SAINT DENIS

Michel Serres, a French philosopher, told a story about a Christian martyr named St. Denis.

In the year 250 AD Denis was executed by decapitation. According to the writings of Christian believers, Denis picked up his head and walked several kilometers, all the while preaching a sermon.

As a child Mr. Serres objected when told this story by his mother. He said Denis could not possibly have found his head without his eyes.

His mother scolded him for failing to understand miracles.

Religious believers take stories like this and other absurd, factually incoherent stories from the Bible —like the talking snake in the Garden of Eden, Lot’s wife turning into a pillar of salt, Jonah and the whale, a burning bush, the parting of the Red Sea, feeding a crowd with a few loaves and fishes, turning water into wine, and other mythological tales and rationalize them by describing them as metaphors that were “divinely inspired.” In other words, God influenced the stories to teach a lesson and send a message.

“DIVINE INSPIRATION is the concept of a supernatural force, typically a deity, causing a person or people to experience a creative desire. It has been a commonly reported aspect of many religions for thousands of years. Divine inspiration is often closely tied to the concept of revelation, the belief in information being revealed or disclosed through communication with a deity or other supernatural entity or entities. Divine inspiration was described by Socrates as a form of madness (although not necessarily a bad form), and was a recurrent theme in the writings of Plato.”—Wikipedia

Some evangelicals, however, take the stories in the Bible literally. A common refrain from the uber religious is, “the Bible says it, I believe it, that settles it.” The earth is 6000 years old and dinosaurs were passengers on Noah’s Ark.

Not to leave politics out of this, to what political party do you think these folks belong?

Michael Serres is 87 years old, so we can assume his mother has gone to her eternal reward. If she were still alive, we could also assume that she would believe—

—that building a wall around the Mexican border will stop illegal immigration

—that tax cuts for the wealthy stimulate the economy and create jobs

—that climate change is a hoax

—that you can pray away gay

—that abstinence is the best form of birth control

—that life begins at conception and a fetus is a person

—that patriotism can be measured by how avidly one salutes the flag or sings the national anthem

—that there’s no racism in this country and that everybody has an equal shot at the American dream

—that there’s no injustice in the justice system

—that cops always have a good reason when they murder an unarmed black man

—that women are better off being barefoot and pregnant and in the kitchen

—that we can win the “war on drugs”