What many have failed to do in their posts is differentiate between religious belief as in theology, philosophy etc. and faith and the inner peace and serenity that comes seemingly from a greater power.
The simple reality is that if one is a humanist then "man is the measure of all things" and for the believer (at least in the Judeo-Christian context) "man is evil and possesses original sin." In reality, I think more people are externally motivated by organized religion to lead more moral and ethical lives than by a sense of true faith. Most IMO do not really delve too deeply into theology or philosophy and some kind of rules to live by. Again, in the context of my experience I find that people tend not to really understand the principles of the belief they hold, nor do they really understand historical context.
I find it quite interesting that Fred Phelps, Osama Bin Ladin, The Inquisition are always dragged out, and of course all the wars fought in the name of religion, including the one we are fighting now. On the other hand, religion has played an important role in the cultural development of society. Religion was the inspiration for the Pyramids of Egypt, the cantatas of Bach, the great cathedrals of Europe and it could be argued that the Reformation led directly to the Enlightenment which greatly influenced the founding of the United States. Certainly the knowledge of antiquity and the classical world were preserved by the Roman Catholic Church. One cannot divorce Christianity, for instance, from Western Civilization nor any other culture or civilization from its religion(s).
My read on the Columbine father is that he has achieved an inner peace and has received something akin to spiritual enlightenment. Whether it is produced by some chemical process in the brain, a flash of insight from a higher power, or a fifth of Jack Daniels, I care not to speculate as the ability to transcend to the spiritual or a sense of inner peace is quite different from being religious as opposed to being spiritual.
IMO, when a culture or a society loses its consensus, it falters. A common religion or religious beliefs tends to encourage consensus.
One can be a very moral and upstanding person and be an atheist or an agnostic, but those who get there usually get there through thoughtful self-examination and study. The atheists that I know (some of whom survived living in foxholes, contrary to popular belief) have been to a person thoughtful, intelligent people who got there through critical examination, and the same can be said for many agnostics I've met. I have also known people of various and sundry religions who have transcended religion and have become truly spiritual. Granted most everything I have shared here is opinion and anecdotal and I am confident that those of a scholarly and intellectual bent could rip me a new one from many perspectives, but I can't help believe if our leaders and wannabe leaders would get in touch with their spiritual self as opposed to their religious selves we would be in a much better place, but that's not going to happen.
The simple reality is that if one is a humanist then "man is the measure of all things" and for the believer (at least in the Judeo-Christian context) "man is evil and possesses original sin." In reality, I think more people are externally motivated by organized religion to lead more moral and ethical lives than by a sense of true faith. Most IMO do not really delve too deeply into theology or philosophy and some kind of rules to live by. Again, in the context of my experience I find that people tend not to really understand the principles of the belief they hold, nor do they really understand historical context.
I find it quite interesting that Fred Phelps, Osama Bin Ladin, The Inquisition are always dragged out, and of course all the wars fought in the name of religion, including the one we are fighting now. On the other hand, religion has played an important role in the cultural development of society. Religion was the inspiration for the Pyramids of Egypt, the cantatas of Bach, the great cathedrals of Europe and it could be argued that the Reformation led directly to the Enlightenment which greatly influenced the founding of the United States. Certainly the knowledge of antiquity and the classical world were preserved by the Roman Catholic Church. One cannot divorce Christianity, for instance, from Western Civilization nor any other culture or civilization from its religion(s).
My read on the Columbine father is that he has achieved an inner peace and has received something akin to spiritual enlightenment. Whether it is produced by some chemical process in the brain, a flash of insight from a higher power, or a fifth of Jack Daniels, I care not to speculate as the ability to transcend to the spiritual or a sense of inner peace is quite different from being religious as opposed to being spiritual.
IMO, when a culture or a society loses its consensus, it falters. A common religion or religious beliefs tends to encourage consensus.
One can be a very moral and upstanding person and be an atheist or an agnostic, but those who get there usually get there through thoughtful self-examination and study. The atheists that I know (some of whom survived living in foxholes, contrary to popular belief) have been to a person thoughtful, intelligent people who got there through critical examination, and the same can be said for many agnostics I've met. I have also known people of various and sundry religions who have transcended religion and have become truly spiritual. Granted most everything I have shared here is opinion and anecdotal and I am confident that those of a scholarly and intellectual bent could rip me a new one from many perspectives, but I can't help believe if our leaders and wannabe leaders would get in touch with their spiritual self as opposed to their religious selves we would be in a much better place, but that's not going to happen.
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