Well, this is the final piece of the puzzle to Chapter 5 on Religion from SIMPLE SOLUTIONS for Humanity. It is long, but, I hope, worth your while to ponder over and comment.
All things considered, then, should religions be disestablished? Thomas Jefferson and his Constitution makers, many of them highly religious, nevertheless drew up a wall between religion and government. Yet, Jefferson, although he equated The Bible to fables and mythology, was adamant that no atheist would ever serve in his Cabinet. Times have not changed much. Notwithstanding the seeming illogicality of these few sentences, the point is that there is a place for religion. It serves an important societal purpose. Religion can be, on balance, good. Why get rid of something that works, and reasonably well? Recognize the flaws and enhance the system. But this might not be possible, for, if you remove an underpinning, such as an afterlife, or miracles, the whole concept falls apart.
This chapter could not prove that there was no afterlife, nor, no God. Yet, I am inclining more and more towards a future world with no religion, as people can still be good without an enforcer and a society functional. The worth of this discussion is to stimulate and provoke, in some quarters, a golden revolution in spiritual thought so that the best of what religions can offer can be synthesized with the latest knowledge and societal standards, which themselves are continuously evolving, to, in their own way, help mold our future society, which could well be godless.
Society mores are changing. Science and technology are creating ever new issues for a largely conservative and historically unwavering establishment, where the gospels or Koran or equivalent early writing has supposedly sacred beginnings. How to reconcile, adapt and strengthen will need to prevail over obsolete, unsupportable and illogical strictures.
Eighty four percent of the world population adheres to some religious or spiritual belief. So, how best to proceed?
Let me be brutally specific. I would say to an interdenominational group, you can start by:
o Taking a closer look at changing social patterns and making appropriate adjustments. At one time, women in the United States could not vote. Blacks until fairly recently had to drink from different public water fountains and seat at the back of the bus in the South. For all intents and purposes, most religions still follow this form of practice in their own obsolete ways. Pope Benedict will excommunicate any female from the Catholic Church who is ordained. Women’s rights are just not allowed in many Muslim societies. The Episcopalians might have a clue. In 2006 they selected Bishop Katharine Jefferts Schori as the first female leader of the U.S. branch of the Anglican Church. They also in 2003 caused controversy by naming an openly gay bishop. One very “simple” change: give women equal leadership and religious rights. There should be more, but just one progressive step could well set the table for the rest.
o Appreciating that science and technology have been, and will continue to, change the world. Religions have tended to act like
Luddites or ostriches that hide their head in the sand when seeming danger appears (
which, by the way, happens to be a myth….but you get the point). Take abortion, for example. Life, indeed, is sacred. But this is a simple matter of realistically agreeing to the point at which life truly begins. Stem cell research is being obstructed by people with strong religious convictions, and (former) President George W. Bush is the poster man for this faction. All this because “life,” somehow, is being jeopardized. There is also the fear of cloning. Wake up! Genetic engineering is happening and will go underground or to another country if governmental control occurs. Singapore was beginning to get an edge, but the UK has re-considered, and even the U.S. has adjusted since the coming of Obama.
o Frankness is no way of approaching this matter, but, heck, appreciating the advent of science, accept the Bible, Koran and other religious manuscripts as a perpetuation of superstitions and fables, and if a document is necessary to maintain some order, create one, and make it up to date and rational. The Bible is the best-selling book of all time…and yearly, too. A unified next generation guide will someday supplant this, and other religious relics.
o Stop crucifying people. Just in this publication alone:
§ Nicolaus Copernicus (1473-1543): In 1514 he distributed a book called Little Commentary to only his close friends, setting out his theory of the universe with the Sun at the center, although he was wise enough to claim that these were merely mathematical theories. He died of old age because he generally kept quiet about the actual reality of heliocentrism, and when he finally did publish his ideas, he used Poland and was already very old.
