Religion

It is Easter atop the Stoa this weekend and I could not let it pass without comment. Easter is important to all Christians, Catholics and Protestants alike. The Jewish faith itself has just celebrated Passover.

I feel that religion developed over time to take advantage of the human need to believe in something larger and greater than themselves. The earliest religions were animistic and elemental to explain the natural processes of nature. A religious class (in almost all societies regardless of global location) formed that had the "keys" to heaven. As societies became larger and more complex, religion was able to exert or influence the warrior classes within them. It was the glue that held larger and larger groups of individual together and prevented chaos. It provided a structure. Over time, reason, logic and science replaced the psychological comfort that religion granted an individual. This is why religious belief as a whole in the world (with the exception of Islam) is waining. Deep down, though, many do believe in a higher power. If anything, our science, reason and logic tells us that we know virtually nothing about how the cosmos functions.

All religions have peace as their central tenants, again, with the exception of Islam. The Jewish faith was the first to create a stable and cohesive monotheistic religion (we can talk about the Zorasters in another post, class). For well over a thousand years, perhaps two, the Jews had a thriving religion that survived the worst that the Persians, Assyrians, and Egyptians could throw at them. In the Roman Era of Augustus, there were those Jews that began to follow a new prophet by the name of Jesus.

Jesus felt that the Jews had lost their way, strayed from the path that God intended for them. He was sent to guide the chosen of Israel back to the path. Human greed and the lust for power and influence among the Jewish high priests won out over the Son of God. Against the wishes of the Romans, the Jews put Jesus to death in an attempt to silence his heresy. I do believe that Jesus was the son of God. I do believe that he arose on the third day in fulfillment of the scriptures. I do believe that he opened the gates of Hell and culled the realm of Purgatory.

I also believe in evolution, not creationism. I believe that abortion is wrong though I do believe in birth control. I believe that the Jewish faith took a wrong turn 2,011 years ago. I do believe that Catholic faith has got it more right than the other religions. The Protestants started out trying to purify the Catholic faith of the corruption that is inherent within a long established institution. I do not look at Islam as a proper monotheistic religion since they do not separate the church from the State, as the Jews and Christians do. Islam is a man's club that never reformed. Oh, they also worship a rock and the crescent moon. Animistic and primitive.

What I am getting at is that none of the established religions have it "right", though I feel that the Catholics are closer than others. I have my issues with both the Jews and the Catholics (I will not even get into the Multitude of Protestant "faiths").

The Jews still work under the Old Testament and the Tora. The Jewish faith is peaceful enough and there is much to admire with their longevity and cohesion. I feel, though, that this cohesion has been achieved by maintaining as much as possible a closed culture. Jews are not supposed to marry non-Jews and in some of the more Orthodox branches, you can be ostracized for doing so. They have a variety of old-fashioned belief systems that do not make a whole lot of sense to an outsider such as myself.

The Catholics can be inflexible, harsh, and intolerant. I cringe whenever I hear of a Catholic private school that has expelled a female student for becoming pregnant or terminating a teacher whose sordid past has become revealed. On a positive note, Catholics embrace all the races of the world and bring them into the fold with no violent coercion. They have a strict belief of a separation of the spiritual from the material. Much to be admired.

I scratch my head when Catholics expel or exclude for any reason.

Jesus accepted everyone. Period. He even accepted a prostitute as an apostle (yes, I do believe that). His was a message of absolute love and acceptance. He was the way. He was the example. He would not expel a child for becoming pregnant. He would rejoice in the new life created, though he would use it a teaching example on the hardships that this girl and her baby will have to endure without a husband or the opportunities afforded her though higher education and training.

Jesus would not expel the teacher with a sordid past, He would encourage her for improving her life, and by extension, using her wisdom to help her young charges not to make the same mistakes that she has made.

No one ever looked upon the face of Jesus and walked away the same person. He could see your very essence, your soul. He could see beyond the web of lies that we spin around ourselves and tell you the truth that you needed to hear to be the person God wished you to be. He was unique and He represents the best image for humanity, regardless of race, color, culture, or religion. There was no "chosen people" any longer. No exclusive club. Jesus reminded us that we are all God's children and He loves us. I'm sure He cries all the time when he sees how we treat the special gift called life. In all the vast Universe there is no one like YOU. Yet we kill, wound, steal and abuse our fellow Man.

Look upon Easter as a reminder that one man can make a difference in the world. One man saved us all. One man showed us the way. That man waits patiently for us to make the choice to follow the path that He as set before us.

With a humble nod to the miracle that is Easter, I depart the Stoa to spend time with my family.

Live well,

--Zavost