Monday, January 08, 2007

When Men Believe.

"Religion is regarded by the common people as true, by the wise as false, and by the rulers as useful."

-Seneca, Roman philosopher

Religion is a very touchy subject. In our world today, thousands of people die in the name of gods, in wars fought every day.

Why are men willing to sacrifice their lives fighting? Being a noble cause, (some other causes include 'freedom' and 'democracy'), religion gives us the answers to three questions that we are most concerned about: Where did we come from, What is our purpose, and Where are we going.

No, I have not renounced my faith. Because I know without doubt that God exists and holds more sway over our lives than any other being (which is another topic altogether). What is not real, however, is religion created by men. Bible quote, anyone?

"They worship me in vain; their teachings are but rules taught by men."
-Jesus, in Mark 7:7

The cause of conflict, within and outside religion, is because each group has fortified their position with baseless weapons of theology. Even within Christianity, there are countless disagreements between every church, and also partly the reason why there are so many denominations believing their brand of religion is the ultimate and perfect answer. It is precisely because of a thousand years of tradition and ritual that the demons of modern conflict come into existence.

In developed countries, all the more people are averse towards religion in general. There is an admitted proliferation of aethism, especially in countries like the United Kingdom, France, USA, and even Singapore. Because of wealth, citizens of these countries do not need to struggle day-to-day just for survival. They therefore have more time on their hands to think about the aforementioned three questions.

And when they do, more often than not, they come to a conclusion that there is no God. Yes, this world is a broken-down world, and to them, religion has bred fanatics that have created their own freakshows of faith, completely out-of-touch with technology and popular culture, and completely hostile towards the outside world. Which layman would want to be absorbed into such a cult?

(I say cult, meaning, any group of religious fanatics who are shut off from the outside world, hiding behind their walls of 'teachings of men' to repeatedly blast it as 'works of the devil'. These are the same people that wished to ban movies like the Da Vinci Code, thinking that such a trivial and superficial fantasy would do irreparable damage to their religion and its followers. Who has the real God? Such extremists, or the mature Christian that says, 'Bring it on. It gives me the perfect chance to explain the real truth about God.' Is the God of the universe so weak that His people, who devote their entire lives to His name, can be dislodged by a 2-hour motion picture? Shame on you.)

Truth is found in the Word, this Word shall set you free. But, conversion through an assault on one's thoughts and beliefs, is not freedom at all. Evangelism should be performed through acts of kindness, brotherhood, friendship and love, cliched as it may sound. It is through these acts that a non-believer (in the developed world) can recognise the existence of God, and not through an invasion of someone's belief system.

jOhn thought at 2:45 AM