It’s commonly acknowledged that religion comforts those who believe—they trust that God will see them through dark days and guarantee salvation after their bodies no longer function. A second and less commonly acknowledged purpose of religion is to discomfort—to warn and arouse those who are complacent about their own and societies’ blunders and corruption.
The saints of today are not those, who perform miracles and talk about in the sweet by and by, so much as are those who warn arouse us of the massive destruction and death brought to millions by our warring and of our greed-driven misuse of our resources that soil our soil, pollute waters, and overheat our air.
What is the purpose of religion--the prophetic voices that sound from our pulpits—that we will roast in hell and can bask in heaven or that we will toast on earth unless we save the commons?
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