Think about this: All
the choices we have in life were already in existence before you were
born. For example, at the time of your
birth, all the nations of the world were mapped out, all the definitions of
ethnicities were already decided, the different genres of music styles were
created, political party lines were drawn, and careers paths, all the world
languages, and your choices of religious practice had all been
established. You did not have a say in
how you would have liked the world to be at the time you arrived on this
planet. Moreover, as creative as you
might think you are, all the ingenious ideas you had were based on the choices
you were presented with from the time of your birth. Here is the worst part; we all still act as
if we have infinite free will, yet still perpetuate the choices and
superstitions of thousands of years ago.
Soon after your birth, your parents taught you to
communicate with sounds we call speech and they chose the language and dialect
you would use initially, if not for the rest of your life. As a child, you were not in a position to
refuse and then pick the method of communication you felt might suit you
better. After a certain amount of time,
you could make a conscious choice to learn another language or method of
communication, but you still started with that first language and had to use it
as the basis for learning the next one.
What if you grew up with no influence on how you learned to
communicate? No one taught you to use
voice, hand signals, or body language.
How would you communicate? How
would you express yourself? Would it be
more natural? Would your perceptions, concepts, and ideas about life and the
world be different?
Now, think about this.
If there were no people around to influence you, what would your
perception of the ‘divine’ be? You would
know nothing about the concept of ‘religion’ and would have never heard the
word ‘god.’ What then? Would you be missing anything? Would you ‘feel or sense’ the divine
presence? Or would you just be you in
this world? Would you feel compelled to
create your own religion? What would
that be like with no point of reference?
You wouldn’t know anything about angels, demons, spirits, Heaven, Hell,
purgatory, god, goddess, polytheism, churches, temples, or the afterlife. Nor would you have ever heard of these words
and concepts.
When did we learn
these superstitious ideas? Am I to
understand that primitive humans witnessed natural events and imagined an
unknowable entity as the cause? And not
one primitive ever actually witnessed one of these gods, angels, devils,
spirits, to verify this overly creative idea?
They all just went with it because they were too stupid to understand or
see the cause and effect. Let’s say the
primitives rationalized certain events.
Why did the loud light from the sky touch my friend and now he no longer
lives? Why not me? Was he struck down as I choose an animal to
strike down for food? If so, what decided
he was to be struck and not me?
Predators choose the young and the weak.
He was not young so he must have been weak and lacking in some way. Was he not worthy in some way? One could continue this line of thought to
the determination of aspects and perceptions of why certain individuals met an
unfortunate end. This may lead to ‘sins’
and then rules to avoid these sins. Stories
and anecdotes would be told about all the terrible things that happened to
people and tribes and some morality lesson would be extrapolated from each
event. Eventually, we might understand
that individuals would have to be selected as rule keepers and the ‘law’ would
be written. The personality and
character of this divine entity would soon be developed and the primitives would
endow this unknowable entity with very human nature; anger, vengeance,
jealousy, judgment, etc.
Let’s fast forward to today.
Although we cannot predict where and when it will discharge, we know
what creates lightning. We know what
causes earthquakes, tornados, floods, hurricanes and all other natural
geological events. We even understand
the plagues of illnesses, diseases, and pandemics. We can go beyond the clouds to see into
space. We have detected solar systems
neighboring ours in this vast galaxy. We
may not know how or why we all came into being, but we do know that every time
we ask a question, we find the answer – eventually.
So why do we still cling to superstitious religions? Aren’t we smarter that our primitive
ancestors? I am not saying that there is
no divine presence or greater source. I
don’t know either way. I am just
wondering why we haunt our world and cultures with primitive ‘gods.’ Is it not time to embrace our knowledge and
stop being afraid of what primitives feared.
I have come to accept that religion may be a necessary step for some
people to understand their place in this universe. However, I don’t understand why our religions
have not evolved with the rest of the planet.
These dark shadows of fear lurk in the corner of our collective
minds. We feel we are constantly being
judged by a being who is unknowable, unfathomable, unappeasable. I don’t knock on wood, throw salt over my
shoulder, or avoid black cats. I don’t
cringe at the sight of the number 13, don’t worry about ‘speaking too soon,’ nor
do I circumnavigate step ladders. Nevertheless,
I am expected to go to a special building, participate in rituals, listen to
spells, and sit at the feast of cannibals.
We even select our world leaders on how superstitious they are and with what
superstition they delude themselves.
Maybe I am too optimistic.
Maybe we are not as evolved of a culture as I thought. But I do think there are an elite portion of
this world population that has grown past those primitives. It may be up to them to set the example and
lead the primitives out of the dark ages and into the enlightened world of the
present.
I don’t know what the answer is, but I am willing to learn
and move forward. Who is with me?