§ Giordano Bruno (1548-1600): A priest, who had the impertinence to suggest that there might be other Suns with other planets, was kept in a dungeon for eight years, tortured, and condemned by the Inquisition and, at the age of 51, executed.
§ Galileo Galilei (1564-1642): Maybe the most famous of astronomers, who perfected the telescope and supported the Copernican Theory, he was found guilty by the Inquisition of heresy and condemned to lifelong imprisonment. In 1992, 350 years later, Pope John Paul II admitted that errors had been made by the Catholic Church.
§ Charles Darwin (1809-1882): His theory of natural selection removed the need for a God, was condemned by the Catholic Church, but by 1859 when Origin of the Species was published, as there was no Inquisition, Darwin lived. The Church is either getting more mature, or losing power.
§ Salman Rushdie (1947-): An Anglo-Indian novelist, he was condemned to death by the former Iranian spiritual leader Ayatollah Khomeini in 1989 after publishing Satanic Verses 269 which was his fourth novel, and won the 1988 Whitbread Award. The Prophet Muhammad was cast in a bad light and liberties were taken with the Koran. There was a $2 million reward for his death, and in 1998, Ayatollah Hassan Sanei raised it to $2.8 million. Rushdie remains alive, but goes in and out of hiding. What a life.
§ Sam Harris (still alive, too): awarded the 2005 PEN Award for Nonfiction, challenges all religions about the irrationality of blind faith. The problem, he says, is religion, and, worse, moderation, poses dangers of its own. Is there an upcoming fatwa?
o Reach out and work with your constituency and enemy. The day before Pope Paul II died in April of 2005, then Cardinal Joseph Ratzinger, speaking in the village of Subiaco, just outside Rome, said that Europe now “excludes God from the public conscience.” He further indicated that this disdain for God has led us “to the edge of the abyss.” This is no attitude to take when you want to embrace the people. Religious leaders need to think, act and react positively, not revert to the fire and brimstone mode of operation which might have worked in the past.
o Eliminate the sexual abuse problem involving priests and, mostly, young boys. Not only the Roman Catholic Church, but other religions, throughout the world, for centuries, have failed to resolve this morality issue.
o Strive towards a universal religion with one God. Good, the Irish Republican Army has taken that important first initial step towards reconciling the Protestant versus Catholic dilemma in Northern Ireland. The Cardinals should begin to groom a stunning, female, Chinese as a future Pope candidate. Combining all—one God, common dogma—a United Religions of the World, would be a worthy and magnificent challenge. Better yet, leap over that step and agree on no god.
Why, then, don’t Pope Benedict, the Dalai Lama and the other prominent religious leaders meet to arrive at a universal solution? As a matter of fact, this Golden Revolution has begun, for something like this occurred at the end of August in the year 2000, when 2000 of the preeminent religious and spiritual leaders gathered at the United Nations for a Millennium World Peace Summit. This unprecedented forum pledged to take concrete actions for the achievement of world peace. An International Advisory Council of Religious Leaders (IACRL) was formed to function as a resource for the Secretary General of the UN to resolve international conflicts.
IACRL has leaned on the Group of Eight (
G8--U.S. Japan, Russia, Canada, Germany, France, Italy, and United Kingdom) meetings, and taken on the elimination of poverty as a common goal. This is certainly a good start because the poorest countries with less than a $1000 Gross National Product/capita already pay 83 percent of their entire budget on world loans. Will they consider the role of women, the issue of abortion and the afterlife? What about no god?
There are those who have called for an Islamic Reformation. Yes, women’s emancipation and how science fits into the logic can certainly be woven into what makes sense from the now obsolete Koran. There was Martin Luther’s Protestant Reformation in the 1500’s, fracturing Christendom, which provides a message. The next great movement, though, should be a unification, not endless fractionation.
