As everyone knows, there are only a couple of things that you do not talk about in polite society, Religion and Politics. Well I think its time to fracture that taboo and discuss at least one of these two subjects, for the simple reason, there needs to be some clarification of both knowledge and understanding. Now everyone has knowledge of the subject of religion, but is there an understanding of it or is it just taken for granted as to what it is.. What we understand could for all intent and purpose be something totally different from the reality of what religion is. Could it be religion? could it be spirituality or could it be a combination of both religion and spirituality? It is just a philosophy or a life altering faith in an Eternal Being and who is this Eternal Being? What is the culture of religion and how and why does it impact life the way it does?
These are some of the questions I hope to cover in this review, but before we get to far afield, let us define what religion is. According to Merriam-Webster and Zane publishing, my computerized dictionary:
religion ri-li-jn noun [ME religioun, fr. L religion-, religio supernatural constraint, sanction, religious practice, perh. fr. religare to restrain, tie back more at RELY] (13c)
1a: the state of a religious (a nun in her 20th year of religion)
b (1) : the service and worship of God or the supernatural
(2) : commitment or devotion to religious faith or observance
2: a personal set or institutionalized system of religious attitudes, beliefs, and practices
3archaic : scrupulous conformity : CONSCIENTIOUSNESS
4: a cause, principle, or system of beliefs held to with ardor and faith
religionless adjective
1996 Zane Publishing, Inc. and Merriam-Webster, Incorporated
The Encyclopedia of Religion defines religion this way:
In summary, it may be said that almost every known culture involves the religious in the above sense of a depth dimension in cultural experiences at all levels a push, whether ill-defined or conscious, toward some sort of ultimacy and transcendence that will provide norms and power for the rest of life. When more or less distinct patterns of behaviour are built around this depth dimension in a culture, this structure constitutes religion in its historically recognizable form. Religion is the organization of life around the depth dimensions of experience varied in form, completeness, and clarity in accordance with the environs culture.
Weather it be Christian, Judaism, Islam or any other of the worlds religions, let us start at the beginning and look at religion in its formative stages.
In accordance with the thought processes of the times in which any particular religion came into being, it appears that it was the conceptualization of an individual whom had an altering experience and was given insights that others were not privy to. This individual then rose through the hierarchy of that group because he could supply answers or had a close following of selected individuals that never questioned his word on anything. In the cause of Christianity, God used men like Adam, Abraham, Noah, Moses, Joshua and others down through the years to bring His word to the world, at that time the world was primarily located in the area that we now call Iraq, Iran, Turkey, and Israel. Here is where the first recorded incidents took place between the notable belief systems; they were of course the Greeks, the Romans, the Israelites, and the other varied belief structures of the world.
The concept of religion came about to fill a need that was experienced by man due to not being able to, in his limited capacity, explain his purpose. Even at this juncture, man had to have relevance within his situation, which has not changed even today.
But, how could he explain things that are beyond the scope of his abilities?
For example; without using any reference toward a Higher Being or Divine Intervention
1) Explain how we have water, true we have the basic parts of water and can with science have the elements in three varied states; liquid, solid, and gas. That is not questioned, but how are these elements combined and held together to make water?
2) Explain how everything on the face of the Earth works together cohesively without the intervention of man, yet when man (the highest form of life on the planet) interferes with Nature, it always runs amok, until man backs away and leaves it alone.
Before man became the cultured, educated, controlling entity he is today, he had the mind of a child and looked on things with wonder and awe. The explanations of that day were simple and to the point. I can imagine the caveman looking at a sprout when winter turned to spring and saying to himself, this was not here yesterday, so what changed? Then looking at the sun and feeling the warmth, again saying to himself This bright thing is the giver of life and falling in front of it in awe of this new revelation, and returning to his tribe reiterating his find and saying I have discovered something
Then again stating what he believed as truth The Bright Thing is the giver of life, it feeds us, it warms us, when we are good it returns to us, when we do wrong, it leaves us and the ground gets cold and there is no food. We must therefore recognize the Bright Thing as more than us.
Ergo a belief system is born, and through this discoverer, comes the dictates of how to edify this new Higher Being/Higher entity Thereby religion is born. Though this is a very highly stylized interpretation of the beginnings of religion, there could easily be a basis of fact in it. One of my assertions is, religion is the creation of man to edify through action and rules that which he cannot explain.
The concept of a Higher Being becomes reasonable when after careful consideration, man, the explorer finally reaches the place where he has seen the true valuation of self in aspects differing from his own interpretive powers, ones view of self is often overly inflated, and does not always match the reality within which we interact with others. Each individual faith/belief system appears to hinge on the tenant that it and only it is the true faith sought by God, Allah, Buddha or whomever or whatever resides in the position of austerity given by the group of devotees. The pattern of devotion appears always to be the same, Emotionalism, Acceptance, Fervor, Commitment, and Comfort.
The emotionalism is usually a product of disillusionment with the normal experience that human beings encounter in everyday life, and therefore asking the age old question, Is this all there is? which in turn prompts the response of I do not accept that, there has got to be something MORE!
Within the context of this statement I hope to map the need for a belief system in the life of a Human Being, this will include the Agnostic, and Atheist also.
I would be very interested to receive any comments about the above article, there are more to follow, and they shall be posted shortly.
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