Where Religion Belongs. Part1, Morality
June 19th 2007 14:03
On the basis of some of the reading I've been doing (this is mainly influenced by a man named Karl Barth, go look him up), I've been rethinking my position on the necessity of religion. Most christians say that it is useless, and a bondage to people. This is true. Most of the time.
The Apostle Paul knew alot about religion. He was Jewish, after all. And not just plain old oy vey Jewish, I mean the whole ט yards (it's the hebraic symbol for nine, pretty cool hey?). He was classically and exceptionally well taught (his tutor was well known and held a position on their council), he was in the right family, knew the right people, etc. He knew the fact that the law was a burden, but he didn't say that the law was a bad thing. On the contrary, he said it was because the of the law that he knew what bad was. So it can't be all bad.
Religion, according to Karl Barth, is the highest achievement of mankind. This needs quite a bit of explaining. Which I will summarise as best as I can. Humanity and divinity are two different things. Humanity is not perfect (by this I mean mankind) yet divinity is perfect (or it is not divinity at all). Humanity carries a part of it's divine impression (made in His image, etc etc) yet is far from the strength and perfection and ability of divinity. Our arts, our achievements, none of these things are perfect. I suspect just about any artist would be with me on this one. And yet religion is the greatest reminder of both divine nature and of man's inability to match it. Religion has been the basis of many moral systems of thought. The earliest philosophers (I'm talking Socrates and Aristotle here, though the first more than the second) both used a religious basis for much of their thinking (Aristotle's thinking was also largely incorporated by St Thomas Aquinas, a pointless side fact, but a cool one).
Barth's thinking leads to the fact that religion (I am not simply using christianity in this case, Judaism, Buddhism, Hinduism etc etc) tells man how he ought to be, with the full knowledge that man is incapable of it. As Chesterton said, people didn't hate monks because of their chastity, they despised them for when they weren't. The problem with telling people how they ought to be, is that it doesn't stop where it should. Too many times, because people know what shouldn't be done, they have a tendency to use it to tell people who they should be. That's another post though. I just wanted to point out that I have pointed it out.
But back to the actual point.......
The truth is that for most of man's history, religion has told him what is right and what is not. Whether to appease the gods he had to walk around a tree or kneel before an altar, there was still something there that told him there was a standard, and that he, as himself, did not measure up to it. He was told to dance, to show joy, weep and cover himself with ashes for sorrow, and loose blood for victory in war. He was told that the gods did not or did not approve of him, according to his actions. And this was the point. That he should be told, that there was a limit that he could not reach, no matter how hard that he tried. That his best would never be good enough. It meant that he would always have a reason to do his very best, knowing that there was something better for him to reach for, and to dream for things better than he could imagine. Religion being a sphere of man however, this came with a cost. It was flawed by the limited perception and moral ability of man.
It has been said that the greater a thing is, the worse it can become. And religion is by no means any kind of exception. It became a burden, and the results are usually obvious. Legalism (the kind where we beat people up with words rather than apply the values it was trying to instill), religious bullying and intolerance have laid heavy loads and painful scars on people where they should have been used to provide justice and mercy.
At the end of the day, the thought I am trying (without much success) is that religion does have a place as a reminder, as an indicator. As a master it is terrifying.
JZ
The Apostle Paul knew alot about religion. He was Jewish, after all. And not just plain old oy vey Jewish, I mean the whole ט yards (it's the hebraic symbol for nine, pretty cool hey?). He was classically and exceptionally well taught (his tutor was well known and held a position on their council), he was in the right family, knew the right people, etc. He knew the fact that the law was a burden, but he didn't say that the law was a bad thing. On the contrary, he said it was because the of the law that he knew what bad was. So it can't be all bad.
Religion, according to Karl Barth, is the highest achievement of mankind. This needs quite a bit of explaining. Which I will summarise as best as I can. Humanity and divinity are two different things. Humanity is not perfect (by this I mean mankind) yet divinity is perfect (or it is not divinity at all). Humanity carries a part of it's divine impression (made in His image, etc etc) yet is far from the strength and perfection and ability of divinity. Our arts, our achievements, none of these things are perfect. I suspect just about any artist would be with me on this one. And yet religion is the greatest reminder of both divine nature and of man's inability to match it. Religion has been the basis of many moral systems of thought. The earliest philosophers (I'm talking Socrates and Aristotle here, though the first more than the second) both used a religious basis for much of their thinking (Aristotle's thinking was also largely incorporated by St Thomas Aquinas, a pointless side fact, but a cool one).
