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Friday, September 26, 2008

RELIGION: DO YOU GET IT OR NOT?

In it's original form religion had a very real value, it offered a way forward out of the chaos of survival at any cost. The first rule of survival was 'kill or die' and the first sign of being more than a self-centred animal was gaining the quality of self-sacrifice, for the benefit of the offspring or the tribe. This evolutionary milestone enabled Mankind to dominate over the other species and became the basis for the 'primitive' religious practices of ancestor worship and shamanism because it's only natural to want to connect with someone who died for you.
Hindus, Buddhists, Taoists, Zoroastrians, Syro-Phoenicians, Egyptians, Mayans, Ancient Greeks, Celts, Africans and a plethora of other native groups, all participated in their own individual interpretations before today's Judeo/ Christian/ Islamic descendants of Abraham even started arguing over whose particular version of a monotheistic God is best.
We are all beholding to these religions for our connections to various cultural heritage groups but surely, in this day of mass communication and education, the more enlightened leaders could steer their hoards towards a new world view of an unbiased creator who cares for all the worlds inhabitants instead of just them; irregardless of their differences. This could be the next evolutionary step that allows mankind to continue to be the dominant species on this planet; along with a respect for the creation and if Jesus had any value other than as a human sacrifice, surely it was in his appraisal of the laws of his god into two commandments: Love your creator (by respecting the creation) and Love your neighbour (by respecting their right to exist).

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