Is Faith an Addiction?
[thoughts from Sha'Tara]
Of eastern religious beliefs, or of "iron age" western and middle-eastern religions, there is a growing problem readily observed in both: adherents no longer seem to entertain much thought upon the "hidden mystery" that supposedly awaits them after death. All "great" religions have veered practically one hundred and eighty degrees from their mystical traditional roots to become fully embedded in the affairs of state and commerce. When challenged on their understanding of their after death future, there is either an embarrassed silence or some standard platitudinous reply. The "hidden mystery" it appears, must remain hidden, not to be speculated upon, certainly not publicly. Why must that remain a "secret" among the faithful? What have they got to hide? That they are as ignorant about this assumed future as is everybody else?
Putting myself among the growing number of disillusioned Christians who have become unbelievers, I say "we" don't get this. After all, believing is ultimately about salvation, and salvation ultimately means moving on to some blessed realm to be shared, not only with loved ones and other "brethren" who espoused the same beliefs on earth, but to be accompanied by the highest of the high: God. Seems to me that should be something to be excited about compared to the daily grind and hum-drum offered in this life, even at its best. Seems to me that if anyone really and truly believed that, they would live it, never looking back.
So I ask myself, all this religious razz-a-ma-tazz, all the pomp and ceremony, all the preaching, teaching, evangelizing; all the praying to God, gods, saints, assorted ascended gurus and semi-divinities, all the sacrificial bloodshed still on-going today in actual fact or symbolically; the sacrificial money donations; the politicking and wars of conquest, past and present - all done in the name of deity and presumably to gain some favorable status before deity in order to secure some eternal bliss and dead silence about what it will entail? Are you kidding me?
In the normal world, well, OK, the non-religious, non-fanatical, non-faith world, no such insanity could be maintained for any length of time. Normal people put in expecting to get something out and have some idea of what they will get out of the trade before they sign on the dotted line. I will make exceptions here for gamblers, but then no one would consider a gambler a normal person. Something's not right upstairs; they suffer from some delusion or addiction over which they have no control.
Which brings me to my query: is religious faith simply an expression of some complex mind-altering addiction? Are religious promoters nothing more than owners or managers of highly lucrative and risk-free gambling casinos that can take and take, no need to demonstrate that even one gambler is on the winning end, never having to pay out?
When I engage this topic in my mind I go through an "inventory" of the gargantuan possessions and the mind-boggling power of persuasion over billions of addicted individuals religious organizations have. Equally astounding is that not one of these powerful entities even makes an effort to obey the commands of their particular figurehead divinities. If anything, anyone within these corporations, for that is what they are, who insists on emulating say, a Jesus or a Buddha, will be unceremoniously thrown out. For example, how could a single Christian organization remain standing if it had to obey its Christ who commands, "sell you possessions, give to the poor and follow me."?
There is not one Christian who is not fully cognizant of the demands of Jesus in the gospels. Yet not one makes the connection, that without obedience there can be no salvation, all trickery aside, or unless they consider their god a certifiable idiot. Therefore I must conclude that the only way these people can carry on with their spiritual disjointedness is that their faith is an addiction over which they have no control because it precludes rational thought and taking responsibility for their claims.
In this case there are two addictions that apply. Like all cults, churches start with baptism, holy days, music (chants), and repetition of dogma, to train young brains into repeating over and over, like using rosaries, hoping that these minds will become addicted to religious thinking in the process.
Since most church cults honor material things because the same things enrich the church through donations, we have become a society of consumers, always seeking more and more, in an addictive fashion that has become the holy grail of almost every country's economy. Thus, the state and the church go hand-in-hand with the two addictions. Meantime, most of the people caught up in these addictions, struggling hard every day to keep up with the Joneses, somehow think that their salvation will be "coming soon."
How can so many people be hoodwinked into this kind of thinking? Programming. And it's very hard to deprogram the sheeple. They are like lambs to the slaughter.
Ron
Am currently finishing a piece called " THE END" ...
Hope to post tonite...
Love ya!
Jane