Inside my mind

22nd January 2012

Post with 6 notes

Lots of thoughts on lots of stuff lately… the most pressing being religion and spirituality.

For those who don’t know, I took anthropology this semester as a social studies course. (don’t worry, this goes back to my main point of writing this) We discussed things such as human evolution, and the cultural aspects of the Cheyenne Indian tribes of the great plains during the 1850’s. I was amazed that a society classified as ignorant savages by men such as the founding fathers could be so refined, stable, and even elegantly designed.

Before the class really got into breaking down the Cheyenne society, we went over several evolutionary aspects of religion and magic and the differences between the two. Basically, religion focuses on appeasing and placating the supernatural, while magic focuses on CONTROLLING the supernatural. The other two major reasons were that it provided an explanation for the unexplained and that it brought the community together. All of these are completely verifiable and logical.

The Cheyenne views on the supernatural were simple. An overall deity, Mother Earth. However, the Cheyenne did not focus so much on placating this deity as controlling the things that kept them alive, namely the buffalo and the land itself. The tribe had two rituals designed to renew the earth, and control both the buffalo and enemy tribal soldiers. In this way, their views covered the three most important things crucial to their survival; their food source, the threat of attack, and the environment they inhabited.

While magic is considered obsolete nowadays thanks to science, the idea really stuck with me. What exactly happened that as humans, we feel as though we should bow and scrape before the things we cannot explain? What changed? The only thing I can think of is that as science grew and was able to explain more and more, we realized that there was even more that we didn’t understand, and the things we couldn’t understand were massive. So, rather than accepting the unknown and focusing on the things they could control like the Cheyenne, we put a name to the unknown, called it God, and said that he was the reason for everything.

My views have changed. Spirituality and belief are not the issue, as long as the believer acknowledges that practically all questions can be answered through science. Religion is the issue. “faith” is the issue. Faith has gone from meaning belief in something despite lack of proof to “my answer is the only answer.” It shouldn’t take a genius to figure out that this perverts religion into something far less than it could be.

Religion should be a monument to all that humans do not know. It should symbolize all the room we have to grow as a race, and not use “faith” as a synonym for “I know all this stuff because God told me so.”

The Cheyenne had it right. Focus on what you can control, and what you can change. The only good that comes out of talks about God’s existence is the knowledge that both sides could gain. However, given the close mindedness of many atheists and believers, this is impossible. A shift in attitude is required. True listening is needed to understand someone’s views. Not shouting them down. Not listening and saying “I’ll pray for you.” Not reusing the same tired arguments that have not convinced the majority of believers. There has to be a middle ground.

I’ve found a middle ground that works for me, but I’m lost as to how to show others.

And really, I have no right too. Spirituality should be a personal journey, not generalized for the masses. Otherwise you get 20 major religions and countless other ones.

My point is this: find your own way. Teach others who ask, and be open to all opinions. They can teach YOU so much.

Tagged: godreligionspiritualityatheismchristianity