[EMAIL PROTECTED] wrote:
> This article is a little on the long side but it's well worth taking the
> time
> to read and it gives a lot of insight on what motivates people towards a
>
> belief in a higher power. I especially liked the part about the
> "behavioral
> patterns imprinted in the basal ganglia, the reptilian brain. These
> brain
> cells have an evolutionary past dating back about 240,000,000 years.
> They
> dominate much of our behavior."
>
> Lawana
>
> ==========================================
> "Why religion persists and is also avoided like the plague"
> Printed on Tuesday, June 25, 2002 @ 09:45:06 EDT
> http://www.yellowtimes.org/article.php?sid=421
>
> By John Brand, D.Min., J.D.
> YellowTimes.org Columnist (United States)
>
> (YellowTimes.org) – PROPOSITION: Hardly anyone professing to be
> religious has
> any idea of the meaning of the word "religion."
>
> OBSERVATION: The word "religion" is derived from the Latin prefix "re"
> meaning "back" and the verb "ligare" meaning "to bind." The essential
> meaning
> of religion is to bind together the totality of life. Religion, in its
> purest
> sense, is an all-embracing view of life. It is as much concerned about
> quantum mechanics as it is about the Bible. Religion understands that
> the
> entire cosmos is an intertwined whole of an implicate order. It
> understands,
> for instance, the concept of Chaos Theory that a butterfly's flickering
> wings
> in Burma might cause a tornado in Kansas.
>
> On the other hand, religion is only concerned with its own dogmas, its
> own
> scriptures, its own holy men and women. Rather than seeking to find an
> integrative principle, religion seeks to force all events and all
> circumstances into its own preconceived doctrines. In this article the
> word
> Religion is spelled with a capital "R" when referring to its integrative
>
> meaning. When speaking of traditional, church oriented religion the
> lower
> letter "r" is used.
>
> Integrative Religion embraces the dynamic reality of the world.
> Sectarian
> religion excludes all but its own self-understanding.
>
> PROPOSITION: Most people use religion to confirm their own ideas and to
> solidify their own preconception.
>
> OBSERVATION: During the last presidential election we learned that Jesus
> was
> Mr. Bush's philosopher of choice. Among Christians great diversities
> exist
> about the person and the teachings of Jesus. However, it would be
> difficult
> to find even one among a thousand or so churches, denominations, sects,
> assemblies, communions, or fellowships that would deny that Jesus was a
> friend of the underdog. He defended the poor, the disenfranchised, and
> the
> economically disadvantaged. Yet during the recent power crises in
> California,
> President Bush would not even lift the little finger of either hand to
> come
> to the aid of the beleaguered Californians. While, figuratively
> speaking, the
> energy brokers held a gun to the heads of our fellow citizens, the Enron
>
> crowd enriched themselves by about a billion dollars.
>
> It would seem that among the myriads of laws, orders, ordinances, and
> regulations, our Jesus-oriented President and his fellow Christian
> disciple
> John Ashcroft could have found one little paragraph that would have
> enabled
> them to prevent this financial rape. But it seems that in spite of his
> continuous avowal of religion, the President listened to the philosophy
> of
> Kenneth Lay rather than the words of Jesus. "Truly I tell you, it will
> be
> hard for a rich person to enter the kingdom of heaven. Again I tell you,
> it
> is easier for a camel to the through the eye of a needle than for
> someone who
> is rich to enter the kingdom of God." (Matthew 19: 23,24) Maybe no one
> ever
> told Mr. Bush about the 23rd Chapter of Matthew.
>
> Among many statements condemning the leading figures of his day for
> their
> hypocrisy, Jesus said, "Woe to you, scribes and Pharisees, hypocrites!
> For
> you tithe mine, dill, and cumin, and have neglected the weightier
> matters of
> the law: justice and mercy and faith." What is more just, to allow
> Kenneth
> Lay to steal millions or to prevent him from robbing the little folks?
> Maybe
> for his next birthday gift, someone might send the President a copper
> bracelet with the letters WWJD? (What would Jesus do?) Not that it would
>
> matter a great deal. The President, like most other religious folks,
> always
> finds ways to bend religion to justify whatever he wants to justify.
>
> PROPOSITION: On the surface of things, people are religious for two
> reasons.
>
> OBSERVATION: Human beings are social creatures. We enjoy and even need
> to
> have relationships with other persons. Loneliness is a terrible state.
> Certainly, the church provides an environment where like-minded people
> congregate. Sunday School classes in particular satisfy human needs to
> interact and relate with others. It might interesting to find out
> whether the
> study of Religion is more important to members of a Sunday School class
> or
> whether the celebration of birthdays, social gathering, the annual
> Christmas
> party, the S.S. bowling league or other social events take precedence? I
> am
> willing to bet my proverbial dollar to your donut that the social
> aspects
> will weigh much more heavily than the quest for understanding the
> Religious
> nature of the world.
