LadyEllen
Posts: 10931
Joined: 6/30/2006 From: Stourport-England Status: offline
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Like Termyn8or and as many will know from previous threads, I find Asatru/Odinism provides me with the best fit religious/spiritual explanation for life, the universe and everything. Thats not to say there is no value in other religions or none, although I'm not very well disposed to certain religions which in their organised forms have wrought at least as much damage and suffering in the world as their aspirations have sought to bring good. Sadly in its modern revival, even Asatru/Odinism has become the subject of the latter part of that last sentence. The thing is, everyone of whatever religion or none, cannot point to it and say "this is the only right explanation and this is the only right way", because every religion and none seems to be characterised by the good, the bad and the ugly, and every religion can be pulled to pieces by analysis, let alone the fact that those of other religions claim the same high qualification for their own beliefs - there cannot be two versions which are both solely right. And yet, every religion and none offers its adherents something valuable to them and to the world, and therefore cannot be dismissed out of hand. Religion, being found in so many forms, seems to be a purely human construct. Of course, that is not to say that religious paths of all kinds are not divinely inspired, but in the end they seem to be tailored to specific cultures which on the one hand might suggest a single God being revealed to different peoples and that revelation therefore being fixed in terms suitable to their cultures, or on the other hand as the result of different cultures trying to make sense of the cosmos in their own ways. That human spiritual and religious experience and practice worldwide shares so much that is alike in nature or meaning, could mean that either explanation or both is correct. However, the important thing is that whatever form a religion takes, however badly its adherents might sometimes behave and however flawed it can be shown to be, it answers a human need in a way that science simply cannot. Were we totally logical like Mr Spock, then science might just replace religion, but as it is we are emotional beings with a psychology that yearns for meanings and hopes, and perceives fear and pain above the level of animal instinct - not just facts. As a scientific study, death for instance is the total extinction of life, occasioned by deterioration or damage to the vital systems which made life possible. In death, science says that everything ceases including conciousness, character and personality which were dependent on life, and whilst "we" simply cease to exist, the physical body rots. But for us, this is generally not acceptable to our emotional, psychological being and generally, we like to hope for some sort of survival and prefer to give some meaning to death, than to simply acknowledge and live by what appears at least, to be the logically analysed situation. Science can tell us a lot about facts, but it cannot ultimately satisfy our psychological needs. That science can demonstrate our conciousness to be nothing but the result of countless chemical interactions in the brain, tells us nothing of what is means to be human as an individual or as part of a society or the world. Science is an invaluable tool, just as a belief system can be, but they are different tools for different purposes. If one is putting up shelves, one might need a drill and a screwdriver; if we tried to do the whole job with only one, we would fail. Astronomical science has shown us where we are in the galaxy, and can show us where our galaxy is amid others. It can tell us that whatever we do, the Earth is ultimately doomed if not by the eventual extinction of the Sun then by the collision of Andromeda with the Milky Way. However, this does not mean that we need do nothing about improving life now and for future generations, because that it what we seek to do, however ultimately pointless life must be if we accept these predictions of cataclysm. However much science tells us, we remain human with all that that entails, and we will always function on a human level along with our psychology, emotions, hopes and fears. E
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