There are three major religions with origins in belief in the same deity. The root messages of all three religions are almost identical; only the rituals and surface trappings differ. If I report that a religion promotes honesty in one's dealings with others, charity for poor and needy, respect for oneself and others, humility, acceptance of the existence of a deity and wholehearted efforts to lead a good life all three of the great religions can accept this as a generic description of the teachings. People are still too uncivilized to see past the surface differences and accept the commonalities.I believe it is wrong to hold onto grudges either as individuals or as members of one or another religious group. As human beings we are rapidly approaching a barrier to our societal maturity. We need to learn to work together for the common good of all people and sincerely put aside arguments over the correct way to worship our common deity. If we continue to put more effort into proving ourselves better than the other group we will remain distracted from our real problems and never achieve the things we as human beings can accomplish.
Some things we can do might include:
1. Vastly improved life spans for everyone by advancing our real understanding of the mechanisms diseases and aging while learning how nutrition and lifestyle apply to lifespan
2. We can work through the barriers of knowledge that limit our understanding of the physical universe. With this knowledge we will become able to exercise the human nature of curiosity and exploration beyond this tiny little piece of the universe. This universe was not created just for decorating our sky. It is a tease to give us incentive to work together and spread humanity to the millions of worlds available to us.
3.Full medical knowledge will eliminate human suffering, especially that suffering caused by other humans.
The list of possibilities is limitless. Each of us, if we decide to, can think of something humans might achieve with cooperation. We each possess a built-in tendency to believe. The beliefs we accept are generally fed to us by religious leaders trained in certain styles. Religious style is very much like language. It provides for communication of abstract concepts in terms of concrete existence. The abstract concepts are the same - only the language differs. Once we accept this we begin the erode the barrier to our true destiny as the masters of this physical universe until we decide, each of his own accord, to pass on to the next level and share the next existence with our deity of choice and those who go before or come after.
DRP
Showing posts with label religion. Show all posts
Showing posts with label religion. Show all posts
Friday, September 25, 2009
Saturday, July 11, 2009
Some thoughts about religion and conflict
One good thing about this method of communication - If I make people mad at me they have to use up their anger just to find me. That's why I can post opinions like this one.
I recently watched a TV show examining the common origins of the three great monotheistic religions: Christianity, Islam, and Judaism. There is a common origin in all of them and that origin is Abraham. One theme winding through the tv show was the way these three religions have lost focus on the message of God while arguing about the "mechanics" of worship and faith.
A couple years ago as part of my college requirements I had to take a humanities course. Segments of this course dealt with these three religions. I had to complete several assignments and one common theme I embraced was the idea that the three great religions had obscured the message of God. The three religions, instead of working to understand their differences and learn tolerance, had devolved into deadly conflict. This conflict continues to this day in very visible and deadly ways. I believe God is above the petty conflicts of man and evil uses these conflicts to weaken us all. Religious leaders try to justify their existence and exercise their power by promoting these conflicts. These leaders, in their blindness to the real message, are doing the work of Satan. I include all religions in this statement but certainly not all leaders in any one religion.
Tolerance, acceptance, understanding, and cooperation will strengthen us all. Intolerance, hatred, exclusion and violence are Satan's work and far too many people are being sacrificed to Satan in the name of God.
I recently watched a TV show examining the common origins of the three great monotheistic religions: Christianity, Islam, and Judaism. There is a common origin in all of them and that origin is Abraham. One theme winding through the tv show was the way these three religions have lost focus on the message of God while arguing about the "mechanics" of worship and faith.
A couple years ago as part of my college requirements I had to take a humanities course. Segments of this course dealt with these three religions. I had to complete several assignments and one common theme I embraced was the idea that the three great religions had obscured the message of God. The three religions, instead of working to understand their differences and learn tolerance, had devolved into deadly conflict. This conflict continues to this day in very visible and deadly ways. I believe God is above the petty conflicts of man and evil uses these conflicts to weaken us all. Religious leaders try to justify their existence and exercise their power by promoting these conflicts. These leaders, in their blindness to the real message, are doing the work of Satan. I include all religions in this statement but certainly not all leaders in any one religion.
Tolerance, acceptance, understanding, and cooperation will strengthen us all. Intolerance, hatred, exclusion and violence are Satan's work and far too many people are being sacrificed to Satan in the name of God.
Wednesday, May 20, 2009
Another view on religion
This is just an observation and not necessarily my real personal opinion.
I was channel surfing my TV channels this morning and stumbled across a program Named God vs. Satan. It might have been the coffee but I suddenly became aware of a different way to look at the subject. Here it is.
Looking at humans as the one (as far as we know) creature that has established civilization based on education not instinct opens a new lens on religion. There are animals that exhibit high organization and cooperation - ants for instance. These traits are based on instinct and require no training. Humans on the other hand must be trained or educated in the ways of civilization and cooperation. Religion is one of civilization's tools to promote good behaviour within the society. The concept of God in any form is rooted in the need for people to put their personal desires secondary to society's needs. The concept of Satan represents the giving in to base animal behaviour. "Good" people find a balance in their lives where society's needs generally override the animal within them. "Bad" people [at many levels] ignore society in favor of their own desires. Society says "act this way in spite of your desires" while the animal says "do this because you want to".
