Is God becoming folklore to Caribbean folks?

The Religion of Science revisited

One of the last posts I wrote was entitled The Religion of Science in which I challenged readers and my Caribbean friends to utilize common sense [at all times].   The article was intended to cast a light on forms of “Science” that have become a new religion or religion-like.

“…My Caribbean friends, do not let me or anyone deceive you.  Where does common sense come from and do you have it?  Ask yourself that prior to reading this post…”

 “God”, “Faith”, and “Religion”

More and more, however, I have been hearing cynicism about  “God”, “Faith”, and “Religion” from my American friends, and this has now spread to my Caribbean friends… After all, it is said “America sneezes and Jamaica and the rest of the Caribbean catches the cold“.  In other words, anything the US does, the Caribbean accepts it, mimics it, or is affected by it.

The terms “God”, “Faith”, and “Religion” are often used interchangeably by people having either no experience / belief, no knowledge, or no understanding.  In otherwords, it’s used by ignorants, illiterates, and cynics.   When used by ignorants and illiterates, it’s out of innocence.  When used by cynics, it’s often deliberate.  Cynics are sometimes very educated or sometimes very “street smart”.

People say things like,  “[Person X] is a very religious person” when they often mean that the person believes there is a God or the person has a strong faith in God.  I, for instance, don’t consider myself to be “religious” but I have a strong “faith” in “God” and consider myself Christian because I follow the leadership of the Christ (Christos/Messiah) called Jesus (Yeshua).  “God”, “Faith”, and “Religion”  cannot and should not be used interchangeably.  There are many reasons that can be outlined.  I’ll just list the “aha” reasons.

• God -> only a few religions recognize 1 God.  Some religions have multiple gods and others have none.
• Faith -> in this context, it suggests belief in a God or god(s).  So, people of the same religion may not share the same faith.  For example, christians & catholics are of the religion Christianity but there are many denominations, sub-denominations, and Christian cults where the “faiths” (systems of beliefs) are vastly different.
• Religion -> as said, for as long as we can find evidence of man living on earth, there has been some form of religion.  Many are ancient and not even practiced today.  But, today there are many religions… most believing that theirs is the “right” religion, others believing theirs is not a religion at all, but a way of life, etc.

God:  Folklore in Caribbean or not?

Getting back to the real reason for this post, is the idea of God becoming folklore in our Caribbean cultures more and more, following our North-American brethren (USA)?  If you watch English-based television channels in the Caribbean, there’s a great chance that you will be bombarded by “new ideas” from US-based television stations.  What I hear from some of my bredren and sistren is the rhetoric broadcasted on some of these stations when they discuss any idea dealing with God.  It wasn’t always so.  You will listen to programs today where people say things like:

• The idea of God pacifies hymans
• I’m was brought up _____ but now I’m not very religious —> they want to say they don’t really share the faith any more because they may be religious, just affiliated with some other religion or religious movement but not identifying it as one.
• Man created “god” as a system of control.  “God” did not create man because there is no god.
• Anyone who calls me a fool because they don’t believe in God is a total moron because I believe in Science which explains that there could not be a “god” or “gods”.
• Theory of Evolution proves that we evolved from the big-bang, not some “creation”… and “creation” cannot be Science.
• I don’t know if there is a “god” but if there is, I know she is not the way people make her out to be.
• People used to believe the earth was flat, with four corners, until they saw the light… now people will see the light about this “god” thing.
• I don’t have to believe in “god” to be a moral being.  Morality does not come from “god”.  It comes from good upbringing.
• …

I’m now hearing the same rhetoric from my Caribbean friends.  Don’t get me wrong, people who believe in God have their own rhetoric but little-by-little they are being silenced by:

• Athiests & agnostics who have become a bit more aggressive in recent years as their numbers increase.
• Cynicists & apologists – sometimes they believe in God but not how the religions paint the picture.
• Inter-religion wars and Inter-faith wars – Christians vs Muslims vs Jews vs Hindus vs Rastafarians vs ….   Then Orthodox vs Charismatic vs…
• Themselves – their hypocracy, lack of knowledge, ignorance, illiteracy, divisions, etc.

Agree or Disagree?

The question of “Is God becoming folklore to Caribbean folks” is just a question I’m posing based on my observations.  If you agree, please tell me why you think this progression is happening.  I have my theories and they are all biblical…  One is, “it is expected“.   If you disagree, please tell me why you disagree and pose a counter argument.

Thank you my friends.