photo-shopped into a cloud with a sparkling rainbow filter surrounding him- reminiscent of those plate photos in authentic Mexican restaurants: bright, glimmering 90’s era graphics behind a photo of a beige burrito. Once he was called out for clearly lying, he had a digital meltdown, warning doubters on Twitter, that ‘The sky is watching’ then ultimately reducing the price of the portrait on his VIP trip to God.

I try to keep my obsession with John Oliver toned down in my posts, but sometimes, he does an investigation report so fantastically sharp that I want to put a poster of his pale British face above my bed. His exposure of Televangelism is hands-down my favorite account of a corrupt practice on his show. For visibility into the world of the Televangelist ilk, he made a small donation to Robert Tilton’s Church (The star of this painting by the way). From the very first letter Oliver got back from the Tilton Ministry, he was asked to donate a dollar as a “seed” to plant his faith, the first pitch. Dozens of letters later, the instructions to send more money than the time before prove what a slippery slope Tilton’s viewers can fall down. It’s the Christian form of gambling, betting more money for the hope of a miraculous outcome eventually. Oliver also featured the story of a deceased woman, who’s family found that she had been paying the Kenneth Copeland Ministry thousands of dollars, instead of getting full treatment for her cancer, with the hopes that her “seed money” would result in a cure. To make that story so much worse, Copeland’s wife, Gloria, preaches that their church’s products, books, Holy oils- whatever, are the answer to beating serious life-threatening diseases- at one point preaching:
“They tell you that you’ve got cancer and they don’t know what to do about it, except give you some poison that will make you sicker- now which do you want to do- that, or sit here on Saturday morning, hearing the word of God? Let faith come into your heart and be the cure”.

Astonishing to watch this plastic faced suit-dressed woman stand at a podium with nothing but smiling confidence in the voracity she is comfortable with while her power exploits people in the most hopeless points of their life.

The most slimy vermin of the Earth are those who prey upon the less fortunate for gain. There are many out there: Payday Lenders, drug dealers and, without a doubt, churches. For my contrast to the lovely Titlon, painted here using his best tongues-speaking face, is Buddha’s Dharma Wheel- with 8 spokes,  symbolizing the Buddha’s Eightfold Noble Path. Here the wheel stands as token of joy in experiencing good and wholesome deeds. There seems to be no self-serving text in my research of Buddha’s teachings, which makes it that much more reliable. To harness the threats present in the Bible and fuel fear in the vulnerable or desperate is criminal. Millionaire preachers flying private jets, continuing to ask those with little, if any, extra money to give. The frightening reality of these predators, with a bright 1-800 number flashing at chest level, is that humanity is capable of such viciousness.

Pastors and megachurches thriving so shamelessly, is like watching a spider’s nest hatch. Shit! There are more of them and they will only be getting bigger and more disgusting as they grow over time. Perhaps it is a generational problem and the demographic of shopping channel style religion will soon die out- but- with ministries finding clever little ways to push their agenda online, and on social media- like selfies in Heaven, more will fall into the trap, pushing their meager amounts of money, into the un-taxed bank accounts of these suited charlatans. Maybe I’m wrong, perhaps these megachurch leaders are actually sent from God to spread His word and their riches are, indeed from their unique Holy access. I suppose that only makes it worse, for a God that shines on those with mansions and yachts by the hands of the poor, is no deity I want to believe in.

A Series of Unfortunate Dogma: 2 of 7

Per my last post, this series explores the credo behind the Seven Deadly Sins and the nearly comical manner that Christian based religion disobeys them. As a sober parallel to the Sin’s menace, all paintings are layered with the Eight Auspicious Symbols represented in teachings of the Buddha.

I have surprised myself that I am here so quickly to roll out Part 2 of this series. There’s just something about having a free space to fume about religion that keeps me invested. The order of selection in the Seven Sins is completely random here, so I’ve closed my eyes and chose whichever painting my finger landed on, so here we go, ready to discuss: Pride.

One very particular issue smearing it’s snot covered hands over society has come to light in the most non-threatening of places; bakeries. It felt like progress got tossed back decades, as headlines declared that a Colorado Baker was ruled in favor by the Supreme Court for the right to refuse service for a gay couple’s wedding, based on religious convictions.

In this situation, based on the highest court in the nation, this Christian bakery owner of Masterpiece Cakeshop, had the civil right to refuse his artisan skills to a couple that admired them. I mean, if a Nazi asked to commission me for a painting, I suppose I’d have a moral obligation to say no. It’s a little ridiculous that the only way I can imagine declining my services would be an unlikely scenario in which a Nazi admires my work and approaches me, but that’s the absurdity of this topic.

