Imagine a branching plant. Periodically, branches die and rot threatening the health and sometimes the very life of the plant. These branches must be severed and discarded in order for the plant to continue growing.
Now imagine mankind as a branching plant. It's different aspects are the branches. Imagine organized religion as one of those branches. It is my belief that it is this branch that is among those that have died, are rotting and are threatening the health and life of the plant.
For us as a species to grow and reach our potential, religion must be severed and discarded. Its purpose has long been lost, its time is long over due, its relevance is no longer arguable. It is a system of understanding the universe, and the life within it, based on myth, emotion, hypocrisy and ignorance.
It is time for us all to shed the ways of the past that keep us from our potential. We can not call or even think of ourselves as civilized while hate, fear and greed saturate the foundations of our societies. We must stop believing that what we are today is as good as it gets.
If it were up to me, if I were the "gardener", religion would be the first branch I'd cut.
At first, reading this after a couple years, I had the impulse to edit it and bring it more up to date with my current views. But then I decided that somewhat defeats the purpose of this kind of blog, so I will edit via comment instead.
ReplyDeleteThe analogy of "cutting the branch" of religion perhaps implies that I desire religion to be outlawed. This is far from my intention. I fully recognize and celebrate the value of the right to worship freely as one wishes. My hope is for mankind to come to a point in our development where religion is no longer relevant and is discarded on, as Sam Harris often puts it, the "scrapheap of myth".
Also, if religion were to evolve to a point where it were an institution of true spiritual growth, that no longer made supernatural claims about life and the universe, that cherished life without judgement or condition, that sought truth through the eyes of reason and not dogma, then would I be able to change my mind about religion and see it as a valuable part of humanity.