EP 31 The problem with waiting for someone to save you

Messianism is the belief in the advent of a Messiah who acts as a savior of a group of people. It is at the core of Christianity, the Messiah being Jesus Christ. You may say that this idea does not apply to you because you are not religious but if the dominant culture of the country you were born in rests on Messianism, then it is likely that it forms part of your core beliefs, albeit unconscious. It's likely to have seeped into books, films and songs and having shaped your thinking, even if you are not aware of it.  In the episode I share an example of how my mother, even though she is an atheist, believed that I would go to hell because she has internalized one of those beliefs.  Why is Messianism problematic? First, because it usually claims that only the people who adhere to that religion will be saved by their Messiah, which is problematic in itself. But also because it relies on the principle that humans need to be saved and personally I think it strips them of personal responsibility. It also carries the idea that there is something intrinsically wrong with us, and I find that toxic. Don't get me wrong, living in the illusion that we are perfect is equally as toxic. What's wrong with just being human and radically accepting ourselves as we are?  Messianism is present in most traditional religions. We have already talked about Christianity, but it can also be found in Judaism, Islam, Buddhism and even Taoism.  Look around and you can also see, if you live in the Western world that our culture has a cult for superheroes, and yet these superheroes often carry a message of toxic masculinity, a justification for violence and a binary vision of the world where there are the good and the bad people. Or good or bad things happening, and of course the person who defines good or bad is usually from the dominant culture.  Modern psychologists have recognized the unhealthy pattern at play, so much so that they have coined a complex around it: the Messiah complex. In a milder form, it presents as the White Knight Complex, but not less toxic. The reason I feel we need to be very careful around these ideas is that they pave the way for both authoritarianism and domestic abuse.  To join the discussion in my group, click here https://www.facebook.com/groups/461328731985193