Greta G's Reviews > Under the Banner of Heaven: A Story of Violent Faith

Since Donald Trump took office, Iceland responded by protecting its secular culture. The Icelandic government declared that all religions are considered mental disorders and banned all religious practices.
The Icelandic Psychological Defense Act (IPDA) made it illegal for any American televangelist to set foot in the country. The Iceland Heritage Defense Act (IDHA) strictly prohibits Christians from entering several locations and tourist sites, like libraries, women health centers, Starbucks, hot water springs, and Richard Dawkins Monument to Reason.
In 2019, Iceland placed the Southern Baptist Convention on its list of terrorist organizations, for using fear of eternal torment to achieve political goals.
Visitors who aren’t vaccinated due to religious reasons are prohibited from entering the country. They can be sick elsewhere.
Iceland’s Parliament chose to warn its citizens of the inherent dangers of taking the ‘Good Book’ seriously, and warning labels must be put on all Bibles. Taking the Bible literally can lead to irrational decision making; reading the Book of Revelation is positively correlated with speaking in tongues and other psychotic events. This new statute also demands that every Bible sold must be wrapped in plastic to keep small children from picking up the book and reading verses like Psalm 137:9 “Blessed is he who seizes your infants and dashes them against the rocks”.
Reading the Bible has also been shown to cause an outbreak of Donald Trump.

This story about Iceland is of course false. It was originally published on the Patheos website in its satirical section called ‘Laughing in Disbelief’ (https://www.patheos.com/blogs/laughin...), however it became a hoax on social media, with users believing it and commenting on the story as though it was real.

But why am I telling you this story?

Well, for starters, for the shock effect. I anticipate that some readers will be shocked more by reading this false story than by reading the story of the cruel murders by the Lafferty brothers which is the theme of Jon Krakauer’s book. It was just another murder inspired by fundamentalist belief - nothing new here. If that’s the case - if you felt shock while reading that false story - then it should make you stop and think…

Secondly, to compensate for the total lack of humor in the book. Seriously, reading Krakauer’s book isn’t fun at all. When I picked up this book, I expected that I at least would chuckle somewhat while reading about prophets and their divine revelations. I couldn’t. Mostly I felt annoyed by what I read.

Further, I believe that potential readers deserve to be warned about the danger of reading this book. At some point, I couldn't help thinking 'Oh my goodness, suppose this sort of crap is true for all religions, and by extension for the beliefs that define most people's lives’.
I don't think any other book could succeed in making me feel more skeptical about religion in general than this book did. The documented history of Mormonism was quite eye-opening, and I couldn’t help imagining similar origins of other religions.
Of course, religious fundamentalism was fundamental to (pun intended) the violence and repression recounted in this book, but where exactly do you put a moral limit on religiosity?
Honestly, the realization of living in a world rife with religious superstition, combined with my aversion of the current delusional ‘leader of the free world’ made me want to throw up.

Most importantly though, at some point in the court case against Ron Lafferty, the court first needed to determine if he was mentally competent to stand trial. Was Ron in his right mind? Was he crazy or sane?

“Saying that anyone who talks to God is crazy has enormous implications for the whole world of religion. It imposes a secular view of sanity and means that all religions are insane.
This issue was especially germane for Latter-day Saints, given the unusual importance Mormons have always placed on communicating directly with the Almighty. Their entire faith is based on talking to God.

This case potentially had great ramifications for the manner in which American courts would deal thereafter with violent crimes inspired by religious belief.
If Ron Lafferty were deemed mentally ill because he obeyed the voice of his God, isn’t everyone who believes in God and seeks guidance through prayer mentally ill as well? In a democratic republic that aspires to protect religious freedom, who should have the right to declare that one person’s irrational beliefs are legitimate and commendable, while another person’s are crazy? How can a society actively promote religious faith on one hand and condemn a man for zealously adhering to his faith on the other?”

That was really interesting because his defense lawyer said, "Look, how could someone with these extreme beliefs — talking to God, God tells him to kill his sister-in-law and her baby — that's clearly insane." And the prosecution said, "No, no. People have extreme religious beliefs all the time." I mean, most of us believe something that to outsiders would be preposterous — parting of the Red Sea, the virgin birth, going to heaven.

The prosecution prevailed. Ron Lafferty was convicted of first-degree murder and sentenced to death. However after spending 34 years on Utah's Death Row, Ron died a natural death last year.