July 17, 2010
Religion – Interlude
Sorry folks, I just didn’t have the mental or temporal bandwidth to do a full blog post this week (in fact my posting regularity my be a bit sporadic for the next couple of months. Lots of stuff on my plate), but I wanted to put a little something up.
Based on some reactions I got to the last post I think I need to add some clarity to the definition of religion. Philosophically, “religion” is far broader than just actions centered around the metaphysical or a “god”.
Be it the “great religions” of Christianity, Islam, Hinduism, Judaism et al or the “secular religions” such as humanism, The New Age, Nazism, Communism, political activism, environmentalism, and atheism (yes, virulent atheism meets all the tenants of a religion), the crux of the matter is the same – religion is the spiritualization of Justification of Man
It takes Justification of Man and turns it into a worldview, a metaphysical expression, a “higher purpose” – it essentially attempts to give an answer to “What’s the Point” without accounting for the absolutes of Right and Just. Religion externalizes, homogenizes, and communizes Justification of Man. By de-personalizing the struggle with guilt, diffusing the responsibility for justification and turning it into an external communal process, religion tends to strongly galvanize its adherents.
This is one of the reasons that religion causes so much damage, because in the end, it is a substitute for the meaning of life. And since its adherents believe they are fulfilling the real meaning of life, it is extraordinarily difficult to get them to consider the idea that they might be on the wrong path (contrastive thinking). And since contrastive thinking is the only way to righteousness, the more religious you are, the more difficult it will be to get to Heaven.
I’ll expound on this more in a week (hopefully)
Remember the only way to righteousness is through Jesus Christ not on our own via a special process of the mind. The only way we can come to KNOW the Son of God is by the Holy Spirit. There is NO other means. Now when it comes to WORKS of FAITH then you NEED to focus on obtaining the correct interpretation of the WORD. Now this again is via the Holy Spirit.
Modeling and correct ways of thinking are a means for us to build a solid worlview. That is why I appreciate your blog.
Don,
I absolutely agree that the only way than man can ultimately and effectively be completely righteous (the righteousness that is necessary to be like God) is through the work of Christ and the Holy Spirit. I just haven’t gotten there yet in the blog. Remember that I am exploring Christian philosophy systematically. Christ’s incarnation does not occur until the end of the 5th dispensation, and the Holy Spirit’s work does not begin until the 6th dispensation. Right now the blog is still exploring the 1st dispensation. We’ll get there gradually, but we will get there.
Ugh! I’ll be going through withdrawl until your next post. Great explanation on religion.
Thanks, and I’m sorry about the delays. I just started a new job, grad school is kind of intense right now, and I’m co-planning my wedding. I will still make every effort to keep the posts coming quasi-weekly.