How hard is it to remain human... The threat of religion to spirituality

“It is a sad thing that so many of us do use to preach our hearers asleep; but it is sadder still if we have studied and preached ourselves asleep, and have talked so long against hardness of heart, till our own grow hardened, under the noise of our own reproofs. Though the head only have eyes, and ears, and smell, and taste, the heart should have life, and feeling, and motion, as well as the head.”
Richard Baxter, quoted in The Minister’s Prayer Book 290.

It is a challenge not to become bored and hardened by our trade. The doctor who sees the patient as another “appointment,” the teacher who sees the student as someone who “studies,” the pastor who sees the funeral as another slot in his or her daily task.

We no longer recognize the one whom we look in the eye as a human being. We see them as “patients,” “clients,” “members.” We do not see a countenance, the call and appeal for love.

There are many reasons why we lose our humanity.

We are blinded by our own needs, our self-defense, our fears, our intolerance. We are hurt and we hit back. We are criticised and we become cynical. We are opposed and we become aggressive.

It strikes me – the hardness that we develop once we have been in our profession for a while. The stars in our dreamy eyes – I can mean something to someone, the warm passion in our hearts – I can alleviate suffering, the ambitions and dreams in our life – I want to make a difference, all these beautiful moments pass by and are replaced by indifference, frustration, disillusionment, and, then, the hardness, the callousness, and our empty, harsh, even blasphemous talk about God.

There are the stinging words. “The noise of our own reproof.” The noise of our accusations and judgments. Our words and thoughts lose life, feeling, motion.

It is sad, deeply sad that the most cruel people can be those who are the most religious. Jesus was cruelly crucified by his own religious peers.

It is not easy to remain alive, to seek life, to hold on to life. It is much easier to let it slip away, to lose it, to let it die under our empty, harsh reproofs.

There is no greater threat to religion than religion itself.

What will keep us from becoming reproachful, bitter, hardened people?

What will make us remain human?