Religions Final

Religions, a delusion??? Alex kinnet 14/01/2009 Introduction : An atmosphere of moral and intellectual uneasiness, sometimes touching panic, has recently become a painful sting to the leading monotheistic religions. After having lost their overall grip and influence on social and private life, particularly the Christian religion is nowadays under heavy artillery fire by the aggressive apostles of atheism. The Muslim faith, still in a relatively strong position is attacked as well. All three Abrahamic, monotheistic religions are not only depicted as relics of superstition whose role in society and private life is steadily declining, they are now demonised as well by the atheistic apostles as the cause of all possible mankind’s evils and disasters. Those aggressive evangelists of the Good Tiding of Atheism, without having achieved a final victory on this cursed superstition receive, unintentionally I admit, substantial support and backing up for their arguments from the religious fundamentalists and their groups. This not only by sticking uncritically and strong-mindedly to their traditions and myths; even so more by forbidding all intellectual, scientifically based studies of their Holy Books, traditions and institutions. The Muslim faith is their prime target, often painted in details as one of the most backward and dogmatic minded religion, burned in the mind of ignorant masses and systematically used by political unfriendly forces and consequently a prime treat to all development. Unfortunately the manifold conflicting Muslim communities fuel this opinion not only by adhering strictly to the literal eternal Word of God in their writings and traditions, also by their aggressive war against Western civilisation. Their theological, juridical and political communities on top show a strong unwillingness to subject their accounts to historical methodology and scrutiny. The extremely dogmatic, fundamentalist attitude, backed up and financed by the extremely wealthy Arab organisations is in W. Europe looked at with suspicion, outspoken mistrust and unbelief; this not only by those proselytising atheists but also by many Christians. In W. Europe, fortunately enough, extreme fundamentalist Christian movements/sects don’t have the grip and exposure that their colleges have in the States. This explains largely the fact that the present war against religion is basically triggered off by the American situation. There you can find the most extreme anti-modernistic and dogmatically inspired Christian religious organisations, aggressively imposing their views. A paradox although is for sure the fact that the Islam faith seems to have been well incorporated in the U.S. society, fact nowhere else to be found in the western world. Paradox as the fundamentalist inspired Muslim movements, often sponsored by mighty Arab institutions (of political, financial or religious nature), do present basically the same characteristics and hostility against science and secularisation. It is ironic that the fundamentalist Christians and Muslims are closest allies and in fact constitute the largest danger to their own religion and organised religion in general. Can we deduct from above statement that religions are a real delusion, possible treat??

Certainly not. For sure too; there is no clear-cut reply as religion, as all possible human items, can be a blessing or a deadly element in our society. It can be properly used, manipulated or abused. However all religious institutes or organisation should be looked at with a bit of mistrust and do need extensive internal control and self-criticism, elements still lacking today. 2. Basic issue: Let me make first of all this statement: I’m a Christian, Orthodox. I’m also a man of the world who, both with his intellect and hart, is trying to understand situations and concepts around him. I’m academically trained with a few M.B. ; I was during my active lifetime an intensive worldwide business traveller. As such I dare claim that I’m open-minded to other cultures and concepts , exception made to forced opinions and situations. I became well aware that truth is a diamond with millions of facets. A major concern today for me is that in our postmodern period all classical religions are loosing ground and seem to whither away unable to offer guidance, inspiration and relevance to individuals and their communities. A second concern is that religion is unfortunately still used massively as a strong and effective weapon for staying in power and control. With little resistance of the religious leaders who rather should focus on serving our world and the mystery which we call God/Allah. Thus, those aggressive atheist preachers rightfully attack those institutes, but, at the same token, want to clear the world of the content of religion itself. There they overshoot with too much zeal and lack of self-critic. That they vividly aim their weapons at the Islam will not surprise anybody. This is in fact the religion that has shown the strongest and longest opposition to science, critical investigation of the content and sources of their religion and contemporary secularism. Recently an analytical approach to their writings, as performed since generations on the Bible, just started with all the handicaps imposed by the local Muslim authorities and made virtually impossible by the sponsoring of Arab organisations (all very Orthodox) For as long as the basic dogma remains that the Qur’an and related sources are the verbatim decision and word of Allah, unchanged through the centuries and remaining fully normative than logically any investigation and or critical consideration becomes impossible and even will be considered as an insult to Allah himself. Next to the Qur’an, Word of Allah to Mohammed his final Prophet, we find the other fundaments of the Islam faith ( Hadith, Sharia, Fatwa’s, Tafsir) that make this faith a solid fortress. Peculiar for both Christian and Muslim fundamentalists is the fact that they both rely on leaders, who are followed blindly in their interpretation of the sources. 3. The striking aspects: When the advocates of a fundamental approach have knowledge of their Holy Writings than this is extremely fragmented, selective and poor in quantity and quality of argument. In fact they just pick out what is suitable for their point of view or strategy. Often without knowing their own writings and tradition. Seldom one can find a single person who had the courage to go through the whole text of Qur’an or Bible. This has nothing to do with the plain fact that only a few specialists can read the original texts since, in the end, enough reliable translations exist.

