The Wizard of Oz: The Hidden Message
reverendhornibastard
Depraved Deacon of Degeneracy
Insights come at odd times and from unexpected sources. My religious belief began to erode early. The classic children’s film, “The Wizard of Oz,” was an early contributor to the crumbling of my religious faith.
There is a scene when Dorothy, Scarecrow, Tin Man and Cowardly Lion arrive at the entrance to Emerald City and inform the doorman that they want to see the Wizard. He replies, “The Wizard? But nobody can see the Great Oz! Nobody's ever seen the Great Oz! Even I've never seen him!”
Dorothy responds by asking, “Well, then how do you know there is one?”
( https://www.tuscl.net/photo.php?id=1803 )
This hit me like a ton of bricks when I was about 6 or 7 years old. It encapsulated something that had been bothering me about “God” but that I had been unable to articulate at my young age.
I began to ask questions. My parents and my teachers at the Catholic school in which I had been enrolled urged me to have faith.
But my mind rebelled against having faith. The more I thought about what it meant to have faith, the less I wanted to have any part of it.
There is a scene when Dorothy, Scarecrow, Tin Man and Cowardly Lion arrive at the entrance to Emerald City and inform the doorman that they want to see the Wizard. He replies, “The Wizard? But nobody can see the Great Oz! Nobody's ever seen the Great Oz! Even I've never seen him!”
Dorothy responds by asking, “Well, then how do you know there is one?”
( https://www.tuscl.net/photo.php?id=1803 )
This hit me like a ton of bricks when I was about 6 or 7 years old. It encapsulated something that had been bothering me about “God” but that I had been unable to articulate at my young age.
I began to ask questions. My parents and my teachers at the Catholic school in which I had been enrolled urged me to have faith.
But my mind rebelled against having faith. The more I thought about what it meant to have faith, the less I wanted to have any part of it.
Got something to say?
Start your own discussion
22 comments
🧨
Much like the Jesus people claim to believe in today.......
https://www.pornhub.com/view_video.php?v…
I loved that version of the Wizard of Oz!
Our life's are filled with faith. Here's a very simple example. Say you work or are retired and receive SS and or a pension. You have faith that these monies will continue!
Made it as far as the color part but that scene with the singing, dancing and things, off went the TV. Just couldn't take it!
“Say you work or are retired and receive SS and or a pension. You have faith that these monies will continue!”
That’s entirely different from religious faith. One might be confident that a social security check will show up on schedule in the mailbox, that the sun will continue to rise in the east and set in the west etcetera. But in each case there is evidence based on past experience that these events will continue to occur as they have in the past.
Religions all have at least one bullshit proposition (most have a bushel basket full of them) that you must believe to prove your religious fervor. These propositions are necessarily hard for a rational mind to accept (or else they wouldn’t be good Litmus tests of your religious convictions).
They don’t ask you to believe that Jesus was a mammal, that he had brown eyes and brown skin (like most Semitic people). They don’t ask you to believe that he spoke Syriac, a dialect of ancient Aramaic. These propositions are entirely too plausible to adequately test your faith.
Instead they ask you to believe that Jesus was born of a virgin, that he healed the blind and the lame, that he caused people to rise from the dead and that he himself arose from the dead and eventually physically arose into the heavens without the aid of a hot air balloon.
That’s the sort of bullshit religious faith is meant to handle.
But the bottom line is this: if your faith is sufficiently deep and strong you can believe anything.
THEREIN lies the problem!
#1, Virgin Birth. Believe it or not, it makes no difference to my faith one way or the other. However, once a person has made the leap to beluef in a God who created the universe, arranging a simple virgin birth shouldn't present an obstacle.
#2, The Apostles. These men were all in hiding, terrified for their own lives after the Crucifiction. So, what event made these scared men find the courage to go out, spread the Word, and even go to their own deaths. For me, there is only one answer that makes sense - they saw the risen Lord.
None of this says that, being the stupid humans that we are, Christ's original message to us has gotten f~~d up almost beyond recognition. I will sign off with this poem that sums my faith as well as anything could:
Abou Ben Adhem
BY LEIGH HUNT
Abou Ben Adhem (may his tribe increase!)
Awoke one night from a deep dream of peace,
And saw, within the moonlight in his room,
Making it rich, and like a lily in bloom,
An angel writing in a book of gold:—
Exceeding peace had made Ben Adhem bold,
And to the presence in the room he said,
"What writest thou?"—The vision raised its head,
And with a look made of all sweet accord,
Answered, "The names of those who love the Lord."
"And is mine one?" said Abou. "Nay, not so,"
Replied the angel. Abou spoke more low,
But cheerly still; and said, "I pray thee, then,
Write me as one that loves his fellow men."
The angel wrote, and vanished. The next night
It came again with a great wakening light,
And showed the names whom love of God had blest,
And lo! Ben Adhem's name led all the rest.
In that case, I will have faith that I have $5 billion in the bank and that I am the sexiest most virile man alive.
I will let you know if it works.
Stay tuned!
I heard he reached puberty very early, even before his daddy started shaving!
I think you’re confusing The Wizard of Oz with another great musical: “Nazi Enema!”
Nazi Enema wasn’t ALL about socialism and following the Gold Standard but it did touch on those topics.
If you have 3 or 4 hours to spare, ask SJG! He knows all about it.
He said he’s watched Nazi Enema 37 times and it just keeps getting funnier every time he sees it!
As one that has had a very personal experience with religious faith, that's all I need. I'll also bet you that's true with most that have religious faith.
When I was 24 I fell in love with a Catholic girl. We had a short engagement and decided to get married in a Catholic Church. I had to meet with the priest to make sure I understood Catholicism. I also had to sign a statement that I would not interfere with my wife raising the children as Catholics. My mother-in-law was a WW II widow raising 4 children by herself. She had faith and drew strength from her faith. Good for her. The total lack of evidence based factual material was the major factor in my lack of religious faith. My wife used birth control. She was disgusted with her church’s treatment of women. She was sick about the total hypocrisy of child abusing priests. She stopped attending and began to reject the teachings of the church. She had a long tortuous sickness and while she was still somewhat cognizant, I asked if she wanted a priest. Why? Said she. I asked if she wanted a Catholic funeral and burial. She said there was a beautiful cemetery and arboretum where she used to walk. Just bury my ashes there.
Some people derive strength, support and meaning for their lives from religion. More power to them. Just don’t proselytize around me, please.
Some (but not all) religious people like to explain the basis for their faith. Their motive may be the proselytization of others or it may be simply to share their religious experiences.
Some people lacking any religious faith occasionally try to explain how and why they arrived at their minority and often highly unpopular views.
I think it can be useful to explain why some people don’t believe in god(s) and to reassure others that atheists are still decent, trustworthy people and not the heinous, amoral monsters they may have been led to believe.
I don’t think trying to convert religious people to atheism would be a productive use of anybody’s time. Those who are truly faithful are, by definition, people who will not be persuaded by any factual assertions or logical arguments that might challenge their faith based beliefs.
They might, however, come to appreciate how a thoughtful and decent human being might come to reject the very notion of religious faith and to consider it inimical to an open and curious mind.
A few people have made that journey and lost their faith. Many who did so felt liberated.
The man I see in mirror every morning brushing his godless teeth is one of them.