Perhaps, the 10 commandments? The Five Precepts? The Torah? The Commands of Islam?
Whatever their title may be, together religions all present the same general ground rules for what is considered good and bad.
Practiced since the beginning of time, through rituals, sacrifices and traditions, religions have kept the people of earth grounded and conscious of morals within their actions. The threat of eternal punishment by a supreme being has been enough to keep people in line for millenniums (1), guiding them through the gardens of good and evil.
All religions in their entirety, for the most part, are there so we as people and followers always do what is morally right. Although we find honouring and worship of idols of exactitude through religion, we can also find many negative things. No religion is perfect, obviously. They all posses their own faults like the oppression of women, the intolerance of those who are different and violent and sexual abuse, to name a few. Above all, a fault that can be found present in any given society of our world are religious wars.
No, not all wars are cause solemnly by religion - in fact, religion is merely a catalyst or one factor among many in the grand scheme of wars. Thats not to say there aren't any significant wars due to religion. The French Revolution, the Crusades, the Lord's Resistant Army, WWII, the Islamic Revolution, the Lebanese Civil War and so many more wars have throughout history been caused or based on religious differences (2).Its odd to think, that the true nature of religion is to be faithful and most of all to be a good person, yet so much of it has been contorted into negativity. I'm not saying religions are the root of all evil or the cause of all wars. I see it more as the practitioner's who've taken the nature of religion out of context.
I myself am not religious in any way. I sometimes do however envy those who have such a strong faith, because I find myself scared sometimes - wondering who will take my destiny into their hands and redeem me for all of my poor decisions and actions. Yet, when I think of all the controversy that comes along with religion, I can't help but wonder why, as humans in a society which strives for peace, we can't all forget about the differences and superficialities in various religions and rather just focus on being a morally good person. Rather than fighting for some supreme being's acceptance, I'd rather focus on striving to one day be able to accept the best version of myself and to be able to put that version out into the world.What do you think?
"I thank whatever gods may be or my uncomfortable soul, I am the master of my faith. I am the captain of my own soul"
-William Earnest Henley
(2)http://www.lepg.org/wars.htm
Once again, I have to agree with your blog, Gen. I think religion, at its core, is a lovely thing. It's meant to teach compassion, respect and overall "goodness". When it's twisted and manipulated for selfish gains and bastardized for the sake of power, there's a problem.
ReplyDeleteTo quote Miles Hodges (because he's a brilliant poet and deserves to be quoted err'day), "I so badly just want things I know I can count on". Religion gives people something to believe in - something to count on. I have to say that I'm envious of it too, sometimes. It must be nice to trust someone to catch you when you fall and to believe that no matter what, there will be a happily-ever-after waiting for you. That being said, I don't think it's worth bowing down and submitting to the broken institutions many religions have transformed into. There's more than one way to watch a sunset, right? Doesn't matter where I stand in comparison to you, or if I decide to bring a lawn chair with me. We're still watching the same sunset and chances are, we're both in awe.
Anywho! I enjoyed reading this latest blog~!
I cannot help but agree with your entry entirely. In a book I recently read by Leo Tolstoy, he has one of the characters who is married to a very Christian girl but isn't Christian himself look at the religion and try to see it in a good light. He concluded, and I couldn't help but agree, that religion exists simply as a guideline for good morals which may not be as respected without an overlying ubermensch. As Nietzsche preaches, however, I do not think it is fit in today's society any longer. Instead, we can develop our own sense of morality, separate from worship and warship.
ReplyDeleteFantastic blog about the sometimes flexible nature of morality. I love how you add your own perspective to very difficult moral dilemmas.
ReplyDeleteThere are a few grammar and spelling issues (ex. thats vs that’s OR solely vs solemnly). Your last Mandela quote is actually misquoted and from one of his favourite poets. + Try editing your sidebar so that it doesn't cut your words.
Overall great work though.
I am not a strong believer in religion, yet I believe in the morals that they demonstrates. This makes me, my own person, not having to follow in someone's footsteps, like a God or Prophet, to try and be like them, but being myself and creating my own person in which people can look up to.
ReplyDeleteGen, I loved this blog! I enjoyed hearing your opinions and I agree with all of them. I used to be a pretty strong believer when I was younger, but today I find many flaws in religion, and would most likely not call myself a believer anymore. It just doesn't make sense anymore! Why so much chaos? Anyway, I do believe that we don't need religion to be good people with good morals, it could be in our nature.
ReplyDelete