Most conflict between religions can be chalked up to an over-focus on the word-play and myths and an under-focus on the concept and intuitive emotions they bring. For example, if we think of the ancient Greek religion, we have Zeus who is the king of the gods and there are a host of other lesser Gods who are either good, such as Athena the goddess of wisdom, or negative, such as Ares, the god of war. If we think of the Abrahamic religions we see a focus on there being one God who is supported by angels and opposed by Satan and demons. Yet when we realise that these are conceptually identical, only the words attributed by mankind have altered, we have a great leap forward in our comprehension. We could simply call "Zeus" "God," the supporting positive goddesses and gods as "angels," "Ares" becomes "Satan" and any negative lesser "gods" become demons. As such the conflicts between monotheism and polytheism should melt away to a new comprehension of the divine force. It is one divine truth yet it can be seen in and spoken of from infinite beautiful perspectives, a multitude of voices that strengthen our will to love and guard both creation and each other.
They say of religion, that it is the interaction between the divine spirit and culture, that all are commanded to love, be kind and care for all of humanity, all life on Earth.
Once upon a time there was a group of very clever hippos. They learned how to draw pictures in the mud, some sweet, some salty and some naughty. They laughed in the way that hippos do and had a happy life in their eden of mud and water.
Well, one day a hippo got worried; he worried and worried that there could be an invisible hippo in the sky watching their hippo-ness. He loved his fellow hippos and decided that they must be clever enough to figure out what the sky-hippo might want. A hippo that could make a world must of course be very powerful. He imagined what a sky-hippo might do if he got angry and his hippo knees knocked together. So, he imagined how to make the sky-hippo happy. Then... oh no... he wondered if the sky-hippo might punish them for bad "hipponess" even after they had died! And so, he set about teaching the other hippos how to be good hippos.
The other hippos listened, laughed and played... they ignored him and he felt very frustrated and very angry. “They must listen!” he thought, “I will tell them about what the sky-hippo does to naughty hippos!” And he did. Well, everything changed. The hippos sat glumly in the mud and water. They looked up at the sky, then they were very very good and very very sad inside. There was no more innocent hippo fun, only what the sky-hippo might approve of.
Generations passed, the hippo who told the stories of the sky-hippo best became the new leader and the other hippos stopped their different hippo ideas. They got a look in the eye that was fearful and if anyone spoke ill of the sky hippo, they became very angry because these stories were all that made the world make sense for them.
And... the silliest part of our hippo story is that there really was a sky hippo! And the sky hippo only wanted the hippos to remember what fun it is to be a hippo in mud and water. The sky hippo wanted them to be happy and kind to one another and their hippo-world because, after all, he really was a wonderfully loving sky hippo
If the emotions of one in need are like a hurricane, then religion needs to learn how to create the space a hurricane needs to slow and become calm. Rigid rules to such a person are like trying to nail down a hurricane. Guilt makes the winds blow all the harder. Only in moments of calm, when sought, will advice be of help - any other time it will add debris to the winds. There is a time to actively help and a time to love quietly, trust yourself to sense the difference.
I wonder; if an artist painted a picture book of Libertarianism (far right) and true communism (far left), if they would look just the same - no words, just pictures. I wonder the same for the principles of every religion, if instead of words it was only art. Wouldn't they all be paintings of love, of sharing, of caring? And wouldn't they be so much easier to understand than inches of text?
You wanted to save them from hell? You aren’t being honest with yourself, no don’t pout, you weren’t. You were scared of hell, you wanted to go to heaven and you thought by converting them you’d win “brownie points” with God. Isn’t that right? No? You say you wanted to save them, to bring them everlasting life? Bull. I told you this course of action would decimate their population and culture for generations. The true reason, the deep reason, for any action should be judged by the result instead of the proclaimed intention. The stated intention is no more than smoke from a fire that’s already burning. Confused? Let’s look at our example, maybe that will help.
The result in this case was the destruction of the First Nations in mind, body and spirit, and so that was the intention of option A, it satisfied a deep fear in the settlers and the rest is self serving bulls**t. The deep (real) motivation was fear of the natives and fear of cultural difference - so the true intention was their destruction, which was the result. Religious ideas are dangerous if they let us hide behind a false nobility while doing barbaric things. So - good news and bad - the good news is knowing all this makes the analysis of complex political situations and world problems simple. The bad news is it makes the manipulation of people, of populations, simple too. Just trigger a deep emotion they won’t consciously acknowledge (repress) and then give them a way to satisfy that urge whilst keeping their ego in tact, or even better, feeling noble. Sounds like religion, right?
Oh, God is talking to me again. Hmmm. OK. He says all you need to know is that He is real and He loves you. He says to stop allowing yourselves to be controlled by the news, the media, the corporations, religions and the banks. He says they have you dancing like puppets while His earth is destroyed - all so that they can make themselves rich and powerful. He says wake up, and when you are awake don’t go back to sleep...
Found in Are you awake yet? - first draft, authored by Daisy.
There are so many problems in the world, I'm not blind to it, my eyes are open too. But I don't see big religion, people as part of "herds" or "gangs," I see billions of broken hearts reaching out to know they are loved by the Divine, and they are. All of them, every single one. So I'm feeling optimistic. Our enemy isn't people at all, they are all born in innocence, there never was an "evil" baby. Cultures shape our minds, religions can inspire goodness or fear and bigotry. Cultures can change if infused with Love and mutual understanding. Fear breeds fear and shuts us off from the true inner voice of our moral compass.
People are good, human nature is just fine, culture we can change and more rapidly than people think. I reach out with Love because Love heals, Love makes us whole, Love elevates us to better and more noble thought patterns. The glass is still half full and I know we can make it if we try.
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