A lot of people have asked me about my religious beliefs and my stance on religion in general. Religion for me is not something that you just read in a book, and take the word for it without questioning it at all. This is indoctrination to me. Indoctrination is not something I personally advocate or promote, because it is another type of manipulation. This creates clashes in a system or confrontations between the people who strive to find the deeper meaning in religion and those who promote a more controlled or dogmatic version of it.
The problem with most religions today is that many people believe that for example the Holy Bible or any other form of religious texts stem from God or a Divine Source. However, in my opinion religion is not something that is Divine at all in it's current form and state, whether it is the bible or the Koran or others. I think that most of the messages contained in them have been hugely corrupted, or maybe "filtered". I can even go as far as to say that some of them have not only been altered but also written by man. This holds true for most texts and in this case the Old Testament God, with it's human characteristics and role. He really acts a a father figure for human beings, is a lot like a parent who has certain expectations, and if they are unmet...then you suffer the consequences for all eternity. Furthermore, for me it feels more like a fearful relationship and not a loving one like the churches and these constitutions try to sell you. Another issue that some people might find is the whole idea of Monotheism (that there is only one true God). This inevitably creates conflict for the rest of the people who aren't related to that particular belief or tradition. Every major religion acts in the same way unfortunately.
There are even severe consequences for not conforming to a particular tradition and religion ( stoning them to death, hanging etc.) This to me marks the lowest point of intelligence anyone can have. In nature animals for example use their own instincts to survive and to deal with certain circumstances, because of their own natural connection with the environment and nature in general. However, with humans it goes beyond that, they fight for beliefs that might not even be true (from their own personal experience, there is no validity.).
Now of course there are people who do experience religious and spiritual messages on a deeper level, and that is perfectly fine. What about other people ? What if someone has a deep spiritual connection from a completely different religious background ? Therefore the problem is that you try to impose your beliefs to other people. against their own will, because some people think they hold the truth and everyone else is tricked by the devil or whatnot. There are currently 7-8 billion people and for example, 3 billion believe in one particular religion. Are you telling me that the other 5 billion are ''lost'' or that they are following a ''wrong'' religion ? By whose authority ? I think that it would be immensely beneficial for us to start questioning the knowledge and information we have been passed down, and focus on what we have in common and what values are important for us to cherish.
Examining religion from a historical point of view might also be beneficial to shed some light of what extreme form beliefs can take. Throughout the course of history, religion has been used to persecute and commit numerous atrocities all in the name of a church or a deity. This shows that religion is another form of politics, agendas and dogma, and unfortunately people are afraid to challenge or ridicule those who have a different opinion about this topic. That might be because of a natural consequence of a system operating through laws that promote a certain structure of beliefs, instead of allowing people to follow their own dreams, desires and intuitions.
Now, do I believe that there is no spirituality ? No, there is spirituality that is present in many things, however I usually make a distinction between religion and spirituality, because religion does not advocate spirituality, but a set of rules and conditions. Spirituality is another form of maturity and wisdom. These are the defining aspects of spirituality. Other qualities include love, compassion, kindness, respect, honor etc, and in what circumstances an individual expresses those traits or qualities. The most important quality is TRUTH from my own understanding. We yearn for truth even if it sometimes hurts (because of our perceptions and expectations) Of course if we take connecting with god and the universe or having a communication with the divine as another form of spirituality, then what do you gain from that communication ?
Questioning the validity that the religious texts have been written by god or his messengers is furthermore challenging and almost impossible to validate. As an example (jokingly) just because someone tells you Santa Claus exists doesn't make it automatically true. It might be true for you, because you believe in it.
Even from a moral perspective the concept of religion is not really that necessary. Commandments like ''Thou Shall not Kill'' or "Thou shall not Steal" are not necessary in a society where people have committed and agreed to follow those rules. You don't need God to tell you what we have collectively agreed upon, and most of these rules in the Bible are extremely outdated and not even applicable in our modern times. Interestingly enough you have beings and characters like Jesus Christ trying to fix and give a more positive version of God's will, the same God that people thing is perfect. Messages and inspirational quotes and teachings related to love, compassion, harmony, are literally almost non existent in the Old Testament. These qualities and messages are of course very very important...but are they being understood on a deeper level ? I don't think so.
Faith on the other hand is utter positivism towards a goal, outcome, higher power. It can be related to a religion, but it is definitely not limited to that. Faith is Trust and trust is faith, they go hand-in-hand. Faith can be blind however, and unwise. It is not always wise from my own understanding to have faith in something that you truly don't believe in, or have no emotional connection to it. If the emotion is missing and the inner experience is void, then faith is wasted. Therefore, faith extends beyond the clutches of religion to your community, relatives, and friends.