Barth's thinking leads to the fact that religion (I am not simply using christianity in this case, Judaism, Buddhism, Hinduism etc etc) tells man how he ought to be, with the full knowledge that man is incapable of it. As Chesterton said, people didn't hate monks because of their chastity, they despised them for when they weren't. The problem with telling people how they ought to be, is that it doesn't stop where it should. Too many times, because people know what shouldn't be done, they have a tendency to use it to tell people who they should be. That's another post though. I just wanted to point out that I have pointed it out.
But back to the actual point.......
The truth is that for most of man's history, religion has told him what is right and what is not. Whether to appease the gods he had to walk around a tree or kneel before an altar, there was still something there that told him there was a standard, and that he, as himself, did not measure up to it. He was told to dance, to show joy, weep and cover himself with ashes for sorrow, and loose blood for victory in war. He was told that the gods did not or did not approve of him, according to his actions. And this was the point. That he should be told, that there was a limit that he could not reach, no matter how hard that he tried. That his best would never be good enough. It meant that he would always have a reason to do his very best, knowing that there was something better for him to reach for, and to dream for things better than he could imagine. Religion being a sphere of man however, this came with a cost. It was flawed by the limited perception and moral ability of man.
It has been said that the greater a thing is, the worse it can become. And religion is by no means any kind of exception. It became a burden, and the results are usually obvious. Legalism (the kind where we beat people up with words rather than apply the values it was trying to instill), religious bullying and intolerance have laid heavy loads and painful scars on people where they should have been used to provide justice and mercy.
At the end of the day, the thought I am trying (without much success) is that religion does have a place as a reminder, as an indicator. As a master it is terrifying.
JZ
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Comment by Anonymous
Comment by JoshZ
A Simple Christian
JZ
Comment by Winston
Small Thoughts on Big Questions
One can only carry the message that "your best isn't good enough" for just so long. Feelings of sinfulness and inadequacy before the demands of God (or Yahweh, Allah, Vishnu or Ahura Mazda) can deeply affect the psyche. The legacy of religion is, for so many people, guilt. Guilt over doing the wrong things, saying the wrong words, thinking the wrong thoughts. Guilt at failing to meet the standards of perfection. Guilt is a normal human response, and a valuable one in many instances. However, it's only valuable in cases where the guilt pertains to one's failure to act as best as possible by human standards. When someone acts or thinks or speaks as well as they can, but the tenets of religion still impose guilt, this is harmful.
Christianity, of course, comprises a bizarre paradox in this case. It is unparalleled in its ability to dole out guilt, and yet offers a quick fix solution (accepting Jesus as your personal Savior) to absolve people of that guilt. The real confusing part of that, to me, is that once one is "born again" and thereby saved, there should be no more guilt, right? But that doesn't seem to actually be the case....
I'm going to stop here, because I feel as though I'm meandering from the topic. Sorry to be so long-winded, just the stream my brain took at the moment!
Comment by JoshZ
A Simple Christian
It is true that no matter what you do, you cannot make God love you any more. However, it is also true that no matter what you do, He will not love you any less.
It is true that what alot of people feel far too often is guilt. Guilt has two sides I think, or at least, it has a right context and a wrong context.
The democratic fact of every man not being good enough is easily covered by the absolute reality of Grace. No man is perfect or good enough to deserve it, and yet it is given to us with the intent of making us good enough for it.
Paradox, gotta love it.
As for the remaining guilt, well, yes and no. Again, paradox. I know that God loves me, and has forgiven me, and that will not change. But also the Bible does mention that there is such a thing as Godly sorrow. It is the sorrow that makes us wish to be with Him more and love Him more, rather than worry about what people might think about us after we've done something that we shouldn't.
Mate, always happy to see you around here.
JZ