It is important to separate religion from the religious organizations that promote it. The latter are legal persons with bank accounts and also are hierarchical organizations with decision making concentrated at the top. That is not what religion is. That is how a small group of men or women dominate a larger group of men and women. Now it is true that religion is used to motivate the compliance through identification of the organization with the deity itself or at least identification of the organizational goals of the religious organization with the will of God. But the problem is not religion. It is human primate behavior in hierarchical organization. It is the lust for power. Indeed the religions all have two kinds of people - the saints or holy ones and the ones who run the churches. The problem is that whenever a saint appears (a real one) then the vision that he lives causes others to coalesce around him or her and then an organization forms that is then expropriated by those whose skill is not religious but rather the skills required to attain prominence in a primate dominance hierarchy.That kind of behavior is not just happening in religious organizations. Business and political organizations are also operating that way. These hierarchies are formed for one reason - to allow the will of those at the top to be carried out - to enable their capability to determine the actions of others. Whether that serves those in the lower part of the hierarchy or not it is true definitely that the perks at the top are very similar. Look at the way a pope, a CEO and a president travel or eat and you will not see religious behavior. The problem is that we are willing to submit in order to benefit our own position in the hierarchy. For example I go to work and obey my boss. I do that because I want money that I can use to allocate resources to my own consumption. That is not religious behavior. It is my way of coping with the dominance hierarchy. Both submission and domination are at the root of the problem.
On Apr 22, 9:12 pm, Slip Disc <[email protected]> wrote: > So far, from what I understand, some of your are saying that religion > was devised as a group lure for the sole purpose of monetary gains? > <<<Rosey > > No, that is not what religions originally purposed. It was easily > perceived, in ancient times, that humankind was not capable of self > imposed guidelines, anything and everything was the norm due to that > lack of understanding within a world without rules. Imagine sitting > beside a fire wondering what life is all about and then consider that > you are sitting beside the same fire that the ancients sat next to. > Fire is ancient and unchanged so I will use it analogously as we can > with clouds and sun. But you should as a recommendation of mine, > start a open pit fire and sit around it. You are looking at something > that is as old as time itself. Now realize that the ancients also > looked upon that same fire that you are looking at. Then came the > questions, what are we, who are we, why are we here, what is life all > about, what about death, where did we come from and where are we > going, why the sun and the moon, and who is this burger king,<lol? > Needless to say of course, there were the thinkers of their time the > philosophers to which all of humanity turned to for answers. Rather > than look foolish for not having any answers the next best choice was > to come up with reasonable answers for which they spent numerous hours > pondering. The philosophers, much like our current day politicians, > came up with answers that were simple axioms further enhanced by > exemption from dispute. If you listen to politicians you will hear > their perpetual answers to previous answers to previous answers to > continual problems stemming from previous answers. Well to get back > to the philosophers of the ancients we can easily see that it was > necessary to provide answers, even if for the basic reason to maintain > "authoritative establishment". What would it be like if you could not > provide an answer? So came the explanations of life and the rules for > which all humanity should follow originating from a God. Obviously > there must be a God for we are just nomads wandering the earth without > any answers to this wondrous place we call earth, the one which we > think is flat and might fall off of if we walk too far. Surely the sun > keeps revolving around the earth and so does the moon so we must have > answers to all that. Well now, as a philosopher, I'm starting to > realize that all these people are not only trusting me but they are > actually believing all this "I made it up stuff", so I guess I could > tell them anything. So on and on it went and here we are still in the > same pit of listening to philosophers, politicians who provide answers > to the problems caused by previous answers. The only difference being > that science has removed many of the myths. Surely though you must > admit that no one has any "real" answer as to the what are we, who are > we, why are we here, what is life all about, what about death, where > did we come from and where are we going, why the sun and the moon. We > only have one forsure answer to who the burger king is. > Of course now it is all about the money. Evangelists sell books and > every church collects money for your soul. Finding true spirituality > is like finding a needle in a haystack. Religion is no longer an > answer and a "new movement" is in order. > > On Apr 22, 6:36 pm, Rosey <[email protected]> wrote: > > > So far, from what I understand, some of your are saying that religion > > was devised as a group lure for the sole purpose of monetary gains? > > > Now it makes sense, Moses split the sea so that the Jews could cross > > over and sell logo'ed T-shirts advertising the new monotheistic > > revelation. To those that believe me, I am kidding. > > > In times of despair, religion is an answer. Something to look forward > > to. > > > On Apr 22, 4:38 pm, Chris Jenkins <[email protected]> wrote: > > > > Growth, Rosey. > > > > Welcome to the group. > > > > On Sun, Apr 19, 2009 at 10:05 PM, Rosey <[email protected]> wrote: > > > > > One more question, what causes one to question religion after having > > > > been so faithful to it? I'd really like some input. Thank you. > > > > > On Apr 19, 12:42 pm, Rosey <[email protected]> wrote: > > > >> I decided to start a new post as I originally intended it to be a > > > >> response to the Purpose of Life post but felt it took another > > > >> direction. > > > > >> First off, tip of the hat to everyone in here. I discovered this > > > >> group by chance. Second, purpose to life? Ah, the frailties of the > > > >> mind, I have been walking backwards as I've grown weak in faith. I am > > > >> muslim, I don't think anyone here is immature enough to negatively > > > >> comment on such a label, but I do have one thing to say: When I was > > > >> more faithful to my religion and consistent with prayers I felt a > > > >> sense of completion and calmness. I could even say that I at one > > > >> point I felt that I reached a temporary self actualization. It's not > > > >> the religion, but more or less the idea of maintaining spirituality > > > >> that keeps one fulfilled. Through my recent skepticisms and > > > >> analyzations of religion as a whole I have been more distraught than > > > >> I've ever been. Is it an oddysey? Why does one who has steered far > > > >> from ideological beliefs that a supreme entity exists feel lost and > > > >> agonizingly stressed? Wouldn't one be better off just accepting and > > > >> following religion knowing that they are abiding by its rules > > > >> accordingly? Isn't that comfort? > > > > >> Sincerely, > > > >> Lost- Hide quoted text - > > > > - Show quoted text - --~--~---------~--~----~------------~-------~--~----~ You received this message because you are subscribed to the Google Groups ""Minds Eye"" group. To post to this group, send email to [email protected] To unsubscribe from this group, send email to [email protected] For more options, visit this group at http://groups.google.com/group/Minds-Eye?hl=en -~----------~----~----~----~------~----~------~--~---
