Ill be kicking off a series of threads on religion and belief systems in general in the next day or so. As such I thought ‘What better way to introduce it than with a comment on organised (and some thankfully dis-organised) religions in general’.
I like getting down to the nitty gritty of what defines us as humans, and how these have shaped ways of life throughout the human experience. We can look at history and be very sceptical of humanity in general. But if you get down to the very base reality of what we are, you come to the conclusion that we are pretty fascinating creatures. You start thinking ‘If i saw one of them in a shop, I’d buy one’.
Forget the terrible things done in the name of organised religion since the dawn of time. Forget the fact that people live and die everyday in respect of stories that were made up once upon a time by someone or other. Realise that people have, by their nature, a basic healthy spirituality. It is one of the defining characteristics of the human and it is a great thing.
It comes from our ability to ponder the earth and our own existence. It is driven by our need to belong and to find meaning in the world around us. Rituals, leaders and institutions evolve over time out of this, and these can be judged on their own merits. But regardless, the worst atrocities performed by the worst people in the name of the worst religious organisations in the history of the human experience should never take away from that basic reality.
Full synopsis here.
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