Religions And Their Source/Introduction
From Wikibooks, the open-content textbooks collection
Humaity - our species Homo Sapiens Sapiens - emerged about 3 million years ago. What distinguishes us from other species is our unique survival strategy (wisdom). Whilst all animals have brains with some memory and anticipation (emotions), we have imagination. We can project several imaginary futures based on our existing experience, and communicate and compare these ideas rationally. Truly "In the beginning was the word...."
Many millennia ago, humans faced many hazards, and conquered them with the knowledge they then possessed. Questions about the nature of threats in the natural world, of course, about what might happen after death were crucial, for human minds then (just as they do for us today) would have appeared to have an existence of their own, somehow separate and distinct from the body they inhabit.
Wise leaders solved such abstract problems, and from the practices they suggested, improved the probability of survival for their followers. Successful habits became enforced, and so people built religious institutions to develop and exploit the social benefits of civilisation over open warfare.
Vital to that persuasion and pacification is the threat of lethal force, and so warriors then as soldiers now, have to believe that the good of their society depends on killing other people, and themselves risking death, for which heroism they will be rewarded - if not in this world, then in the next.
As communal living tends to unify concepts and actions, enlarging clans and evolving tribes would have had to unify their beliefs about the unknown, if only to reduce internal conflict and standardize rituals and behavioural norms. Tribal trading and assimilations would periodically introduce new ideas, and undoubtedly these would have disturbed the status quo and created debate about the validity of existing practices, thoughts and even beliefs.
Now and again different kinds of leaders would appear and systematize practices. Military leaders would unify people and property. Philosophical leaders would unify facts and theories. Religious leaders would unify beliefs and dogmas. Successful leaders would attract followers, and these would help to consolidate and strengthen fiefdoms, as well as understandings and theologies, for such is the way societies are built.
Part Two examines the critical role that leaders play in originating and developing religions. It explains the source of the inspirations that illuminate and empower leaders’ activities. Details about some of the world’s major religions are then provided; these serve to illustrate our religions’ diversity, to highlight some of the many benefits we derive from religions, and to provide a background to a list of failings that I think detract from their current utility, leading me to suggest that something better is needed.
The four parts are:
Part One, Thinking And Moral Problems. This part includes Chapter One Thinking, Chapter Two Solving Problems and Chapter Three Making Decisions.
Part Two, Religions And Their Source. This part includes Chapter Four Religions' Origins, Chapter Five Revelations And Conversions and Chapter Six Present Day Religions.
Part Three, Purpose. This part includes Chapter Seven The Universe, Chapter Eight Life, Chapter Nine Looking For A Purpose and Chapter Ten Life And Exploiting.
Part Four, Developing A Universal Religion. This part includes Chapter Eleven Why Bother?, Chapter Twelve Possible Applications, Chapter Thirteen Determining Moral Behaviours and Chapter Fourteen A Universal Religion.
The four parts attempt to explain why the world needs a "universal religion."
To properly understand the need for a universal religion, we must first understand why religions are needed. Part One, Thinking And Moral Problems, of this book examines the neurological and environmental conditions that create the mental need for a religion. Essentially, our minds are problem-solving and decision-making entities, handling practical situations proficiently but often finding moral ones difficult. Religions help by shaping the background “environment” that defines the moral problem that confronts us.
Unfortunately, none of our existing religions could become the basis for a universal religion. The rationale for stating so is developed in Part Two, Religions And Their Source.
Part Three, Purpose, searches for a purpose that is significant enough to be used when universally applicable moral decisions have to be made. It gives reasons for stating that life’s behaviour itself may provide such a purpose. Part Four, Developing A Universal Religion, presents some philosophical and practical reasons for using such a purpose then illustrates how it might be used to develop a rational code of “moral” behaviour. Part Four ends with a few suggestions about religion building.
The emphasis throughout this book is on the importance of choosing a suitable (i.e., universal, timeless and rational) purpose and using it to make decisions that impact upon civilization’s progress. In that such a purpose will generate moral solutions, it may eventually head a “universal religion.” However, this book explores only the reasons why such a religion is needed and how one might be derived; the possible development of one is a task that others might like to think about undertaking.
Some points in this series may promote discussions and dissensions. These are welcome, of course, but may can make following the text difficult if included within the text. I suggest that:
- facts (as defined in wikipedia [[1]]) are included as changes in the text, but
- opinions (as defined in wikipedia [[2]]) are added to the discussion page. Please give your name or a pen-word, so that others can refer to your entry in any replies.
N.B. Changes in text can be found by referring to the history page.
Since the text is being modified, you may wish to read, or print, parts (or all) of the original book. You can do this by downloading the PDF file.
David Hockey 20:53, 2 January 2006 (UTC)
