O/T (remember that?)
It always concerns me when the thread swerves in the direction of philosophical/religious/political debate, as in the past it has signalled major market shifts.
Since my portfolio is still very short NG right now, and the direction is down, I don't want a change!
That said, my .02:
At one point in my life I was a devoted 'born-again' type. I was young and hadn't learn to think and reason for myself yet, and had been influenced by family and significant life events.
Upon entering college, an extremely simple concept captivated me. One of my good friends was a devout Moslem, and it occurred to me that he 'acquired' his faith much in the same way I had mine. He was 'born into it'. His faith simply reflected the culture he was born into.
The next logical deduction was this: Since each of our faiths held that they were the 'one true faith', either I or my friend could be 'right', but not both. Or, we could both be 'wrong'. But both of us, by definition, could not be right!
It started an 'epiphany' in my thought process. Faith, as taught to me was the 'knowledge of things yet unseen'. In reality, to have faith, by definition, is to MAKE A DECISION to close your mind to any and all relevant facts that are contrary to your world view.
This is the 'extreme case'. In reality, most individuals and religions evolve and temper belief systems over time as the human knowledge pool increases. Hence, we no longer hold that the Earth is the center of the universe as is taught in the christian bible, nor do christians any more hold it as a good idea to kill homosexuals as is stated in the bible. (though they certainly seem to despise them)
When I was devout, there was a preacher who was fond of saying "If God didn't exist, man would have to create him". God's alleged maleness notwithstanding, I have since come to see that through the history of civilization, just the opposite has ocurred, and, in fact, the preacher got it half right.
Man and civilizations have created God in their own image. The poorer, warring civilizations have a god of vengeance and wrath. A god that will punish with a hell of hell's, filled with torture, fire and brimstone. This met a very political need of keeping the citizenry in line out of fear.....much the same way a tyranical ruler in a tyrannical age might.
This is the god of the Taliban. The god of the witch burning, scarlet letter producing colonists. The god of the middle age catholic church, and of the rural southern poor in the U.S. even into this century.
There was a real shift in the 'religious package' in the states in this century. God was being sold much less as a 'do this and this and this or else' package. God started being pushed as the 'generous gift giver' that gave you this nifty wonderful life and world full of goodies if you 'bought the package'. I have no doubts that this shift in thinking followed closely with the dramatic shift in scientific knowledge and wealth and ease our civilization created in the last century.
You see, to CHOOSE to believe a thing, is also to choose to stop looking for answers, and to stop analyzing data and reconciling logical inconsistencies against reality. However, to choose to stay 'aligned with truth', that is, to continue to observe and reason and think and not get swept away in a particular religious river of thought, is a very daunting task.
And, in the end, most, if not all religious constructs are the human soul coping with the concept of its very mortality. The human mind can not cope easily with the realization that its most dearest desires and struggles are like a speck dust in the hurricane winds of infinite time.
To truly embrace the reality of the ultimate lack of meaning or plan in the universe is beyond the scope of most rational man to accept without sinking into a depressed existentialist haze.
I choose to embrace death and mortality and, to give thanks for each day and to look for its potential blessings. For each day, to laugh, sing, smell, taste make love and be joyful, while trying to make the world a better place, to me is truly worshiping the 'true god'.
I recognize and see that, ultimately, one of THE greatest adaptive evolutionary traits used by man is that of self-deception. As any creative soul will acknowledge to you, 100% of all physical man made reality first began as a thought in a human mind. Whether it be a company, a physical object, or a logical or mathematical rubric, or a religious world view, it emanates from the brain.
Freud stated the very nature of creativity as emanating from a form of insanity, where the creator leaves the real physical universe to an internally created non-existent fantasy world. (which is also why so many creative types march to a 'different drummer, and why so many mentally ill people are fixated on some form of religious pattern)
To make a long story longer, I ultimately came to the conclusion that that my logical puzzle of which faith was correct actually has a 'trick' surprise ending. I earlier deduced that neither the Christian nor the Moslem religion could both, in fact, be 'the correct one true faith' simultaneously. In fact, they are both equally valid to the extent they allow the believer to live a happy, content, fulfilled, joyous life. And, in truth, all religions of the world create for the believer a mythical magical place, where there is order and meaning to the world. To the extent that this serves the believer and the surrounding world, the religion is 'true' and 'good'.
Our greatest religious traditions have come from leaders in the past who had a vision of a different world. Mohammed who taught that a conqueror should civilize and 'make peaceful' the conquered rather than destroy. Jesus who offered the idea of 'forgiving seventy times seven' to eradicate the destruction of 'an eye for an eye' that devastates the Middle East to this very day. Ghandi who promoted non-violent protest to prick the very conscience of the world. Bin Laden who promotes a warfare of killing the innocent civilians rather than fighting on a field of battle (and generally being a prick to those of conscience in the world).
These are all people who's ideas and belief systems had a dramatic and profound impact on the society at large. Therefore, one must choose one's belief systems carefully, as its societal impact may be immeasurable over time and generations, as we impact those around us. And, roughly speaking, it is that very belief which defines and creates god in our own image, whether on a personal or societal level.
And in the end, this ripple, or wave we create may well be the only meager claim we may have to immortality as it flows across the vast seas of time and generations.
Regards,
Cosmo
P.S. (I need to get out more <grin>) For the good of the 'thread', if you must or desire to rebut my thoughts, please PM them. I agree with Koll, religous discussions easily get out of hand. I will not post responses to replies to this publicly.... |
