Call me an atheist fundamentalist curmudgeonly loner (no, really, go ahead), but I have a big problem with this:  a roomful of people chanting in a bland monotone that they will “not comply” with killing, or empire, or greed, or other bad things.  Not the Borg, but the anti-Borg, the alternate universe good twin Borg that do nice things instead of bad, that unite to help others instead of judging or killing them.  I have a problem with it, even though it would seem to be a good alternative to the violent, fundamentalist religion where people unite in lockstep to be homophobic or pro-violence.  I have a problem with it, even if I’d happily prefer it to its philosophical cousin.

For one thing, as even the author of the book discussed in the article points out, it seems like yet another fad of modern Christianity which will certainly have a short shelf life, if recent history is any indicator.

But my main problem with it is this:  it’s just another kind of groupthink, and it still insists upon belief in supernatural nonsense.  Listen to the entire recording on that page.  After they get through the part of the litany that deals with empire and killing, they then move on to pledge belief in God, the savior on his donkey and so forth.  Yes, empire is a bad idea; yes, killing is a bad idea.  But do you really need belief in Jesus, or Allah, or Thor, to reach those conclusions?  Did God tell you that mindless killing was bad, or did reason?

This kind of theology is just that: theology.  It is yet another way to allow modern people to continue to believe that supernatural belief is rational, and that it fits right in with modern living.  If you’re anti-war, hey, guess what: God is too.  Isn’t He great?  You really ought to believe in Him.

There is no more less rebellious person on the planet than the one who claims that they are “Christian,” yet they don’t belong to a church because they think the organized religions are wrong about Jesus.  If you really want to be different, if you really want to be a rebel, then think for yourself, and stop buying into overarching, supernaturally-tinged ideologies, organized or not.  Stop calling yourself an outsider when you self-identify using the same label as the group you believe yourself to be outside of.

And definitely don’t go to a scary rally and chant litanies about things you will or won’t do with lots of other people.  The Borg are still the Borg, even if they promise you free cable.