Many comparable stories of the wedding cake ban seem to assemble religious freedom as a firmer case than discrimination based on sexual orientation. Great. The most backwards way of thinking has now crept into our laws, making it clear that humanity is still too daft and arrogant to evolve beyond the Bible. Moreover, these Christians very unapologetically calling LGBTQ communties “sodomites’, are gaining ground, throwing Jesus around as a queer-hating spokesperson. Oh, just to remind ourselves, not once did Jesus mention homosexuality in the New Testament. I suppose if Christians are referring the the Jewish God from the Old Testament, then sure, they’ve got a little bite. Unfortunately, per this infallible book, history went down like this:

God makes us- God gives us rules- God gets pretty tight with the Jews- God angel fucks a virgin- God’s human son becomes a long haired beatnik- God has son brutally killed for the humans who can’t follow his unrealistic rules- so, clearly, the natural conclusion here is that God hates homos.

Rounding back, for a business owner, denying any service or products is a pretty heavy stand. As a Christian, did this baker believe his eternal soul was at risk if he was a complacent participant in this gay wedding? Or, does he have a perfectly accepted, seamlessly designed doctrine to permit a hateful action toward people he doesn’t understand? My logic points immediately to the unattractive sin of Pride. Too proud to lead with love, too proud to seek knowledge of the unfamiliar, too proud to celebrate love of any kind, in a very unloving world. My piece for Pride is layered, much like a cake. Behind the sugar stack is a pair of Conch shells, the next Auspicious Symbol taught by the Buddha. The well-known shape of the conch represents a horn, calling out the sound of Dharma, far and wide, to awaken those from ignorance. Ignorance plays a pretty important role in these cake-blocker’s argument. Immediately protesting a stranger's wedding is fairly peculiar in any other circumstance and to take this fight all the way to the Supreme Court is evidence of the pragmatism of religious extremists. As a final salute to all orientations, all definitions of love and sexual identity, behind the conch shells, is a wallpaper pattern of sexual organs, dancing around in rows. If homosexuality makes Christians uncomfortable, then perhaps they should pull down their drawers, look at the instrument that provides pleasure, love and life, and realize no one is above the reality that we are simply animals with genitals. When we humble ourselves to the basic family tree of the evolution of nature, it becomes much more difficult to look at other humans as less than. On that note, I’m making a reminder note to myself for the next time I have a few free minutes:

Call Masterpiece Cakeshop and ask if I can order one of those penis shaped cakes for a hetero Bachelorette Party. Since, clearly, the importance of what/where his customer’s genitals are penetrating after their legal union is rightly his top concern.  

A Series of Unfortunate Dogma: 1 of 7

My memories of church are not explicit. I remember the musty smells of old hymn books and old people, a man in layered robes talking for 2 hours and my first sip of wine in Communion at 12. Other than that, I was tuned out. Once I left the parental harness of the Sunday requirement to go, I only stepped back into church for weddings or funerals. Then as I raised a child who started asking questions about this guy named Jesus, which his Grandmothers were getting him all jazzed about like Santa, I decided I should think deeper about what I really believe. I came to the realization that I have no fucking clue…. And that’s OK. Thankfully, I am living in an era where I can feel this openly and shamelessly. One of my first posts noted that I identify as Agnostic, even though Atheism is tantalizing, my instincts reel me back to the whole point of Agnosticism: I don’t know, none of us know and that’s the crazy, amazing, thrilling, terrifying mystery of life. Though I stand by a strict code of respecting other beliefs, I still have a nerve that flares up with over-zealous preaching. I feel settled and content with my soul and it’s future, thank you very much, so if you leave me alone, I’ll leave you alone.

Almost a year ago, a friend asked me to do a commission for her. Most requests are usually fairly tame and universal; flowers, landscapes, anything and everything non-offensive, which is fine, but it can be a little redundant at times. I was surprised when she told me that she was thinking about the subject of The Seven Deadly Sins, and my mind started rapidly creating a series of paintings to attach with my interpretation of the Dogma represented within these principles. Turns out, it has taken me months to even reach the point of painting. I sketched out ideas, then tossed them. Finally, before I text her and said - screw it, can I just paint you some roses?- I got it. As simple as it is, I realized that the commentary I was trying to reach was right there all along. My series has now become a narrative on how these 7 sins are disobeyed directly by the churches/faiths/religions, primarily Christian, that spout them as law.

The Sins originate, per the best of my Google knowledge, from a 4th century monk, who noticed the particular human tendencies and emotions that would be exacerbated during their time of deprivation and prayer. The 6th century Pope declared these the ‘7 Cardinal Sins’, proving their gravity against less serious wrongdoings, or as they called it, ‘Venial Sins’.  There is much, much more to their history, but let’s leave it simple: the Catholic church engraved these as the worst of the worst. Beyond just Catholicism, they are mirrored in all forms of Christianity and sub-religions, making it hard to ignore the average, daily emotions and practices all humans have been forbidden from according to this creed, but do anyway.

