........Last Stone from The Last Church Falls on The Last Priest

By Sumit Paul, New Age Islam 17 August 2023 “Civilization will not attain to its perfection until the last stone from the last church falls on the last priest.” ― Émile Zola Years ago while leaving a Biblical seminary permanently, where I taught the Bible without an iota of faith, the Reverend requested me to come home to have dinner with him. He was an exceptionally learned man who introduced himself as an 'accidental priest.' Over a goblet of wine, he quoted the aforementioned statement made by the great French novelist and journalist Emile Zola. It stayed with me. Though I fully agree with Emile Zola, I still feel that churches and shrines of all faiths shouldn't be razed to the ground as humans are still not so evolved as to live without these structural totems and emblems of their respective faiths, called temples, mosques, churches, sthaanak, monasteries and what not. But they can certainly live sans all clergy, clerics, Rabbis and the whole caboodle, we call priesthood. Mind you, prostitution and priesthood are the oldest professions in the world. While I don't cast opprobrium on the former, I cast aspersion on the latter. Remember, the philosopher has never killed any priests, whereas the priest has killed a great many philosophers. If you believe in the crucifixion (or crucifiction?) of the putative Jesus of Nazareth, it was the clergy that demanded that Jesus must be crucified; not Pontius Pilatus, the judge who was reluctant to execute Jesus. In the case of Mansur-Al-Hallaj's excoriation for proclaiming An-al-Haq (Upanishadic equivalent of Aham Brahmasmi or I'm the Truth), a group of clerics persuaded the four judges to peel Mansour's skin off and cut him to pieces. The supreme judge Anaipheida tried tooth and nail to save the life of Socrates, but the Pagan priests at the Temple of Athens wanted to eliminate him. Already useless religions were further desecrated by their priests and clerics because these people have been the biggest nuisance in the business and drama of religion and god for thousands of years. Islam is the biggest sufferer because of its clerics, whose insane fatwas (decrees) have insulted the faith and relegated it to being called ' The Factory of Edicts.' Why do followers require priestly conduits to reach out to god/s? Hasrat Mohani stated, "Darmiyaan-E-Banda-O-Khuda/ Nahin Darkaar Kisi Teesre Shakhs Ki" (Between the worshipper and Allah, there's no need for any third person). So, why do worshippers of all faiths allow these pests called priests to interfere? The priestly segment of all religions has defiled the essence of religiosity and obfuscated the simple message of spirituality. In Plato's Apology, Socrates warned people of reposing faith in the priests. He called them, colleberium (Greek word for an insidious enemy of god). Priests are indeed insidious enemies of god. ---- A regular columnist for New Age Islam, Sumit Paul is a researcher in comparative religions, with special reference to Islam. He has contributed articles to the world's premier publications in several languages including Persian. URL: https://newageislam.com/spiritual-meditations/last-stone-church-falls-priest/d/130461 New Age Islam, Islam Online, Islamic Website, African Muslim News, Arab World News, South Asia News, Indian Muslim News, World Muslim News, Women in Islam, Islamic Feminism, Arab Women, Women In Arab, Islamophobia in America, Muslim Women in West, Islam Women and Feminism