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On ReligionReligions - Bane or Balm?Religions were one of the first inventions of humans. Even before humans could speak, some form of religion must have existed. Humans have always wondered why things happened that were beyond their control. This had to mean there was some power directing events and controlling their lives. This something was sometimes benevolent, sometimes helpful, and often unavailable. Religion was and is man’s answer to the unknown, unknowable, and unexplainable. It has been said that if God did not exist, we would invent Him. Religion has always been used to explain events beyond our control - from birth to death. Whether it be earthquakes, floods, fires, or pestilence, religions were there to explain. Usually, these explanations indicated the deity was displeased and to prevent future occurrences some form of sacrifice had to be given. As science explained more of the world around us, religion moved more into the afterlife, the workings of the mind, and into creation of fear. A review of ancient history indicates our deities have not been gracious to us. They appear to be more interested in punishing humans or using them as toys. Regardless of our deities power, they seem to be very human in nature. But, how else could we humans see our deities except as a reflection of our own best and worst natures. Our deities are ourselves magnified. Each early religion was local in its nature and its effect. Each deity reflected the needs of that particular tribe and area. A hunting deity was needed to aid a hunting tribe, a plant deity was needed by a farming tribe. This is as it should be, a deity must belong to its worshipers or be adopted by them. A deity must be personal to the worshiper and, therefore, must be intimately connected to the person’s life. Our deity’s were local creations and in our attempt to expand their influence we adopted a one god approach. Our local god was the one and only god, all others were false. We proved this by killing and persecuting all who disagreed. This worked well while our wars were confined to small global areas because we could claim the more powerful deity won. As we globalized our deities, we lost the their personal aspects. The deity could no longer respond to each individual’s situation and, therefore, our gods became more distant - being out there, up there, or down there. They no longer lived with the person, too many details and people to monitor. But to widen the scope of a deity meant that doctrine had to be created. The best practice was to have the deity personally provide the doctrine to a faithful servant. This doctrine codified how the deity was to be approached, how it was to be worshipped, and who was to be its representative. The code became law and usually became that religion’s sacred book. All answers were to be found in this book and only the appropriate representatives have the right to question, change, or interpret the book’s wording. Of course, this caused other problems. The laws needed to help a community or people grow changes as the community and people change and as times change. What worked for a farming community did not work as well for a manufacturing or trading community. Thus, the interpretation of the sacred words were modified by the blessed and the possessed. The individual was not allowed to decide what the sacred words meant - religion became a matter of doctrine rather than personal experience. The more global the religion the less it serves the need of the individual and to expand the religion, the less tolerant it became toward competing beliefs and gods. Intolerance toward other religions became not only acceptable but also excusable. Fanaticism in one’s religion was cultivated and expected. Religion serves a very useful purpose but to properly serve that purpose it must be adaptable to the individual. One religion cannot serve the needs of all individuals because each individual has different needs, wants, and desires and, therefore, has a different concept of what a deity must be to fulfill those needs. This deity is a reflection of the individual’s life experience and even career choice. The needs of a warrior are different from the needs of a peacemaker. Even if the same name for god is used, the image and attributes vary with each person. None of us worship the same deity, we worship the deity we create for it has no set image but changes based on each person’s perception. Religions are meant to be personal, individual, and a path of self-discovery. How you expand your concept of your deity reflects your personal growth and to accept someone else’s deity concept is to stunt your own personal growth. The more defined the deity, the less flexibility there is for individual experience and personal growth. If you dare to define your own deity, the established religions combine to condemn. Every religious teaching available today started out as one person’s personal experience. To deny that experience to us today is to deny personal growth and a personal deity. There will always be people who prefer to follow established religious doctrine and there will be a few who wish to blaze their own path and create their own deity concept. All established religions fear the individual thinker because the lessons of history are that new ideas have a habit of replacing old ideas. Today’s religions don’t want to be relegated to history like so many other past religions and deities. Established religions fear the free-thinker because he or she threatens their survival. However, unless tolerance is found for these thinkers, today’s religions will become tomorrow’s history. Religions must learn to be inclusive rather than exclusive. Any religion that subjugates and stigmatizes one-half of their deity’s creation is bound for problems. To assume that only males can perform certain religious actions, hold certain religious offices is blatant discrimination. These religions have protected themselves thus far by convincing women that their sacred books require and sanction these actions. No one seems inclined to question why this is so or that the books were written and edited primarily by men. As long as women allow this subjugation and discrimination, they deserve their stigmatized, secondary rolls. Women are seeking recognition not only in business but also in religion and because of this women are increasingly turning to older religions. These religions recognize the wisdom of the individual regardless of gender. It is hoped that women in the quest for equality in religion don’t do the same to men as was done to them. There should be no such thing as male or female religions. Each gender has its own strengths and weaknesses. United we learn love; divided we learn hate. United we learn cooperation; divided we learn competitiveness. For both genders to be their best, we need the wisdom and the insight of the other gender. To claim one gender is better is based on fear - the loss of power. Real power comes from sharing and being able to do what each individual can do best regardless of gender. May our deities bless our intent and guide our actions. Author: Don Miller
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2002 Articles |
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