Archive Home Page Subj: Re:Evolution and Civilization
Date: 95-05-04 16:28:50 EST
From: Joe Uhrig Posted on: America Online
>>At the risk of bringing upon myself the wrath of believers, I will say I don't think much of the "inner pathways" offered by the major religions of the last two millenia. If anything, those religions are all about closing off those pathways, blockading them with doctrines that make the inner self taboo. This is as true of Jesus, who warned men against sinning in their hearts, as much as Buddha, who taught that ego and desire are the root of unhappiness.<<
I personally would agree with you if there was a requirement that said that we have to adhere to everything in those belief systems. You gave two examples of beliefs that bind, but my own decision would be to discard them if they were limiting me. The same Buddha who sought escape from the world of suffering also taught the "middle way" of living a life in balance. The same Christ who taught dependency on him also taught unconditional love. The words of both of these teachers were eminating from the same background of suffering and metaphysical delimmas that plague use today. I think the process of seperating the wheat from the chafe belongs to mankind both collectively, but more importantly individually because we are in many ways so different.
I guess the main reason I believe that all religions have inner paths to freedom is that I have met people, very ordinary people, whom I believe have really found the way through the religious quandries. I suspect their journeys were characterized by a great deal of questioning and a willingness to experience feelings, but the fact remained that these people seemed to have found peace of mind and balance without discarding their religions. In this and other forums I have probably positioned myself as a foe of religion, but I am not. I think a process of religions liberating themselves from the dark sides of their belief systems would be in the service of a larger purpose. I don't think we want to just throw out the baby with the bathwater.
>>the rarity of serious suffering.<<
Whoa, time to take a close to the ground trip into the third world or the inner cities. Spend a week in a homeless shelter and on the streets without money. More people are dying every minute than died twenty five years ago and the many of them don't have access to anything stronger than aspirin or their own minds to control their pain. I suspect if there were some quantifiable way to meaure suffering both physical and psychological and merge it together and sum it up across the centuries there would be more today than in the past on the basis of sheer numbers of people alone. The vast majority of the suffering both psychological and physical in the world is solvable by mankind with an adjustment of our collective priorities. The metaphysical suffering embodied in things like death are obviously linked to a larger process.
>>" I think the future is even better than we can imagine." Joe Uhrig I tend to think optimism may be a bit premature.<<
My optimism is based entirely on my experiences, and there is simply no way I can prove it. But as I tap into emotions here, mostly without specific permission to do so, I am very mindful that I should take nothing without giving something in return. How or when is not my department, but as any performer or athelete can probably attest, the race is often won before the race begins and I believe this is the case here.
>>The world is desperately in need of a religious, spiritual and ethical system that is compatible with the power we are daily expanding.<<
The best of our both personal spiritual and collective religious beliefs in all their diversity freely arrived at would seem to be a very good starting point :) The journey is in many respects more important than the destination. Freedom asks for nothing less.
>>And, who has better taste than gays?<<
LOL, but what about us gays whose idea of style and good taste is blue jeans and a new t-shirt? :)