Satan and the concepts of evil represent the unconstrained animal in us all. Without religion and education in the ways to live in society, the animal in us would never let us mature beyond the level of a 3 or 4 year-old child. Demand and take what we want just because we can - disregard the needs of others.
God and the concepts of good represent the pressure to modify our base behavior in ways that support society and civilization. We have the intelligence to understand good and evil. We have the ability to make the choices in every thing we do. Any time we put our own wants and desires ahead of the requirements of civilization we are responding to the animal side. Without the animal side to provide competition we would never advance. Without the cooperation driven by religion and civilization we would never have evolved as the leading species on this world. As individuals we are weak and defenseless. Cooperation and civilization (promoted by religion) are our strengths. Devolving back to the animal side (evil)leaves us vulnerable to being eaten.
Donald Page
I was channel surfing my TV channels this morning and stumbled across a program Named God vs. Satan. It might have been the coffee but I suddenly became aware of a different way to look at the subject. Here it is.
Looking at humans as the one (as far as we know) creature that has established civilization based on education not instinct opens a new lens on religion. There are animals that exhibit high organization and cooperation - ants for instance. These traits are based on instinct and require no training. Humans on the other hand must be trained or educated in the ways of civilization and cooperation. Religion is one of civilization's tools to promote good behaviour within the society. The concept of God in any form is rooted in the need for people to put their personal desires secondary to society's needs. The concept of Satan represents the giving in to base animal behaviour. "Good" people find a balance in their lives where society's needs generally override the animal within them. "Bad" people [at many levels] ignore society in favor of their own desires. Society says "act this way in spite of your desires" while the animal says "do this because you want to".
Satan and the concepts of evil represent the unconstrained animal in us all. Without religion and education in the ways to live in society, the animal in us would never let us mature beyond the level of a 3 or 4 year-old child. Demand and take what we want just because we can - disregard the needs of others.
God and the concepts of good represent the pressure to modify our base behavior in ways that support society and civilization. We have the intelligence to understand good and evil. We have the ability to make the choices in every thing we do. Any time we put our own wants and desires ahead of the requirements of civilization we are responding to the animal side. Without the animal side to provide competition we would never advance. Without the cooperation driven by religion and civilization we would never have evolved as the leading species on this world. As individuals we are weak and defenseless. Cooperation and civilization (promoted by religion) are our strengths. Devolving back to the animal side (evil)leaves us vulnerable to being eaten.
Donald Page
Friday, May 15, 2009
Politics and religion
This posting might stir up some response.
First, I have to comment on the recent flurry of activity following Miss California's answer to a pagent question. She answered the question in a manner fully compatible with the original intentions of our founding fathers. She indicated her acceptance of the way the country allows open discussion of thr subject and presented her personal view. She did not condem the views of others and she did not attempt to promote her views as the only valid views.
The many people who subsequently condemmed her response went too far. They had the right and maybe some responsibility to respond with their own views. They went too far when they declared her unqualified for the pagent crown because of her views. She fully exemplified the spirit of free speach and freeedom of religion that are the backbone of America. People have the right to believe their own way and the right to express those beliefs. The do not have the right to impose their beliefs on others.
Secondly, I have strong personal views on abortion. I accept the concept that the fetus is a life. I believe the anti-abortion groups should make all efforts to educate people in this fact. They should put their efforts into providing alternatives and promoting prevention. Unwanted pregnacies are a disease that is 99%preventable.
I differ from the traditional pro-life groups in that I do not believe government and politics is the proper environment for these efforts. Over the centuries we have seen that laws do not stop unwanted behaviours, only criminalize them. Put your efforts and support into education and non-government support programs and your results will be greater. Teach people to think. Let our politicians run the country as an efficient business; do not expect them to legislate morals. Most of them are immoral anyway and only say whay you want to hear to get your vote.
D. Page
First, I have to comment on the recent flurry of activity following Miss California's answer to a pagent question. She answered the question in a manner fully compatible with the original intentions of our founding fathers. She indicated her acceptance of the way the country allows open discussion of thr subject and presented her personal view. She did not condem the views of others and she did not attempt to promote her views as the only valid views.
The many people who subsequently condemmed her response went too far. They had the right and maybe some responsibility to respond with their own views. They went too far when they declared her unqualified for the pagent crown because of her views. She fully exemplified the spirit of free speach and freeedom of religion that are the backbone of America. People have the right to believe their own way and the right to express those beliefs. The do not have the right to impose their beliefs on others.
Secondly, I have strong personal views on abortion. I accept the concept that the fetus is a life. I believe the anti-abortion groups should make all efforts to educate people in this fact. They should put their efforts into providing alternatives and promoting prevention. Unwanted pregnacies are a disease that is 99%preventable.
I differ from the traditional pro-life groups in that I do not believe government and politics is the proper environment for these efforts. Over the centuries we have seen that laws do not stop unwanted behaviours, only criminalize them. Put your efforts and support into education and non-government support programs and your results will be greater. Teach people to think. Let our politicians run the country as an efficient business; do not expect them to legislate morals. Most of them are immoral anyway and only say whay you want to hear to get your vote.
D. Page
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