Religion doesn't make people better...

Carl

[cite] Little Dragon:[/cite]... very few people know what balance is, let alone want to achieve it! Perhaps this is the fault of our western consumer driven society, I don't know.

That certainly appears to be the case. However, we have no 'choice' in the matter. You know, free will... bah hum bug.

Civilization is an destabilizing influence for humanity in particular and nature in general. It is a double edged sword, we get an inordinate amount of security and comfort, compared to wild animals. We pay for that with an inordinate sense of disconnection with nature which results in imbalance. Nature is pay as you go. You could even say we are 'addicted' to comfort and security and so are simply suffering the consequences of our addiction.

Oh, by the way, welcome back :!:

Carl

Religion doesn't make people better...

Looking at history, past and present, one thing is obvious: Religion doesn't make people better, as their founders wished; people make religion worse than their founders probably expected. On the other hand, the vast majority of the folks around the world that I came across* were decent good people. I find that most of us are 'good people' right up until the moment arrives that we want something really, REALLY badly. Then it gets problematic.

The bottom line is that religions fail to tell it like it is. Of course, if religion did, perhaps no one would follow. One important [chref=65]hoodwink[/chref] is omitting a deep recognition that we are animals. Without a doubt, we (humans) have a deep seated need to see ourselves in a superior enlightened light.

For example: If you do 'right' you will be rewarded with some kind of paradise. If you do wrong you will suffer in the 'here-after' be that via Karma or just burning forever in hell, depending on the particular religion. Religions set standards higher than it is possible for an animal to achieve. Is this the 'glue' that holds the whole scam (civilization) together? I suppose, so far anyway. But at some point in our evolution we are going to be better served by seeing things as they are... [although, our impossibly high ideals can often be emotionally uplifting. Of course they can also be a downer... Mmm, I'll have to ponder that some more. Anyway, back to my current ranting]...

First, that doing 'wrong' will send you to hell puts the cart before the horse. In so doing we always end up trying to cure our dis-ease through addressing the symptoms of our dis-ease and not looking deeper to discern the underlying causes of our dis-ease. Sure, some ascribe the cause to the 'devil' or other 'evil spirits', but this pat answer just sidesteps the issue of causation. Such answers appeal to folks who have trouble thinking their way out of a wet paper bag.

Seriously though, do you honestly think people choose to be dis-eased? (i.e., angry, vengeful, lustful, envious or otherwise 'bloody minded') Feelings of cooperation, love, acceptance and peace feel so much better! And yet, the former dis-ease emotions easily overpower these pleasant feelings of ease.

So what causes our dis-ease? I've thrown out a lot of my observations and speculations about this on this site. However, as I continue to observe life I continue to see subtler connections, which I'm sure to keep tossing out for awhile longer, at least until I truly [chref=560]know[/chref]. What has not changed is my sense that what ever I observe is always a symptom of some deeper forces at work - no not evil spirits. The process of trying to discern what they may be is like 'hunting and gathering'. So, once a 'hunter and gatherer' always a 'hunter and gatherer'. It's just the food that's changes. For my ice-age ancestors it was food for the belly, now for me hunting and gathering provides food for thought... food for the mind.

*Note: My observations are based on my experience. So, for 'street cred', I should disclose my fifteen years of work and travel abroad which spanned all the continents (except Antarctica), seven time around the world, living and working among the rich and poor alike, from nearly stone age long house people of Borneo to the sophisticated folks of Stockholm. The differences between all of us pale in comparison to the similarities.