Overall, I think that religion is a massive topic on it's own and there are a lot of debates about them. It is important to see how they are being used and if they are being questioned at all (or even IF you are allowed to). The content of your character and intentions are what matter the most, not labels or memorizing verses from books that might be completely irrelevant in our own period.
The problem with most religions today is that many people believe that for example the Holy Bible or any other form of religious texts stem from God or a Divine Source. However, in my opinion religion is not something that is Divine at all in it's current form and state, whether it is the bible or the Koran or others. I think that most of the messages contained in them have been hugely corrupted, or maybe "filtered". I can even go as far as to say that some of them have not only been altered but also written by man. This holds true for most texts and in this case the Old Testament God, with it's human characteristics and role. He really acts a a father figure for human beings, is a lot like a parent who has certain expectations, and if they are unmet...then you suffer the consequences for all eternity. Furthermore, for me it feels more like a fearful relationship and not a loving one like the churches and these constitutions try to sell you. Another issue that some people might find is the whole idea of Monotheism (that there is only one true God). This inevitably creates conflict for the rest of the people who aren't related to that particular belief or tradition. Every major religion acts in the same way unfortunately.
There are even severe consequences for not conforming to a particular tradition and religion ( stoning them to death, hanging etc.) This to me marks the lowest point of intelligence anyone can have. In nature animals for example use their own instincts to survive and to deal with certain circumstances, because of their own natural connection with the environment and nature in general. However, with humans it goes beyond that, they fight for beliefs that might not even be true (from their own personal experience, there is no validity.).
Now of course there are people who do experience religious and spiritual messages on a deeper level, and that is perfectly fine. What about other people ? What if someone has a deep spiritual connection from a completely different religious background ? Therefore the problem is that you try to impose your beliefs to other people. against their own will, because some people think they hold the truth and everyone else is tricked by the devil or whatnot. There are currently 7-8 billion people and for example, 3 billion believe in one particular religion. Are you telling me that the other 5 billion are ''lost'' or that they are following a ''wrong'' religion ? By whose authority ? I think that it would be immensely beneficial for us to start questioning the knowledge and information we have been passed down, and focus on what we have in common and what values are important for us to cherish.
Examining religion from a historical point of view might also be beneficial to shed some light of what extreme form beliefs can take. Throughout the course of history, religion has been used to persecute and commit numerous atrocities all in the name of a church or a deity. This shows that religion is another form of politics, agendas and dogma, and unfortunately people are afraid to challenge or ridicule those who have a different opinion about this topic. That might be because of a natural consequence of a system operating through laws that promote a certain structure of beliefs, instead of allowing people to follow their own dreams, desires and intuitions.
Now, do I believe that there is no spirituality ? No, there is spirituality that is present in many things, however I usually make a distinction between religion and spirituality, because religion does not advocate spirituality, but a set of rules and conditions. Spirituality is another form of maturity and wisdom. These are the defining aspects of spirituality. Other qualities include love, compassion, kindness, respect, honor etc, and in what circumstances an individual expresses those traits or qualities. The most important quality is TRUTH from my own understanding. We yearn for truth even if it sometimes hurts (because of our perceptions and expectations) Of course if we take connecting with god and the universe or having a communication with the divine as another form of spirituality, then what do you gain from that communication ?
Questioning the validity that the religious texts have been written by god or his messengers is furthermore challenging and almost impossible to validate. As an example (jokingly) just because someone tells you Santa Claus exists doesn't make it automatically true. It might be true for you, because you believe in it.
Even from a moral perspective the concept of religion is not really that necessary. Commandments like ''Thou Shall not Kill'' or "Thou shall not Steal" are not necessary in a society where people have committed and agreed to follow those rules. You don't need God to tell you what we have collectively agreed upon, and most of these rules in the Bible are extremely outdated and not even applicable in our modern times. Interestingly enough you have beings and characters like Jesus Christ trying to fix and give a more positive version of God's will, the same God that people thing is perfect. Messages and inspirational quotes and teachings related to love, compassion, harmony, are literally almost non existent in the Old Testament. These qualities and messages are of course very very important...but are they being understood on a deeper level ? I don't think so.
Faith on the other hand is utter positivism towards a goal, outcome, higher power. It can be related to a religion, but it is definitely not limited to that. Faith is Trust and trust is faith, they go hand-in-hand. Faith can be blind however, and unwise. It is not always wise from my own understanding to have faith in something that you truly don't believe in, or have no emotional connection to it. If the emotion is missing and the inner experience is void, then faith is wasted. Therefore, faith extends beyond the clutches of religion to your community, relatives, and friends.
Overall, I think that religion is a massive topic on it's own and there are a lot of debates about them. It is important to see how they are being used and if they are being questioned at all (or even IF you are allowed to). The content of your character and intentions are what matter the most, not labels or memorizing verses from books that might be completely irrelevant in our own period.
No comments:
Post a Comment