Sociologist on the origins of "the great religions." His self proclaimed unique perspective is that according to him most sociologists and anthropologists have approached religion with the lens that it is of human origin - a human need to explain the mysteries of life and try to come to terms with the unknown. He doesn't deny this motivation, but he also posits that if there is a god, and he obviously believes in an intelligent designer, then perhaps religion or (certain revelations in certain religions) are actually God's method of connecting with humans.
The first part of the book is a very detailed origin story of primitive society religion, temple religions in ancient civilizations, rise of monotheism, Indian religions, Chinese gods and "philosophies" like Confucianism, Christianity (Judaism), and Islam.
Some interesting standouts: He talks about religion and the rise of certain religions in economic terms. What makes a certain religion attractive to converts? How does it meet a certain need that a group might have - for example the attractive concept of an afterlife based on merit or belief that Christianity proposed.
Not all religions, in fact it is a more recent phenomenon associated God or gods with some kind of moral standard or code. In ancient times, gods were to be appeased and sacrificed to, but had little interest in how moral humans lived their lives.
He is of the school of thought, that because monotheism (Judeo/Christianity) proposed the notion of an orderly universe, that it spawned the rise of science and advancements that otherwise would never have been attempted. (This makes me think of the Schaeffers and the rise of civilization based on this principle or one similar.) This has some baggage for me - so I won't touch that.
He does a brief summary which focuses on the possibility of miracles if a Creator God does indeed exist and he ridicules dogmatics who rule out the possibility.
"Through the millennia, many Gods have been invented, and many religious founders were either deluded or charlatans. (I agree.) It could not be otherwise when the matters involved are so important and so impossible to fully verify. (yes) But it does not necessarily follow that all religions are rooted in fraud, illusions, or wishful thinking. (hmm) To conclude this study, I shall suggest that quite aside from any traditional religious claims, there are objective grounds for accepting the existence of God as the more rational conclusion." (makes sense)
He doesn't claim or seem to be a devoted Christian, but he seems to favor Christianity as a more likely candidate for being "revealed" rather than merely a human construct. This is a little hard for me. I can't warm to the idea of a particular religion or people group or point in the history continuum having more access to God or his "mind" than any other time, even if in saying this there are certain religious practices that are more or less distasteful to me personally.
I am thankful for example not to be one of the thousands tossed off the top of the Mayan temple in their annual blood sacrifice ritual.
I tend to be more of the thinking that an individual's relative openness to truth and spirituality will dictate their ability to connect with something or someone beyond the material. This obviously reflects my firm establishment in postmodern western civilization in the 21st century. It also is a reflection of my temperament. I have a profound distrust for the collective. I idealize societal life that is pre-industrial and agricultural and I have a disdain for institutions. (the larger and more cumbersome they are, the less I like them.) I have no particular liking for ceremony and ritual and I'm extremely non traditional. (unless I get a day off work of course)
I can barely stand to celebrate birthdays (unless you give me a gift I love ha) and superfluous holidays created by hallmark or imposing do-gooders are distasteful to me. That to say, I consider myself open to miracles, spirituality, and the idea that God might be interested in me personally (thought I doubt it - any more than he or she is interested personally in a snail or a microbe.) I think God is interested in us as some type of cosmic experiment or creative piece of art. I do believe in energy and harnessing positivity and healing which is God given.
I enjoyed this book and the perspectives. Thinking about religion anthropologically is nothing new, but there were some definite take-aways from this.
No comments:
Post a Comment