Of the many puzzling inconsistencies to be found in religion one seems particularly relevant at this time: If Christ died for our sins then why is sin still present? If he really did shoulder the whole world’s sins – but in no sense alleviated or eradicated them – then surely he suffered in vain.
One might counter that his suffering only erased the sins present at that point in history. Today’s sin then would just be the accumulation of sins from that point on. But this is hard to support. There is nothing in recorded history to suggest a temporary lull in human misery around two thousand years ago. By all accounts it was just misery as usual.
A more likely explanation is that the church wants to have its communion wafer and eat it. It wants us to believe that the universe is ruled over by a supremely benevolent and omnipotent being, yet needs to square this with an obviously miserable world. If they aren’t careful their God might look like a sadist for not intervening to end all this pain. So instead we witness a sleight of hand. He lifts the burden of sin, and all sin remains, all at the same time.
Such conjuring tricks are not confined to religion. The killing of Osama bin Laden is another example of a thorough cleansing that leaves everything as filthy as before. His executioners are delighted to inform us the world is incalculably safer – while simultaneously warning us that things are every bit as dangerous. It has all the vibe of the VJ day celebrations, only with the war still raging-on, indefinitely.
Much as the church trades on the myth of an omniscient God, the ‘war on terror’ has traded on a mythical devil. We only have to kill the devil for the world to be saved. As we have seen, the devil can take many forms. In Afghanistan he assumed the name Taliban. Then, in an odd convergence with his biblical counterpart, he took the form of a serpent in Mesopotamia, modern Iraq. In fact the devil has managed to show up pretty much wherever Washington’s political and economic strategists have hoped he would.
For all the infantile punditry, the death of bin Laden is nothing to celebrate. It’s just another death, and one that has already led to more death. Chanting “USA! USA!” takes the American public no closer to understanding their country’s role in the world. It just affirms the belief that the US can kill its way to victory, whatever victory might mean in these circumstances.
Like the death of Christ, the death of Osama has been presented to us as a moment of salvation. As with Christ however this is a strange sort of salvation – one where no one actually gets saved.
