Wednesday, October 20, 2010

Ruminations

Absent a daily reminder of definitive proof of the existence of God, it is left to us to speculate on just how we got to the point at which we find ourselves in 2010.

Speculation:  It all started when tribes go too large to control through simple force. 

Leaders were eventually faced with unpopular decisions and they created stories which allowed them to pass responsibility to a force greater than themselves, and, at the same time, creating a class of assistants who were charged with finding and interpreting “reasons” for edicts such as “Don’t eat that great tasting meat.”

Eventually the assistants developed in the shamans who constructed elaborate stories to explain phenomena which affected daily life.

Story-telling utilized a supra-human entity, which had all the strengths and all the foibles of the people of the tribe as well as powers to control various elements of nature.

Give the species a few thousand years, and it all cumulates in organized religion.

But somewhere it went terribly wrong.

They forgot community and went for a literal supra-human.

Tuesday, September 7, 2010

Hitchens Gets It Correct

Slate offers a column by Hitchens which contains this line:  “The taming and domestication of religion is one of the unceasing chores of civilization.”

Absolutely.

Sunday, August 29, 2010

4.5 billion years ago…

 

“In the beginning…” there wasn’t religion.

And then later…there was.

If we go back far enough we’re likely to find that religion developed out of the necessity to develop a system of socialization which would serve to sustain human life.

As certain facts emerged, eating a particular food had unpleasant results—cramps, blindness, death—it became apparent that a list of don’ts would enhance chances of survival.

“Don’t!” however, very often results in “Why not?” and “Because” seldom is sufficient; “Because I said so” is often even less sufficient.  Further, too often the reason why isn’t grasped at all by the person who wants to impose the don’t.

What to do?  What to do?

Problem solved if an aura of mystery is added to the mix.

“A voice told me.”

It’s time to re-think what that voice actually told “me.”

 

Sunday, July 25, 2010

It’s not all anachronistic bunk

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Here’s a quote from a recent Andrew Sullivan blog entry:  “To dismiss all religion as mere anachronistic bunk is a closure of the mind, not an opening.”

Here’s my problem with Sullivan’s statement.  Do non-religionists really “dismiss all religion,” or do they (we?) merely question certain questionable, i.e., against nature, holdings by several major religions?

I would hold there is at least one element in religious history which should be embraced by all humanity—the idea of congregating. 

Beyond that, there are practices which should be abandoned.  Belief in ascensions, virgin births, raising from the dead, a “jealous” God (how is that not a reflection of human psychology?), having human beings become the earthly “voice” of God, and killing in the name of God (another human trait imposed on the concept of a deity) for starters.

We are a social animal; we benefit from associations with persons of a like mind.  Working within our own associations and with other associations we can all benefit.

That’s a “religious” concept which we should keep and cherish.

Thursday, March 18, 2010

In the beginning...

...there was comfort in community.