The Tribune

THINK UP:

By Kirkland Pratt

A few nights ago, while channel surfing, I came across an American cult classic, The Blue Lagoon. The film tells the story of two young children marooned on a tropical island paradise in the South Pacific.

A young Brooke Shields portrayed Emmeline Lestrange and Richard Lestrange was played by Christopher Atkins. As the plot progressed, the pair were left to fend for themselves when their senior castaway died. Prior to his death he made it ominously clear that they were never to trek to the ‘other side’ of the island lest they encounter voodooesque inhabitants. One day after following the sound of beating drums, the old man encountered a larger than life idol being used for a sacrificial ritual. With all of his strength returned stunned, afraid and issued the stern warning, striking fear into their young hearts.

As fate would have it, young Emmeline stepped on a poisonous sea urchin when walking along the shore one day and became gravely ill as a result – after trying all in his power to restore his now lover to health Richard resorted to taking Emmeline to the exact spot occupied by the large stone idol – he gently laid her at the base of the idol and offered prayers and flowers. Years before, the sight of the idol sent him scurrying into the bushes for safety, having disobeyed orders by the old man not to venture to the other side. Why the change in behaviour? Why return to the forbidden place now?

I surmise that the idol represented something bigger and more powerful and as such provided internal solace for young Richard as he was at his most vulnerable and desperate. Isn’t this what we all revere – something bigger than ourselves? Across the continuum of belief systems and ‘isms’, lies a profound respect for that which is (or appears to be) greater than us. Liken it to the fervour with which we seek to worship the God of Christianity – of the trinity in the form of God The Father, Jesus Christ and the Holy Spirit.

Do we have a “God gene,” or a “God module”? Believe it or not, some scientists say yes. Some even claim that the human brain is equipped with a “God module,” a subsystem of the brain shaped by evolution to cause us to have religious beliefs.

There certainly is a phenomenon that needs to be explained, namely these religious beliefs. According to surveys by ethnographers, religion is a human universal. In all human cultures, people believe that the soul lives on after death, that ritual can change the physical world and divine the truth, and that illness and misfortune are caused and alleviated by a variety of invisible person-like entities: spirits, ghosts, saints, evils, demons, cherubim or Jesus, devils and gods.

Perhaps we are all aspiring to be at peace with our higher selves and by extension our God. We exist in a hyper-religious religion-saturated community here in the Bahamas where a myriad of belief systems exist and compete for membership, sponsorship and advancement of their agendas. It is all too easy for people therefore, to lose themselves in packaged precepts and not come to know God (their version of God) for themselves. Codependency on others who project God favor, yields categorised and blind followers at best and offers no growth except for the all too revered preacher man who is often wealthy by the fruit of his manipulation. Certainly religion may actually harm us if indeed it is used as a means of psychological control by the persons whom are entrusted to lead the spiritual masses. There are genuine and honest leaders who don’t seek fanfare and fluff – cynicism aside, I opine that they number are few and far between

This piece seeks to jolt consciousness and to steer the curious reader inwardly so as to pose the burning and relevant life questions and then (through his/her own faith) formulate progressive alternatives in the form of answers predicated by complex and individual inner workings.

Keep thinking though, you are good for it.    

Kirkland H. Pratt, MSCP, is a Counselling Psychologist with a Master’s degree in Counselling Psychology with an emphasis in Education. He lectures in Industrial Psychology and offers counselling and related services to individuals and businesses. For comments, contact kirklandpratt@gmail.com.