Organized religion will struggle to have relevance in the coming centuries. The advancement of knowledge, technology, and ontological alternatives undermines organized religion’s significance. Although it will not disappear, organized religion can still be used as a mechanism for control. Evangelicals and fundamentalist Christians understand this. To maintain relevance they attack various activities and groups to maintain a place in the wider culture and public sphere. Pastors often apply the Bible and God to all aspects of life. Pastor Hosanna E.E. David has a particular disdain for women who compete in bodybuilding. God forbids it in his view. Sports and theology have no connection to one another. A person can compete in a sport and still be a follower of their religion. The Bible do says nothing about women participating in sports. Pastor Hosanna E.E. David represents the illogic of religious fundamentalism. Organized religion is used as an excuse to attack certain groups, independent thinkers, and non-conformists. The prejudiced, intolerant, and closed minded hide behind religion to mask their hatreds.
Religious fundamentalists claim that God or supernatural entities communicate with them. Pastor Hosanna E.E. David said that God spoke to him about the subject of bodybuilding. Unless there is some form of telepathy being used this cannot be taken seriously. Religious fundamentalists always claim that they know what’s best for everyone. The desire to control behavior, convictions, and even sexuality becomes an obsession. Organized religion is not tolerant of women being different or having a role beyond wife or mother.
Pastor Hosanna E.E. David’s message from God is not real. It is his personal opinion. Those who do believe have no trouble being both Christian and a bodybuilder. Most athletes would probably prefer to have Sunday as a rest day. The attack then becomes more vituperative calling them monsters. God at least in the New Testament is suppose to be a loving entity. It seems contradictory that God would hate a person for participating bodybuilding. Pastor Hosanna E.E. David says that people must devote enough time to nurture their soul with God. Based on that logic most of your time and life should be spent praying. Making people harmless is not doing anyone favors. The world is violent and oppressive. Being “harmless as a dove” could mean an end to your survival. People do not have souls and a supernatural entity does not control fate. The bias against women becomes more apparent in other statements.
The term monster and unfeminine are insults directed at women bodybuilders. Monster used in this context is a connotation for being grotesque. The vituperation is objectionable, considering there are plenty of women on stage who have attractive looks and impressive physiques. Pastor Hosanna E.E. David claims that women abandon their feminine roles when they attain this degree of athleticism. A muscular woman is still female, whether people accept it or not. Gender roles are going to change with society. Yet, those who are more grounded in a traditionalist world view are going to find themselves more frustrated. People were not created by a supernatural entity for certain roles. The roles in a society are determined by culture and politics.
Pastor Hosanna E.E. David then mentions steroids, forgetting there are drug tested competitions. That has no relevance, because people have bodily autonomy. This does not apply to women . This explains why religious fundamentalists are opposed to women’s reproductive rights. Women are nothing more than tools for men in the Christian religion. Genesis provides a misogynistic origin of Eve being created from Adam’s rib. What than can be interpreted as is that women are more like utilities, rather than actual people. The reason religious fundamentalists reject bodily autonomy is because they think God gave humans their physical existence. Humans did not emerge from the Garden of Eden; they evolved and migrated from Africa.
Heaven almost is depicted like a country club. Pastor Hosanna E.E. David states bodybuilding would prevent you from entering the kingdom of Heaven. A person cannot enter a place that never existed. The arrogance and exclusivity are projecting in this small sermon. Authority figures want to lecture they know what is best for everyone. The pious often state that their religious text dictates the will of God. The problem is that the Bible, Torah, and Quran were written by human beings. An all powerful being should not require a moral to write on their behalf. The assertion is that God cannot communicate directly, because the entity exists in a spiritual realm. That is why miracles are taken as signs of divine communication. What is shown as God communicating to morals is nothing more than unexplained phenomenon. Miracles have no basis in reality or existence. Following certain dictates of a religious text to get into some place is not righteous. The only reason to be moral is that one is rewarded; it because it is the correct thing to do. One should not be ethical for the sole purpose of getting into some exclusive place.
Altering the body Pastor Hosanna E.E. David claims disrespects the image of God. No one has ever seen God. No one has ever seen angels. No one has seen demons. The images of God come from paintings, sculptures, and other forms of artwork. The image of God most people think of is artwork from the Middle Ages or the Italian Renaissance. These images were a creation of artists. Many times in art God looks closer to Zeus. The image of God has changed over the centuries. Certain religions do not even like an image of God being shown. Some Muslims object to images of Allah, because they consider it idolatry. A bodybuilder is not disrespecting an image that has changed overtime. If no person has seen God, an image can not be abused. The horrid aspect of this is that both the image of God and Jesus has been used for nefarious purposes. God and Jesus have been mostly depicted as white. Despite the fact the Jesus was West Asian, Europeans changed this to suit the process of colonization and imperialism. God being shown as white was a way of expressing the concept of western cultural superiority. Doing this promoted the ideology of white supremacist racism. Missionaries were also agents in imperial conquest. This explains why Catholicism is practiced in parts of Africa, Asia, and South America. The image of God does not make sense. A divine entity would not be human or have a race.
The obsession with punishment and judgement day is a constant theme. Pastor Hosanna E.E. David says bodybuilders are going to face judgement. The indirect message here is that someone will go to Hell. The prediction of judgement day has been made by various religious figures. The world remains fine. Christian fundamentalists proclaim those who do not follow their ways are destined for punishment. Anyone who disagrees with them could be called a sinner . Psychologically, those who speak this way have an issue with certain groups. Pastor Hosanna E.E. David dislikes the sport, but has an extra disdain for women competing. While he does criticize men, Pastor Hosanna E.E. David questions a the female athlete’s womanhood. Based on his reasoning the woman bodybuilder violates gender roles, pretends to be a man, and insults God. What becomes apparent is that the pastor is using religion to mask his sexism. Watching the video this can be detected. The real monsters are those who want to impose theocracy and use their religion to discriminate against other groups. Pastor Hosanna E.E. David would most likely attack video games, film, or any other form of entertainment deemed unholy. Women bodybuilders are just another part of a long list that religious fundamentalists want to attack.
