The God Virus: How Religion Infects Our Lives and Culture (27 page)

Many a sermon seethes with anger. Few people are angrier than a righteous preacher talking about the current state of the world. If you watch a close-up shot of Pat Robertson, Paul Washer, James Hagee, Jerry Falwell, Ted Haggard or James Dobson, you will notice that their facial gestures convey anger and that their voices sound angry. Their smiles are tense. They often use sarcasm in their description of those they do not like. They use aggressive language and hand gestures. War-like words are ever present in
their vocabulary. Nothing of love or tolerance comes through, except in the most superficial of gestures and only for those within their viral group.

3
Rabbi Marc Gellman, "Trying to Understand Angry Atheists,"
Newsweek
, 28 April 2006.

4
Sam Harris,
The End of Faith
(W. W. Norton, 2004); Richard Dawkins,
The God Delusion
(Mariner Books, 2008); Bill Maher, Comedian and narrator of the documentary
Religulous
(2008); Julia Sweeney, actress and star in the movie,
Letting Go of God
(2008).

Of course, religionists do not define righteousness as anger, but it sure looks the same. It becomes most apparent when they perceive a challenge to their authority. Infected people do not perceive this as inappropriate or pathological anger. They see it as good preaching. “Amen brother! You tell ‘em.” The nonverbal signs of seething anger in many ministers is simply too obvious. Their attitude is, “We should be angry about the secular world and how it treats us and our beliefs.” The words are almost identical to something Osama bin Laden or the Ayatollah Khomeini might say. Anger is an underlying condition of fundamentalism.

Try this experiment. Watch any of the popular televangelists with the sound turned off. Pay particular attention to any close up-shots. Examine the preachers’ smile, their jaw tension, neck or forehead veins; watch their hand gestures – how many aggressive, forward-pushing, knife or hatchet-type gestures do you see? Now ask: If you saw this person in a coffee shop talking like this, how would you classify his or her behavior and emotions?

Now turn up the volume and listen to the words. Listen for words that evoke anger, aggression, disapproval, sarcasm and cynicism. If your experience is like mine, you will conclude, “That is a very angry person.”

If you want to see how well it works in other religions, do the television experiment on a fundamentalist Muslim cleric. Even if he is speaking in Arabic, you will clearly see the non-verbal anger disguised as righteousness.

Here is a sample paragraph from a sermon written by Charles G. Finney.
⁵
Be warned, if it seems confusing, it is. This is the logic often found in angry preachers. It is emotional, not logical:

There are, as you know, two kinds of fear. There is that fear of the Lord, which is the beginning of wisdom, which is founded in love. There is also a slavish fear, which is a mere dread of evil and is purely selfish. This is the kind of fear which was possessed by those people spoken of in the text. They were afraid Jehovah would send his judgments upon them, if they did not perform certain rites, and this was the motive they had for paying him worship. Those who have this fear are supremely selfish, and while they profess to reverence Jehovah, have other gods whom they love and serve.
⁶

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Charles Grandison Finney (August 29, 1792–August 16, 1875) was a great evangelical preacher of the 1800s. He was known for his innovations like having women pray in public meetings, development of the “anxious bench” for those who wanted to be saved, and naming sinners from the pulpit.

There are hundreds of sermons like this preached every Sunday. The paragraph does not exactly inspire love, compassion or tolerance. It is designed to elicit fear. The logic is non-existent. There is judgment and condemnation, not only in this paragraph but in the whole sermon. Were you to read the sermon in its entirety, you would notice the continual reference to others who are not like us, not as holy as us, not as faithful as us, not as obedient as us – and, by the way, don’t backslide or you won’t be one of us. Reading these sermons in light of the virus offers insight into what the vector is trying to achieve.

What would make this person perpetually angry week after week? What would make people in the audience unaware or approving of it? Anger has a viral function; it is designed to speak directly to the primitive limbic system in the brain where it tends to evoke responses of fear, anger, anxiety or other negative emotions.

Following our viral paradigm, a mosquito punches a hole in the skin and while extracting blood also injects the West Nile virus or other pathogen. The minister uses righteous anger and fear to punch a hole in the individual’s defenses and create a path for viral concepts into the host. The purpose is to evoke a fight-or-flight response from the congregation. As a result, people feel that they belong to a group under attack. If successful, the minister will accomplish two things. First, the listeners will feel threatened; and second, they will bond more closely to one another to feel safer and more protected.

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There are whole websites dedicated to this type of sermon. For this particular sermon see Charles G. Finney,
False Professors
[article on-line] (accessed 22 November 2008); available from
http://www.sermonindex.net/modules/articles/index.php?view=article&aid=555
; Internet.

It is a brilliant strategy that has been used in millions of sermons for almost two thousand years. For an interesting example, read Jonathan Edwards’s (1703-1758) sermon, “Sinners in the Hands of an Angry God.” Watch an old video of Billy Graham, one of the most seemingly benign of evangelists. There is great anger in his demeanor in every sermon I have watched. Or just look at Ted Haggard’s in a close-up.
⁷
That is one angry face.

Not all ministers are so angry. There are exceptions like Robert Schuler of the Crystal Cathedral, who taps a different part of the limbic system. Rather than fight or flight, he pokes the hole through the need for assurance, acceptance and security. Just as there are many different ways for biological vectors to inject pathogens into the body, there is more than one way to inject the god virus into the brain.

If you are involved with a deeply infected person, spouse, parent, child, neighbor or friend, recognize that they are fundamentally afraid. They are experiencing a profound and unsettling fear that they have to deal with almost daily, like a disease that can only be managed, never cured. Remember our story of Carrie in Chapter 7. She sought relief and forgiveness at Bible study, church, choir, Sunday School, prayer, reading religious books, etc., but the relief was short and often created more fear and anxiety. Relief is frequently accompanied by a subtle but effective message of unworthiness; you are never good enough.