In this series, I wanted to explore the contradictions present in the Sins vs Religion. After putting pencil to paper though, I started feeling a bit uptight. I couldn’t explain it, but as I brainstormed, each image I developed was growing into a mass of malevolence. I love some good ol’ cynicism now and then, and I thought that would be all I needed to factory line these out. Apparently though, I have a heart and it started feeling heavy as I was illustrating my ideas. How could I add some positivity and hope to these ridiculous rules that we as humans have decided is law? I’ve always had a fascination with Buddhism, and if I were not such a selfish, foul-mouthed, wreck of a person, I’d be inclined to practice the lifestyle the Buddha taught. I can still understand these practices though, which I have read and studied for many years, and at least appreciate their value. This series is where they came to my rescue. How fitting, to paint the principles laid by the Catholic church, of actions that will damn us for eternity, in front of the beautiful rules to live by from The Buddha. The ‘Eight Auspicious Symbols’ are represented as the virtues Buddha gained after enlightenment. They are beautiful, positive, loving principles, very much paradoxical to the warnings of the Seven Deadly Sins.

In the next 6 posts, I will share the painting connected to each sin. I have too much to say about the hypocrisy of religion, especially those who demean and beat down others that do not follow the stringent path that is claimed in the Bible, therefore, I did not put all of them together into one post.

To draw back the curtain of this unholy series, I felt it appropriate to begin with the thorn in the shoe of all sins, the silent but dangerous practice that keeps our society shackled to the fantasy of a heavily re-translated, multi-authored, contradictory ancient book: Sloth. Interpreting sloth into religion came like a light bulb as I grasped what sloth means in terms of the Cardinal Sins. In much text around different corners of the internet, it became clear that sloth does not represent only laziness and apathy, but includes procrastination and excusing away expectations of God; those who do not take the time for prayer and worship, or even those unwilling to see the beauty in all of God’s creatures, are committing this sin. Above all else, resistance to reading and spreading the word of God, or to ignore the knowledge he gives us through the Bible is the epitome of Sloth.

I wrung my hands and had a discussion with myself; the sin of apathy, how can I spin it back around? What is synonymous today of God’s offense at his creation’s ignorance?.....Ignorance itself.

The issue I see continuing to gnaw at generations before and ahead of us is the crisis of pure Bible based callowness. Glean from scripture all you want, honk for Jesus, boycott Harry Potter, but pleeeeeeeeeeeeeaaaaaaaaaaaaassssssssseeeeeeeeee stop telling your kids that God created Earth in a week, made woman the secondary gender from man’s rib and then, as the lesser of the sexes, she fell into Satan’s talking snake temptation of eating a magic apple, thus damning all humanity to pain and suffering…. Okay?

From my view outside of the religious circle, I see sloth in much of Christianity as stated above: taking the Bible as literal, factual guidelines for society without ever opening the mind beyond a small story, to the vastness of our existence without God. Believers content with far fetched stories of divine creation and ships that fit every animal on Earth times two. This is not just an issue of difference in opinion either. We see the Bible as the cornerstone of ethics in the Western world and deviant, warlords holding conservative political office depend on it’s principals as fact to keep their policies in place. If they didn’t have this damning relic, then homosexuals, non-whites and women would run rampant and their weaker minds would hurdle the economy and law into absolute chaos.

Christians in particular, who believe these Bible stories as truth, in an era when science has become almost impossible to ignore, are the reason society has become stagnant. Complacency is frustrating, but it turns frightening when examining the dangers of a ‘Christian built’ nation. If our great-great grandchildren are lucky enough to have a habitable planet left, I can only imagine their disbelief that people in the dawn of the internet and medical breakthroughs, didn’t have the precocity to believe scientists on climate change.  

Clearly, Eve, that reckless whore, is my focal point, placing her halfway up a tree, flirting with Satan and ready to defile that pure, immaculate fruit… while above this Biblical catastrophe is a colorful vase, one of the Buddha's symbolic principles. The treasure vase in Buddhism represents endless knowledge of life through Buddha's teachings. No matter how much is taken from the vase, it will never empty, but continue to replenish it’s bounty for all. Along with such a sensible meaning, the treasure vase also represents long life and prosperity, not unlike an educated mind, for the more we know, the more valuable our lives become.

If you or a loved one is struggling with the absurdity of the Bible, direct them to the Buddha's teachings; while there may not be a mystical Creator to pray to when our car keys are lost, there is a trove of love and contentment to be found within finding internal Enlightenment. Some will not budge against Genesis’ procession of events… but the more we recruit away from a fossilised story that plagues us, the closer to a true Eden we will be.