I’ve got a lot to say about these views, some of which I’ve said before (in different ways), but I want to express it anyway, as it’s been bubbling up inside me. I know that some people might not agree with it, or might not be interested, or will think I’m just being arrogant. But this topic is my primary passion, and these are my views anyway,
| If we adhere to traditions, what about witch burning traditions? |
Foxjazz, I was referring more to our world’s organised religions, and to our more traditional religious revelations and practices. Witch burning traditions haven’t survived the test of time, in the popular mind at least, for good reason.
| Religion is the prime mover of Evil in all cultures I have experienced |
You’re talking about the way things have been so far, and in some instances the way things still are today. But I think that things can change. Christians have changed their attitude and outlook a lot since the old days of the Christian Crusades, when millions of people were killed in the name of the Christian God. But the Bible is the same now as it was then. (Verses like Exodus 32:27-29, for example, might have prompted a crusade-like mindset).
The trend seems to be that things can get better. As long as we believe in the principle that ‘might is right’, and that the Bible has to be interpreted through a shallow, literal lens, and that only one particular religion is right, whilst all others are viewpoints are wrong, and that God will punish (with eternal damnation) all other folk who don’t share our own particular point of view, then we cannot expect anything but friction, intolerance, and lack of understanding.
If Christians pick holes in the Qur’an in order to show that the Muslim God encourages evil and war, then it’s really a case of the pot calling the kettle black. (For reasons why see the review cut pasted on another thread in reply #113 https://forums.joeuser.com/Forums.aspx?ForumID=65&AID=98377#776373 .)
Even though we can rightly conclude that there is a lot more to the Bible than such verses, it is true that the same can be said about the Qur’ran.
I believe that our world faiths are really harmonious allies, which together expand human understanding beyond the scope of an individual faith system alone. I think it would serve us to broaden our scope, and to ‘zoom out’ our view, so to speak, in order for us to see more clearly the deeper common ground that exists within our religious revelations - and that includes the larger spectrum of wisdom from East to West.
Due to the natural laws of growth, and due to the nature of Ultimate Reality, I am sure that humanity will eventually learn that
love is the answer. In the meantime, our Father in Heaven surely accepts us and loves us just as we are, and chooses not to interfere with our learning curves. God knows that a greater good will arise because of all our experiences on earth, rather than in spite of them – regardless of how absurd or grim things might seem in the midst of life.
The Bible teaches that God is not distant or removed from our pain and suffering. Jesus’ crucifixion discloses that God intimately participates in the world’s tribulation and pain. The resurrection of Christ, and the subsequent ascension, illustrates that life continues after death, and that the next world (i.e. the next dimension), is a new Creation of wholeness and perfection.
In the meantime, however, "There is a season and a time for every purpose under Heaven”, (Ecclesiastes 3.1), and as Jesus Himself exclaimed, “In the world you will have tribulation. But be of good cheer. I have overcome the world.”( John 16.33)
| Because Christianity is Bible based, and non changing, It alone can never achieve what you call a maturity of age and wisdom religion. |
I disagree. But I believe that in order for our Biblical interpretations to become more aligned with reality, (i.e. with ‘The Truth’), we first need to go out and explore - openly and honestly - our neighbouring religious revelations - and our scientific discoveries - in order to become more open minded and understanding, and to see more clearly how we fit into the bigger picture. With a good balance, and rooted in a deeper sense of security, we can then begin to extract some good fodder and deeper wisdom - which I believe is to be shared, not hoarded - from our religious neighbours (especially from the East, and I also think Christians can garner a lot from the Qur’an’s description of the story of Adam and Eve in the Garden of Eden), and then bring it ‘back home’ to our Christian tradition, in order for the deeper meanings inherent within Biblical doctrines to be enriched and illuminated by them. (At the risk of pushing my views too much, I described the Qur'an's take on Adam and Eve in reply #11 on KFC's article The Genesis Account https://forums.joeuser.com/Forums.aspx?ForumID=65&AID=95466#755564 )
I personally think that we can adhere to the words of philosopher Guillaume Apollinaire:
“Come to the cliff, he said.
They said, we are afraid.
Come to the cliff, he said.
They came.
He pushed them.
And they flew.”
At the moment, I think that the vast majority of Christians are happy to remain safely in their present mindset, adhering to traditional and familiar interpretations. This isn’t a bad thing, as I think that it’s wise to stay put if we’re not yet ready to go anywhere. But I am sure that in the next few centuries, as humanity’s spiritual awareness continues to rise, and as our perspective of reality naturally broadens and deepens, Christians will have no choice other than to change their basic paradigms and interpretations of traditional doctrine, in the name of Truth.
I am convinced that because of this, and not in spite of it, when the time is right – and not before – Christianity will take off, and will fly higher than any of us can imagine. I know that the Bible is loaded with wisdom and with great revelations of divine Truth, and I believe that in order for these revelations to make sense of reality, they can be interpreted through an epic scope, as opposed to a tin pot scope that turns a blind eye to most of reality.
The future looks good for Christianity in my view. Religious fundamentalism is really the search for security, and even though I believe that it is on shaky grounds in its present form, we can actually afford to be
infinitely secure in our religious beliefs. I am convinced that when the popular mind finally returns to central Christian revelations - with new positive eyesight - fundamentalism will have its time, and when it blossoms, its scent will be nothing short of divine.