Listen to the words of the infected. You will hear joy, praise or thanksgiving but observe their faces and body gestures. You will see fear, uncertainty, awkwardness and anger disguised as religiosity. It is not easy to satisfy a god when he never talks to you. And he he does talk, you can’t be sure you are hearing correctly. He could be the devil, self-willfulness or indigestion. If Mother Theresa can’t get god to talk to her, what hope does the common person in a pew on Sunday morning have?

7
Richard Dawkins’ video,
Root of All Evil
has some very good footage of Ted Haggard preaching and being interviewed as well as other evangelical ministers. Richard Dawkins,
Root of All Evil / The God Delusion
[video on-line] (19 June 2007, accessed 23 November 2008); available from
http://video.google.com/videosearch?q=Dawkins,+the+root+of+all+evil&ie=UTF-8&oe=utf-8&rls=org.mozilla:en-US:official&client=firefox-a&um=1&sa=X&oi=video_result_group&resnum=4&ct=title#
; Internet.

A viral analysis gives important clues about how to interact with those who are infected. Religionists experience a constant barrage of negative messages about themselves and others. It makes them less certain of their own worthiness. It induces deep doubts and, most important, guilt. It is not surprising that the deeply infected are touchy, even angry, when their faith is questioned. They are living on the edge. There is no room for error. Their guilt can be so great that they feel they can lose salvation at any time.

The trap is profoundly exquisite and incredibly effective at capturing and controlling both the individual and the group.

When we have a disagreement with someone, we tend to argue our point in such a way as to convert the other person to our way of thinking. When religion is the topic, the conversion program kicks in especially hard. Ironically, it kicks in as strongly for the non-believer as for the infected. We are tempted to try to convert them just as they are trying to persuade us. What is the purpose of this behavior? Will it enhance the relationship? Will it convert them? Probably not. It is ego-driven behavior probably related to power in the relationship or your own insecurity.

Be aware when your own conversion program kicks in. They cannot help it. But you can control it. No one is going to change, so define the boundaries of the discussion and the primacy of the relationship. I have a very religious friend. We discuss all manner of topics, but we are clear that our relationship is the most important thing. That distinction allows us to proceed to non-judgmentally listen to each other. As a result of this upfront agreement, we have influenced each other a lot over the years and have a deep respect for one another.

First, when interacting with a religious person, be respectful. The goal is to develop or maintain the relationship, not to convert. If your goal is conversion, you will almost always be disappointed.

Second, recognize that theists are in a trap of their own making much like alcoholics. Lecturing does not help them stop drinking. Confronting just upsets or angers. Attacking the object of addiction rarely does anything but drive the addiction deeper. The worst thing you can do is to say or imply
that they are infected with a god virus. You could suggest they read this book, but don’t expect them to do it or even understand it.

Third, be an active listener. Let them talk to you about their religion. Listen sympathetically and openly, but don’t question their faith. They cannot question their infection any more than an alcoholic can question the bottle. Also, avoid leading them on. Making them think they are converting you is inappropriate and dishonest. Respond without judgment. Be supportive and open-minded. If they punch, just bounce back. If they get angry, listen to the anger but don’t get drawn in. Be calm and above all, stay positive. Sarcasm and cynicism have no place in such discussions.

Fourth, remember you have no interest in converting them to anything. They are the ones with the virus. They are the only ones who can eliminate it. This keeps the boundaries clear. Conversion behavior on your part will inevitably appear manipulative and evoke a strong viral response.

I once met a woman at a social event and we began talking about children and family. Her demeanor was quite normal and engaging until I learned she traveled for her work. I asked what she did to require so much travel. In an instant her face changed, voice cadence sped up, gestures became more animated, her smile became tense and her head began bobbing in a strange way as she told me about her traveling evangelism work. She seemed to be possessed. It was an amazing transformation, like a demon took over her personality and began talking to me. She lost all interest in me, or so it seemed. When she learned I was a psychologist, she immediately started telling me what I could learn from her. She offered to share her secrets for casting out demons and became quite insistent that I could use such information in my work. I talked to her for some time just to observe the personality change. After a while, I asked her about her youngest child who was graduating from college. Within seconds, her demeanor returned to normal and stayed that way until I again asked her about her evangelism. Then she once again transformed.

I have since tried this experiment with many religious people. In most cases, the transformation is easy to observe and gives a good baseline by which to know when the person is “possessed” and when in normal communication mode. Knowing which mode they are in can help you communicate more effectively. The transformation is often most pronounced in ministers or religious professionals.

In exorcism movies, there is always a scene where the priest converses with the demon inside the possessed person. The person changes form and expression when the demon talks through her. While it is an exaggeration to say religious people go through the same transformation, there is an observable change in most religious people when they begin talking about their “faith.” Voice tone, facial expressions and types of words may change. It is often a significant change from normal communication patterns. When you observe this transformation, be careful to continue to talk to the person, not the god virus. Talk to his fears, hopes, joys and doubts. Speak to the real person and ignore references to god or faith. Focus on the human part of the communication, not the supernatural.

Ignoring the supernatural parts of the conversation will prevent confronting the virus and will help you stay out of arguments and unpleasant conversation. At the same time, the person will feel you are really listening to her. Ideally, the person will find relief and comfort in your support regardless of the infection. When communicating with deeply infected people, remember that any communication with the virus only sucks you into the game. You can show care and concern without responding to the virus. Here are some examples.