>
> The second reason for being religious touches a more sensitive nerve.
> Most
> people fear death. After all, since we were knee-high to a grasshopper,
> we
> learned that "good" people go to heaven and "bad" people go to hell.
> While
> Dante's Inferno no longer puts the fear of God into people as it did
> centuries ago, nevertheless when push comes to shove, we want to have
> some
> insurance that will keep us out of the devil's domain.
>
> So, where can we receive a visa in the passport of life that says,
> "Approved
> for Eternity, St. Pete?" To my knowledge the passport office of the
> State
> Department has no such stamp. The only place, we are told, where we can
> get
> that particular "Good Housekeeping Seal of Approval" is at the church
> around
> the corner.
>
> There is enough neuroticism about death to make most people sign off on
> religion and make its institutions a viable enterprise. Because to most
> people death is such a fearful event, they are willing to accept
> irrational
> doctrines and fallacious beliefs to offset the dread of death. Let me
> share a
> personal experience that to my mind illustrates just how infantile many
> of us
> are about our own death.
>
> Years ago, the undertaker in our small town remodeled his chapel. One
> day he
> called me and asked me if I were free to come to see him. I drove to the
>
> chapel and upon entering it he asked me, "John, do you see it?" "Well,"
> I
> replied, "you certainly did a fine remodeling job." "No, no, do you see
> it?"
> "Well, to be honest I do not know what you mean?" He pointed to a light
> fixture above the place where the open casket with the body of the
> deceased
> would be positioned. All I saw was a fixture with two lamps. As I
> remember,
> one was pale blue and the other sort of purplish. He said, "John, when I
> fix
> these lights just right, the deceased will look life-like."
>
> Whoa, Nellie! Even when death is reality, we seek to deny it. That is
> somewhat neurotic. And the church takes advantage of our fears. So we
> attend
> and support and buy into all sorts of dogmas and rituals seeking to
> still our
> minds and hearts in the face of the inevitable.
>
> But there are far deeper reasons why religion continues to thrive.
>
> PROPOSITION: The most deeply ingrained behavioral patterns in our brains
> find
> a sense of gratification through the practices of the church.
>
> OBSERVATION: In my essays in YellowTimes.org, under the title "The Human
>
> Theater of the Absurd," I discuss the behavioral patterns imprinted in
> the
> basal ganglia, the reptilian brain. These brain cells have an
> evolutionary
> past dating back about 240,000,000 years. They dominate much of our
> behavior.
> There are four major areas of needs located in this very ancient part of
> the
> brain. Let me list them and discuss how the church satisfies these
> primordial
> needs.
>
> 1. The Territorial Imperative. Circuitry in the reptilian brain demands
> that
> we establish as well as defend our territory. Paul D. MacLean, M.D.,
> claims
> that one's beliefs, value systems, philosophy, and political persuasion
> are
> territorial needs just as real as one's home, one's car, and other
> physical
> properties defining our personal space.
>
> What can be more territorial than to believe that in the hereafter we
> have a
> place in eternity reserved for us? It is a territory beyond imagination
> because believers will be seated at God's Great Banquet. "God himself
> will be
> with them; he will wipe away every tear from their eyes. Death will be
> no
> more; mourning and crying and pain will be no more, for the first things
> have
> passed away." (Revelation 21: 3,4) We all know the sorrows of life. We
> all
> have experienced rejection, disappointment, pain, and woe. What is more
> appealing than one's own personal territory where song and joy, laughter
> and
> bliss are the gifts bestowed upon us in perpetuity?
>
> I suggest that the need for a piece of heaven to call our own, a
> celestial
> territory deeded to us forever and forever, is one of the strongest
> reasons,
> although not consciously understood, for the practice of religion. With
> the
> impending doom, heaven may be the only consolation for a vast number of
> people. The practice of religion will have a field day as personal
> security
> becomes less and less sure.
>
> 2. Hierarchy. As explained in my other essays, hierarchy is essential to
> the
> survival. Once the alpha of a herd, tribe, whatever, has been
> established,
> there must be a cessation of strife. Otherwise the group would be
> involved in
> a continuous struggle for the alpha position and propagation of the
> species
> could not occur. Acceptance of the dominant alpha establishes the
> hierarchy
> essential for the productive functioning of any organization. Someone
> must be
> in charge or chaos ensues.