A complete lack of critical attitude, often triggered by a poor education is the basic cause for this attitude. But education is improving all over the world. Particularly the public media have increasing impact by their power of supplying information and raising doubt. We also deal more and more with educated people, getting better informed and independent in their thinking and judgement day by day, be it very slowly. Secularisation is taking place all over the world. 4. Positive perspectives, possibilities? I think so. With a diachronic reading ( redaction history, conditions, spiritualities) and a synchronic reading (the text as a whole which served the community for centuries) of those Holy Scriptures one could start to turn them into a living, inspiring source again, giving guidance to the individual and community. The diachronic reading of the Qur’an, still an unfulfilled task, freed from non historical elements and interpretations could free this Book of all human burden and open it for relevancy and real guidance to day. Obviously this will eliminate quite of the old concepts and Holy Rules and will take considerable time and efforts. It was not without pain and resistance that this process was realised in Christianity and it still isn’t completed yet. The more difficult it will be for the Muslim world to day, be it that in their history such movements weren’t strange to them as well. How can religion make itself relevant? Just by, being firmly founded in his own tradition, listening to the needs of the world and offer guidance and meaning in concepts and a language easily understood. Also by an effective and active interfaith dialogue. This dialogue should however be limited to present cases and one’s stand and experiences; in other words offer material for consideration. It should not end in discussions and or should not be aiming to convert the other by attacking his beliefs. The main issue of religions is the achieving of meaning or for coming to a sense of “wholes”. We see that generally spoken that the private as well as the communal consciousness is threefold in its continuous quests: that for the good, the true and the whole. As such we should leave the present approach in conducting inter religious dialogues, which is conducting it in the framework of making judgements in a dialectic context to find the areas of agreement and disagreement. We should rather aim for understanding the common headwaters, generating their respective drives for religious wholeness. This approach only will enable a mutual appreciation of the plural faiths. In other words an interreligious dialogue that seeks spiritual friendship, not doctrinal agreement. Each religious movement should accept also to tackle their own fundamentalist tendencies, particularly those groups that tend to impose by force their views and concepts. Each religion should offer fully and without restrictions to the other communities what they claim for themselves freedom of worship and practice.

All religious people should strive that no religious movement is controlled by political forces, and that the religious leaders don’t take absolute power and or political leading positions. Obviously each religious movements has to sweep their own door otherwise each dialogue between them will be sterile. Above all : All religious movement must show the world, in words and deeds, that religion is freeing, not oppressing, and enriching private and social life. That it is not dominating and suppressing freedom and personal responsibility. That true religion is about love for God/Allah and the neighbour and about justice, freedom and responsibility for the cosmos and our world. That it is about bringing God’s dream into reality. A dream for which each religion and generation has chosen images, always falling short of the unspeakable Mystery, but nevertheless the only image each of them could device in order to make His Dream concrete and appealing. This can be realised despite that the basic faith concepts differ considerably. Obviously this will not without a continuous and difficult wrestling with fundamentalist’s tendencies and human abuse of religious feelings for private, economical or political power. This will require, first of all, a systematic improvement of the educational system, reducing the dogmatic and theological content to a strict minimum. This will also require a further improvement of the knowledge basis through the many media we have today, avoiding monopolies. A difficult balance must be created all time between the freedom of expression and organisation of religious movements and an official, state control. The strict old time hierarchical construction in most of those communities should be modified drastically. This heritance from antique times is today completely obsolete and even a danger. The community of believers should at least be able to control their leaders, appoint them and supervise all financial transactions in the movement. Needless to state that all of the above suggestions will be vigorously rejected by the established clerics or present religious leaders as they claim that only they are commissioned by God to decide and rule and consequently claim a de facto infallibility. If religion wants to be an inspiring main element for the individual as well as for the modern societies than it will have to look for ways and means adopted to our time and not sticking to remedies and structures that worked in the old founding days. 5. Conclusion? Religions, contrary to what the zealous atheists may claim, have been sources of change and adaption. It could be also and was and is still and might be again a blocking, freezing, oppressing element for the individual as well as for society. It is up to us religious people of all denominations to proof and realize this inspiring element again and not to be afraid for change as change always was part of religion. In awe for the Mystery and the cosmos, his creation that we, as the human race, have to realize His dream and the happiness of the creation.