My Music is Sacred, Yours is Noise

By Callum Dunphy

What is it that makes the vast majority of us so inexplicably drawn to music? Furthermore, what is it that makes us so defensive of our musical tastes and so utterly critical of others? Just as in traditional religions, the sacred can only be recognized as an extension of the self and our own attitudes. As we can see the sacred change between not only each religion, denomination, but on an individual basis, we can only see these trends with music. Each nation, subculture (whether racial, socioeconomic, or identity based), and individual has musical tastes that help to define it. The sacred element of music in this respect is the way we use music to define ourselves; but perhaps more important is how we use music to assist in our experience of the divine. One of the most interesting facts regarding how we use music to assist us in our search for transcendence is that music plays a role in almost all religious ceremonies, whether it be a tribal dance to the hypnotic rhythm of a drum, or the miracle of the human harmonies performed by choirs at Sunday Mass. Music is sacred not only in the literal religious sense, but even to those of us who remain secular, allowing us to seek transcendence and assistance in our daily introspection without the use of peyote or communion wafer.

Redemption For Free, Limited Time Offer!

By Callum Dunphy

Christianity,

Redemption For Free, Limited Time Offer!

I find the concept of advertising a religion particularly curious, especially so as many religions are vehemently non-proselytizing -most notably Judaism, within which you essentially have to beg to be admitted to-. Christianity and Islam are the two greatest examples of great proliferation in a very limited time, but what Islam did with warfare and expansion (at least for the first generation), Christianity did with pure appeal. Slaves, women, and the rest of the Roman underclasses found great appeal in Christianity, and made up the most significant part of the early converts. Christianity is appealing in two ways, firstly, if you play by the rules, you spend eternity in absolutely bliss. Secondly, and more importantly, if you don't play by the rules, you will burn forever in a pit of torment to which there is no equal -something which Jews and most ancient religions never had to worry about-. Rather than rewards in this world, which is what was directly sought for by almost all of what are now considered 'Pagan' religions, Christianity is far more focused on the after-life, a hardly surprising event, considering the life-expectancy at the time was roughly forty, and eternity is substantially longer than that. So then the question comes of how, in a hypothetical scenario, we would sell Christianity to the masses if it was unknown to them today.

 While we all walk by the occasional soap-box fanatic yelling at us that we will burn in hell unless we bow to their particular branch of their particular religion, there is something quite powerful in what they are invoking, which is in essence just a poorly phrased Pascal's wager. A common argument against Pascal's wager is 'well what if you are praying to the wrong god, there are thousands of them', however, this seems fasile when you consider that the vast majority of gods do not punish you for eternity, and so it is quite easy to prioritize which gods you should and should not ignore. To be fair, Christianity comes right out on top when we categorize in this way, and we can quickly see that the 'god fearing Christians' are exactly that much of the time. What brings Christianity ahead of all of the other 'burning for eternity' religions however, is that avoiding that unfortunate end is so incredibly easy, all you have to do is repent. Free of guilt, full of sin, and an eternity hanging out with your loved ones -plus Jesus, and anybody who can turn water into wine must be pretty fun to party with-, what's not to love? It seems to me that Christianity sells itself, and no further advertising is needed than the fellow handing out pocket-sized bibles when I get off of the bus, or the 8:00 wakeups on a Sunday by a duo asking whether I have embraced Jesus as my lord and savior yet.

Initial Reflections on Religion in the Media

For all that is often said regarding the poor portrayal of religion in the media, as well as the purported glorification of those whom challenge the religious status quo, there is little evidence that religion itself is being portrayed in any substantively negative way in the media. Rather than religion as a whole being identified as a bane to society -save those too few occasions when the late, great, Christopher Hitchens took the microphone in hand- in the media, what has happened is that particular religions are attacked or demonized at particular times. People mistake the constant and pervasive Islamophobia for an attack on religion rather than what it is, an argument -often from ignorance- regarding one specific religion, rather than religion itself. Christianity and Islam have almost certainly born the brunt of the attack in the mass media, especially with the rise of the New Atheist movement and the return to a semblance of secularization in many nations. However, simply because these two religions account for a majority of the people of this world does not mean that these attacks are against religion itself. Seldom is a news headline read that states "Religion: Does another layer of in-group and out-group morality precipitate violence?", and yet headlines along the lines of "Islam: Can we expect violence to rise when Sharia Law comes to our shores?" are all too familiar. Religion itself takes almost no blame, but rather than individual religions, which stands in stark contrast to other issues where an apparatus rather than the individual is held accountable to some greater standard, such as in debates over gun laws.

Callum Dunphy