>
> Churches meet the hierarchical need in a profound manner. There is
> always a
> top official. It makes little difference whether he is called Pope or
> Bishop,
> Evangelist or Elder. The name does not matter, the office does. To hold
> our
> rightful place in an organization brings a sense of security. This is
> not to
> say that striving for the alpha position ever ceases. However, it takes
> place
> within a system where the Table of Organization is established and
> provides
> safety. Our reptilian brains demand it. The structure of the church
> satisfies
> it to a significant degree.
>
> There is even a wonderful method to make the least members of the
> congregation feel that the lowest rank in the structure is significant.
> Are
> we not taught that the meek shall inherit the earth? So, while the
> bottom
> level in the organization may not have achieved greatness and may even
> have
> been exploited, its members can look forward to rich rewards. Safely
> established in the heavenly territory, those who lived in a humble state
>
> (read: those who have been exploited) will be exalted. It is a profound
> reason to be religious.
>
> 3. Ritual. This also is a very basic survival mechanism. In its simplest
> form
> it establishes the fact that a past practice that has proven to be safe.
>
> Ritual means stability, assurance, and gives a sense of protection. Our
> reptilian brain craves it and religion provides it. In the midst of a
> turbulent world where the unexpected is the order of the day, ritual
> provides
> a firm anchor.
>
> It makes little difference if it is the ritual of a Roman Catholic High
> Mass
> or the simple proceedings at a Quaker Meeting. In both situations, there
> is
> order, there is precedent, and there is the assurance that the expected
> will
> take place. Again, we see that the practice of religion nurtures that
> most
> deeply seated need of the human brain.
>
> 4. Deceit. This survival mechanism permits an animal to approach its
> prey in
> a hidden manner. Were a Komodo dragon to huff and puff and loudly make
> its
> way through the brush, its likely prey would find a quick way to safety.
> The
> dragon screens its intent to kill its prey. If the dragon were not
> deceitful,
> it might starve to death.
>
> Deceit is also deeply ingrained in human behavior. For a variety of
> reasons
> churches do not always tell the truth to their congregants. The most
> recent
> example, of course, is the effort to cover up the behavior of pedophile
> priests. The attempt to silence Galileo is probably the best-known
> example of
> a church's mendacity. One does wonder about the financial affairs of
> many TV
> evangelists. How much do they collect? How do they spend their money?
> Again I
> am offering the odds of my dollar against your donut. I bet that most TV
>
> preachers would not want their books to be audited and their finances
> disclosed.
>
> Creationists go to great lengths to validate a biblical account of
> creation.
> They are quite deceitful in covering evidence suggesting a non-biblical
> account of story of the universe. They are not even honest enough to
> tell
> their believers that the book of Genesis contains two quite different
> creation stories. One is in Genesis 1:1 – 2:3; the other in Genesis
> 2:4 –
> 24. In the first story, man is the final act of creation whereas the
> second
> story begins with the creation of Adam. Not that this makes a gnat's
> worth of
> difference but it is rather amazing to what deceitful practices
> fundamentalists will go in the attempt to reconcile these two
> self-contradictory accounts.
>
> Deceit and mendacity are accepted by most of us because it is part of
> everyone's neural circuitry. Recognizing that our own behavior has room
> for
> deceit, we are quite willing to accept it in others.
>
> The reality of the physiology of our own brains attracts us to religion
> because it feeds into very ancient and substantive survival factors.
> Unless
> we understand this attraction for religion, it will be almost impossible
> for
> us to ever seek Religion. The practice of religion is basically an
> egocentric
> enterprise that does not give a hoot about Religion.
>
>
> [John Brand is a Purple Heart, Combat Infantry veteran of World War II.
> He
> received his Juris Doctor degree at Northwestern University and a Master
> of
> Theology and a Doctor of Ministry at Southern Methodist University. He
> served
> as a Methodist minister for 19 years, was Vice President, Birkman &
> Associates, Industrial Psychologists, and concluded his career as
> Director,
> Organizational and Human Resources, Warren-King Enterprises, an
> independent
> oil and gas company. He is the author of "Shaking the Foundations."
> (http://www.amazon.com/exec/obidos/ASIN/075961041X/yellowtimes-20)]
>
> John Brand encourages your comments: [EMAIL PROTECTED]
>
> YellowTimes.org encourages its material to be reproduced, reprinted, or
> broadcast provided that any such reproduction must identify the original
>
> source, http://www.YellowTimes.org. Internet web links to
> http://www.YellowTimes.org are appreciated.
>
> http://www.yellowtimes.org/article.php?sid=421
===
Hi Lawana:
Yellow Times is some good readin', huh? Thanx for da post.
ps- Keep The Faith. We need it.
Regards,
Rod
warning: It's dangerous to be right when the government is wrong.
fight the power
.
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