“Religion is the allegorical discipline for contrived communication of things that take multiple lifetimes to know and communicate about the naturally embedded intelligent forces in our physical-spiritual existence…”
“…The balance is one inseparable reality where humility couples to reverence and plays out in proud dignity and deep human empathy.”
symbioticfuture ~ 2015
A working definition of Religion: “The belief in and worship of a natural higher power in the common natural world.” (This is an adaptation of the first Google’s definition that came up). Atheism, though sometimes spurring radical passion, is not religion. However, many considering themselves atheist would not wholly disagree with the idea of an intrinsic intelligent authority in nature. So, what is this “religion” and “atheist” thing? To a large extent, perceptions are reactionary. Atheism is straightforward in not buying into the “God” thing. But key to what that means is the more important question of what is “the God thing”. Religion, like politics, has earned a bad wrap by its control structure app, and even more so by its history of perverting the human nature into all kinds of just plain “wrong”. The name God is implicated in all of that; additionally, like “Santa Claus” there is clearly something suspiciously ridiculous about the whole thing. It looks like a right and proper adventure to explore; let’s go!
Let’s focus our exploration on the target of religion while acknowledging its failures past and present. My personal perspective is relevant. I don’t subscribe to religion, but in a sense am deeply religious. By this I mean that I am both a physical and a spiritual creature, both intertwined inseparably in what is called “me.” I have come to grips with this enigma, despite being indoctrinated with a neo-Eurocentric secular-materialist pseudo-reality that claims to be complete and accurate when it clearly is not. I seek personally and cooperatively, to balance my understandings and perception in the most honest holistic reality, hence my willingness to describe myself as “deeply religious”. The functionality of my religious bent is defined spiritually, not by dogmas creeds and rules. Somewhat uniquely, when I am with Christians, I imbed as a Christian, though I gladly condense expectations to my fit; when I am with Muslims, I can fit Muslim; and with Hindus, I can identify relative to Hindu.
I carry my personal religion with me and have learned to adapt its expression to the lingo of my surroundings. Though understanding and relating takes time, care, and motivated humility; it pays handsomely in dividends of understanding and connection as I relate intimately and learn from all faiths, cultures, and people. One thing I don’t see myself as, is atheist, in that atheism requires a dis-acknowledgment of an intelligent power and authority in the universe greater than me or human systems. To acknowledge faith in God or a higher power does not make anyone religious.Religiousness describes the action of respect and reverence for that power. For example, reverent submission to nature is religious. There; atheist, non-atheist, non-religious, and religious…simple enough, right. This will have pulled many assumed atheists into our merry band of pilgrims. I hope so; it takes us all in commonality to build a future and the now is a better go together.
Moving on into the particulars; let’s throw a bombshell. “God” troubles, come from a misnomer and a communications disconnect implying that God is a personage of sorts, which is arguably untrue at the core of any religion. According to Christians, God is emphatically “spirit” and is to be “worshiped in spirit and in truth.” To Muslims, God is emphatically unknowable and indescribable. In ancient Islam a predominant belief was that God is in all things as an intrinsic intelligent force of integrity and purpose; obviously no personhood there. The basic belief in various forms is still prevalent in the less-indoctrinated Muslim rural populace and is shared with the stripped down version of nearly all indigenous faith.
The modern, heavily indoctrinated and massively funded political control-arm of current “official” Islam defines and outlines terms to package and strictly control practice and life in emphatic human terms not grounded in nature, but rather in the human decree by “experts”. The political Christianity human manipulation app is similar. Current official Islam, brands its respectability on taking impressively in-humane and unnatural stands that fail to jive with the principles of the faith and natural law—deceptively called fundamentalism because by definition extremes miss the mark of the fundamentals and the natural evidence imbedded in nature. Nevertheless it effects fear and submission while further degrading the grounding on nature that keeps people true and resistant to top-down manipulation and control, which is apparently the systematic goal—human control by humans.
Religion, by definition is reverence for the intrinsic intelligent authority imbedded in the planet. Replacing this natural reverence with overarching reverence for artificial human systems, creeds, rules, or regulations morphs into “practical atheism”—a textbook denial of the greater intrinsic authority of the universal intelligence. Meanwhile, the greater Islamic peoples fall in the whole range according to their perspective and choice, the middle being the most true fundamentalism and natural balance that is an intrinsic interwoven-ness of material and spiritual. The balance is one inseparable reality where humility couples to reverence and plays out in proud dignity and deep human empathy.
Hinduism makes no qualms or apologetics for the proudly ancient traditions and teachings. In the faith, the mystery of an intrinsic force of ultimate authority is so clearly internalized that to facilitate, material items are used as the focal point for worship. It is as an extension of allegorical significance where the life forces/force is the target rather than the material thing. The names are all part of the allegory that speaks to a unique set of universal mysteries.
The power structures built into Christian faith are so prominent that obedience to nation and religious opinion often trump obedience to Jesus. The fact that Jesus spoke of the connection in allegorical terms, makes obedience to any, irrelevant. The impressively extreme positions are manifestly human egotistical ones when they fail to plumb straight with nature. Rather; discovery through humble natural adoration for true hearted participation is the “fundamental” expression of faith. Again, the “true fundamentalist” aligns to a balanced center, as religion is an allegory of the intrinsic material-spiritual reality.
Every religion, politic, or other seems to naturally draw an artificial app, created, adjusted, and tweaked to shackle and control people. This is the atheistic arm of religion that includes creeds, dogmas, and often emphatic literal interpretations of allegory enforced by patriotism and shame. It is the atheistic arm because it is a human contrivance of authority for popular control and containment that draws reverence away from that worthy authority in nature to the artificial system and the people behind it. True religion or spirituality in any type of faith centers in balancing of the interconnectedness of the physical spiritual existence in reverence to the intelligent authority that is beyond the individual or collective humanity.
To draw some conclusions: God in all religion is an allegorical representation of intrinsic intelligent authority. In such, no religion is atheist, including Buddhism. Atheism by extended definition is secular materialist in belief. Spiritual considerations imply religious considerations. To the extent that religions become systems imbued with ego and authority, they take on the atheistic similarity. There is a tendency for people to control other people using religion, rather than liberated religion funneling collective ideas and energy toward connection to the whole.
The belief in literal interpretations of religion’s allegories breeds a confused delusion that enables manipulative control strategies by people to gain traction. Grounding is intrinsic in the base definition. All religion must steward the core reverence for the intrinsic intelligent authority imbedded in all reality. That lost, means any benefit is lost and much harm is enabled. So, most atheists in interpreting the allegory of religion react to the blatantly unrealistic personhood of God, while this is not what the allegory means in any shape or form, and clarifications exist in nearly all faiths if one cares to look. The long and the short: we are all physical spiritual beings, the two intertwined in an inseparable way. Religion is the allegorical discipline for contrived communication of things that take multiple lifetimes to know and communicate about the naturally embedded intelligent forces in our physical-spiritual existence.
May this perspective open the veil of mystery and make the case for beneficiality of cultural religion. May the perversion of religion for control of people by people be prevented by enlightenment and natural grounding. May our various forms of religion contribute to an enlightened and realistic view of reality. Finally; may common-sense and the natural law written in nature trump all the artificial nonsense. Thank you for reading!
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