Yourself?

Missing the point.

Well this may not agree with some people, so I've been thinking about whether or not I should write it. But well it's my blog so I guess if it's still bouncing around my head for so long, it should still be relevant.

I think the world is moving in the wrong direction. I tend to keep up with news in the US, and part of the interesting phenomena in the US is the bipartisan political system. Democrats and Republicans, liberals and conservatives. It is interesting, because people generally fall into one or the other camps, depending on what they believe in. Still, much political debate centers on which side is -right- on the issue.

I was thinking that much debate is generally meaningless. Not in the sense that the division of people into groups is meaningless. There are differences between people with allegiances to different groups. But leaders tend to utilize the fact that people have aligned themselves into different groups, to distract their members from the real issues of the day.

Both democrats and republicans would want the country to follow what their beliefs are. That is natural. But that is unimportant in comparison to the larger issues that political groups are supposed to deal with. I feel that, when political groups are unable to find a solution to the problems that they are supposed to solve, they turn to attacking each other as a means of distracting the public to the fact that the issue has not yet been resolved.

Let me give you an example. Climate change is an important issue that affects all the people in the world. The US is THE major producer of greenhouse gases. Yet, it has often denied reports by its scientists that climate change is imminent, and that we should do something about it, because both parties have vested interests by their sponsors, to delay the introduction of controls for as long as possible, until the companies that back these political groups up have looked carefully at the impacts of these controls.

It's simple. Companies who are best prepared for changing economic landscapes will tend to have the greatest advantage when the rules are changed.

But the American people have been distracted from pressing for these changes by news reports that indicate this change is not happening, by articles or declarations by their leaders that it is yet not -fully- certain that climate change is occuring. Even as weird weather patterns sweep the country and cause natural disasters. There are so many other things to attack. You can attack each other, you can attack other countries, you can do all sorts of things to distract your voters from the real issue today.

I think that's what's happening to organized religion too. I think the leaders are again facing problems that they are unable to solve. And while they are unable to solve these issues, they are distracting believers from the real issues that they are tasked to defend.

What is religion really about. Is it about salvation, is it about sin, is it about evangelization? I don't think so.

Religion is about truth. The bible contains absolute truth. All believers want, is a set of beliefs that they know to be true. Believers want a guide to their lives, a sense that it is all purposeful.

What happens when religion is confronted with science. Science that examines these beliefs we have, and puts them to the test of truth and falsehood. Comes up with strange ideas that what is true might not be true in all cases. Comes out with -theories-, which are things that are -most-likely true, and laws, that everything -should- obey.

With the clarity of religious truth, comes the muddy flood of scientific data that says not everything is certain. How does religion deal with that, how does religion endorse that.

Right now, religious leaders are clinging to their beliefs by holding on to the old truths, by reaching out and giving people the clarity they -want-, in place of the clarity that science can not -yet- give. But this is false clarity. This is false truth.

I don't deny that there is truth in religion. I don't deny that it will have a place in society, that science and religion can coexist. But clinging on to old ideas just seem foolish in the face of new understandings. Old statements that were once powerful now seem weak, and the more religion clings on to these old beliefs, the longer they pound the table declaring the truths that once were, the inertia they have to change, and the more dangerous the backlash will be.

Don't lose sight of the issue because religious leaders want you to evangelize, to do charity and missionary trips, to make grand speeches and praise the lord in music. How are they helping you find the truth? How can they help you understand this world? Have they done that?

We are all sinners, hence, Jesus is the only means to salvation.
Jesus is the only man without sin.

We know now, that things in nature follow a natural distribution. It is not inconceivable that only Jesus is free from sin, but there is nothing wrong with us, just because we fall on the other side of that natural distribution. Both statements may be true, but essentially meaningless.

Genesis has been shown to be false, and creationists should stop asserting that it's true, and the bible is literal.

Large swathes of the Christian/Catholic population should stop asserting the bible is literal truth, and just recognize that it's figurative truth.

Truth is composed of many levels, that should be examined, instead of continuing to insist on absolute truth.

What we need, at this point when the Earth is crumbling to dust, is truth. Truth to tell us what exactly is happening in the world, and what is required of us.

How can we live harmoniously with other people in this world, and best share our limited resources with our brothers.

Jesus lived in a world which had inexhaustible resources. Now that we know our limits, and that there are resources we should not consume, how is religion helping us to come to terms with that future? To tell men and women to have whatever they need, and not a bit more. How does consumerism and christianity (both exports from the US) square with this new world?

The Asians have got it right years ago. Now it's just time for the rest of the world to catch up.

posted by Downhere. @ 12:14 pm