A great first step is for the two largest religions, Christianity and Islam, to determine that they are one and the same religion, for they have virtually identical beliefs:
o One God, miracles, seven deadly sins.
o That Jesus was born to Virgin Mary and rose to Heaven.
o That Abraham was the Father of their religion.
o Use the Jewish Old Testament and New Testament as sources of faith.
o Have a Hell, with a Satan, as the nether world to Heaven.
o Share the Creation, Adam and Eve, and Moses with his Ten Commandments.
The early attainment of this accommodation will no doubt be equated to a major miracle, for as negligible as the Sunni/Shiite differences might be, centuries of mistrust and history are what stand in the way of amity. But, if the Christians and Muslims can “somehow” find a way just to talk about integrating their religion, the lower order disparities of sectarian discord in both religions could then become a tertiary matter to be settled when the attitude of future generations changes. Hinduism and Buddhism can also readily be incorporated, for they tend to be inherently more accommodating, anyway.
The amalgamation of traditional beliefs will take many generations. The Supreme Court has ruled that Secular Humanism is a religion and a Court of Appeals has indicated that Atheism, too, is a religion. The Neo Atheists and their brethren might have difficulty being accepted into this partnership, but they could well serve as the catalysts, for the humanistic sect of these non-beliefs can serve as that rainbow bridge.
Is the Golden Evolution that ultimate step we must take, while surrendering the obsolete beliefs of the past, to reach out for the future by unifying science and new reason with the best of world cultures to attain security, quality of life and happiness forever? Religion is a necessary partner for this simplest of solutions.
The city of Rome began building in 753 B.C., took 250 years to become a Republic, and went on for a millennium. Daniel Dennett believes that religion will lose command in a quarter century. Is there a way, then, for us to bypass all the above in one monumental act?
Yes! The Golden Evolution, in my simple solution (
hold your breath, this is as crazy as making hydrogen free in Chapter 3 of Book 1), then, is the process by which there is general acceptance that Man created God when it was vital for our early ancestors to have an all-watching and morally satisfying divinity, but that an omnipresent protector is today obsolete. The only way for the Dennett revolution to happen is first for the sudden emergence of a global test of monumental proportions. Step One, to challenge our survival: a cataclysmic series of events, such as, perhaps, oil suddenly jumping to $200/barrel and tens of millions perishing through global heating one hot summer, with the prospects of Planet Earth converting to Planet Venus (where the surface temperature is 900°F, see Chapter 5 in Book 1) to arise with such fury that all elements of Mankind compellingly unite and take coordinated action, which would be Step Two. Having overcome this global crisis (let’s be at least positive about the outcome), Step Three would be that evolutionary transcendence towards a higher respect for the environment and a fading away of the supreme being concept. (One by-product would be peace on earth forever.)
As we today don’t need a feared deity to serve as an enforcer, for earlier reported studies have shown that most of our citizens, religious or not, choose the righteous and ethical pathway in life, maybe we can shift our belief and have faith in ourselves, instead. Mind you, there really isn’t any real requirement for worshipping as such, but, in the transition, as our current society appears to have a psychological need for some higher order symbol, perhaps Planet Earth can serve as that tangible object. Instead of depending on our environment to take care of us, though, while in the midst of overcoming Peak Oil and Greenhouse Effect, the Golden Evolution will be the process by which we switch roles and take on the necessary task for remediation and sustainability as a common goal for humanity. In time, and this may take many millennia, we will then expand our vision to our Galaxy as our domain. In anticipation,
Book 3 could well be called SIMPLE SOLUTIONS for the Whole Universe.
As I went to Mufi's fundraiser, it was only right to join Neil for sushi and sake. No, that is not him on the bongos.
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Well, looks like I should have bought a few stock last week. The Dow Jones Industrials jumped 121 to 10,139, while world markets also mostly went up. Gold dropped $10/toz to $1196 and petroleum is at around $75/barrel.
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That tropical depression in the Gulf of Mexico made landfall over Mexico and the disturbance south of Hawaii is not doing much except for a slight movement west.
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