religion

Religion - The largest, most popular topic in Spirit And Sky SKR.

History

It is the core of spirituality in the world today, and even in those people without religion, in their own way, have a religion of their own! It is a belief in something other then passing away,and winking out into nothing...

Fear of death, and a misunderstanding of the forces of nature, are probably the number one reasons religion came about in the first place. Early man noticed his fellow peoples passing away, and in fear, surmised that there must be something beyond death. They noticed the sun trailing across the sky, followed by the moon at night, and figured that this was somehow "God" and that it was his eye or spirit watching us.

Primitive religions were like a groping in the dark. They worshiped the sun and moon, even the stars. Many tried to influence God (or gods) by sacrifice. It was believed that by selflessly giving up something important, that the gods would see this as an act of love and loyalty and "bless" them with successful hunts, or crops. Many early religions went way too far down this path and sacrificed humans too.

As time progressed and humanity evolved, those barbaric ways were recognized as foolish, and in some case's criminal, and were abandoned. Still today, in isolated pockets around the world, there still exists peoples that practice ritual sacrifice. Even in main stream religion the "idea" of sacrifice is still alive. From God sacrificing his son, to people sacrificing their appetite by fasting, the idea of sacrificing "something" to appease God is still very much alive today.

Many Religions

The world does not agree on one religion. It may never will. Religion is a thing passed on to our children from birth to adulthood, and in many cases can almost seem like pre-programming. The more extreme religious sects actually outcast or kill those that "fall from grace" or leave the following. Being told from a baby that you "must" do XY and Z to get into heaven, or burn in hell (very scary to a child) is a very powerful programmer. Consider this if you are religious: Do you think you would believe what you believe today had you been born into a family of a different religion? How about a different part of the world? Or to a family with no religion at all? Only the most arrogant of us believe that our life's circumstances has no effect at all on our religion.

Recruitment Into Religion

Many religions recruit, but in very many cases, they do so with bribery. For instance, missionaries not only bring religion, they bring food, medicine and knowledge (like how to work the land) to the primitive peoples they are trying to conform. The reality of their existence, the need for medicine, food and skills, often make them vulnerable to this approach. Seeing a solution to a once insurmountable problem, they allow themselves to "believe", and then they pass this belief on, with all of it's teachings to their children.

I am not trying to say "all religion is naive or misguided", I am trying to show you some facts on a subject so sorely devoid of facts. Once as a child, I asked my father "What is science?" he answered "It is the study of facts, of truths we know to exist". I then asked him, "if religion is true, why is it not called science?" this caused him great distress, and he could not answer me, and that caused me to question and analyze everything I had ever been taught on the subject.

The Puppy And The Scientist

It is my opinion that God the universe and everything, is some much above our ability to understand that it is like a little puppy staring up at a scientist's chalkboard at the pretty lines and numbers in his equations, and not knowing anything other then the scientist and the chalkboard exist, but the meaning on the board itself cannot be grasped. The mental limitations of the puppy totally prohibit the ability to understand this higher knowledge, so as with us, like the puppy and the scientist, we lack the ability to understand the grand scheme of things.

But We Can And Do Try

Within these pages, the vast section of spiritandsky on religion, you will find hundreds of sites with information about varying religions. There is no proof that any one of them is either right or wrong, nor is there any proof that what I have stated here is right or wrong. We are all on a spiritual journey. It is ultimately up to us to decide what we choose to believe in. If you have it in you to boldly look to heaven, and inward to self, and decide for yourself, what, if anything, you choose to believe in, then let the search begin, and God Speed!

Below is a listing of categories in the SKR pertaining to religion