In the previous chapters we have focused primarily upon
developments in science, and the aspects of rational thought. In this part
we will take a brief look at religion.
Let us be brave. Let us boldly face the questions that science has never
dared to answer. We can discover a few remarkable facts, just by looking at
the data available.
Religion is one of the oldest and most profound aspects of human nature.
Even the most primitive cultures have their rites to please the gods,
to ward off evil spirits, to comfort the spirits of the dead, or just to
ask for rain or a good harvest.
Religion has influenced many cultures. It can unite or divide people.
Wars have been fought over religious issues. It affects discussions
on social issues (like birth control, or the legalization of abortion)
and it is an essential part of the lives of people all over the
world.
It is impossible to seriously discuss religion and theology here. The field
is too large, the subject too complex, and I am definitely not qualified to
go into all aspects of comparative theology. Besides, it isn't necessary to
do so, because we all know the general aspects of religion. It doesn't matter
whether or not we are religious ourselves. It's not important which
religion we choose to follow, be it a form of monotheism, polytheism,
mysticism, or any of the countless other 'isms'. Nor does it matter if we
call ourselves Christians, Buddhists, Moslems, Shintoists, or anything
else. Almost everyone has been inside a church, temple or mosque, or
same equivalent thereof, at least once in his or her life. Religion
has even become part of our language. We use words like 'god', 'devil',
'heaven' or 'hell' without even thinking about it.
Many skeptics seem to feel that the question of whether or not God exists
is not one for which evidence is available, and they treat it as a private
matter. Although science has never found proof for the validity of any religion,
most scientists seem to have little trouble with that. Many skeptics take an
'agnostic-atheist' attitude, assuming that God does not exist until evidence
of the contrary turns up. Even so, religious skeptics are not unheard of. It
seems to be perfectly possible to be a skeptic when it comes to the
supernatural and to honestly believe in God at the same time.
While religions come in all shapes and sizes, they have a similar basis.
Be it complex theology or nature worship, expressed in elaborate services in
cathedrals or in rain dances performed by a primitive tribe, the essential
aspects are the same.
Let's look at some of those aspects.
All religions share a common ground: the view that, apart from the people,
animals and plants that inhabit this world, other beings exist that belong
to a different category. Primitive cultures may live in fear of the spirits
of wind, rain and thunder. Others may pray to the spirits of their deceased
ancestors, worship a large pantheon of Gods with complex rankings and
family ties, or devote their religious efforts to a single God that
tolerates no competition. The details vary.
It is quite remarkable that any culture, primitive or advanced, has
been living with the thought that spirits or gods exist. Even the most isolated
tribes have their religious rituals. Temples, statues, and other monuments
to the gods exist everywhere in the world. Large pantheons of gods played
a role in ancient mythology, and in more recent centuries the Roman Catholic
Church dominated Europe, empowered by the general belief in God.
Our preoccupation with religion is so widespread that we often take its
presence for granted. Individually we might decide, for any number of reasons,
that religion is not for us. However, we won't argue the fact that religion
exists in every culture and in every possible form, and that it takes a
central place in the lives of many people. We might laugh at it, but we will
always acknowledge its existence.
OK, most cultures worship something. So what's the point?
Stop and think about it. We've stumbled on something very
remarkable here. Every culture, no matter where or when, has always had
one single, common thought: that there must be an aspect of this
universe, an aspect of reality, that we cannot observe directly but that
exists nevertheless.
Central in every religion is the existence of one or more entities that may
influence human lives, that may govern weather, prevent or create disasters,
control simple coincidence, etc., and that operate beyond our limits
of direct observation. The same goes for the realms that these entities
(spirits, gods, God, angels, or whatever they may be called) inhabit.
The Underworld, Heaven, Hades, Walhalla, the Spirit World, the Realm of the
Dead... All different names to describe a place outside our normal frame of
reference, that cannot be observed or accessed from the three dimensions
of space that we live in, but that is considered to exist anyway: quite
an esoteric concept.
An essential part of most (perhaps all) religions is the belief that death is not an absolute end to existence. This belief has existed for thousands of years, and is often expressed in funeral rites. Archaeologists have learned much from the excavation of burial sites, some of which are incredibly old. Even prehistoric graves have been found, complete with the remains of flowers, proof that funeral rites have been a part of human life since the dawn of time, when people still lived in caves, long before anyone had heard of Heaven.
A main purpose of funeral rites is to formalize someone's passing, to
surround it with dignity and to comfort those who stay behind. Apart from
that, another and perhaps even more important aspect is the understanding
that while the deceased is no longer present on earth, and his or her body
will decompose, the spirit of the deceased will live on somewhere,
somehow.
Archeology has clearly shown how many cultures tried to prepare their
deceased for the afterlife as well as they could. The rich took their
wealth with them in their graves. Great rulers were buried along with their
armies or slaves. Warriors took their weapons. Obviously, the concept of life
after death was taken serious enough to justify these preparations.
The details about the afterlife vary from religion to religion. Most hold
that after spending a lifetime on earth the spirit will live on forever,
or at least for an indefinite length of time. Some believe that one day the
dead will rise, and walk again on the face of the earth. Others believe
that after spending one lifetime on earth, the spirits of the dead will be
reincarnated, to repeat the whole process in another lifetime.
Again, the common factor is not the diversity of details, but the fact that
almost all cultures have had the idea of an 'undying part' in the
human being, the idea that after physical death a part of us lives on
in another form.
A form of judgment is often an important part in the various beliefs about
the afterlife. Behavior in this life will affect the situation in which one
will be reincarnated the next time, for example. Failure to follow the rules
in the Bible will cause one to spend eternity in Hell instead of in
Heaven.
Some religious leaders have been using this as a threat to gain power
over the worshipers. That can easily cloud the issue, but the fact
remains: many cultures have lived, and still live, with the understanding
that human behaviour on earth will influence the afterlife, or even that
our life on earth is a preparation for the afterlife.
Modern Western man seems to pay less attention to religion
than he did a few centuries ago. Thinking has changed, and the absolute
position of power that used to be held by the church has almost vanished
as people have started to think for themselves. Everything that is declared
ex cathedra by the church is no longer blindly accepted.
In modern Western culture, there is little place for mysticism, i.e. for
the direct experience of the Divine. We can't fit it into our rational view
of the world, we consider it weird. In biblical Israel, the mystical was
generally accepted and even part of the social structure: prophets had
visions and they were often highly esteemed. We no longer have prophets; people
who claim to have visions are regarded as eccentrics who have hallucinations.
We no longer consider the direct experience of the Divine a normal part
of daily life.
In organized religion, the strict rule of religious leaders and their
involvement with politics and other non-religious matters has clouded the
issue, so that it is easy to confuse the role of the church with the essence
of what religion is all about.
On one hand there is religious consciousness, or the belief that
divine (supernatural, if you will) beings exist, and that the spirit
will live on after the body dies. On the other hand there is organized
religion, based upon leadership, a set of rules that govern behavior, and
authority. Of course the two can be combined; one can be spiritual within
an organized religion. But they are not the same. Yet most people think
of religion as organized religion, and not of the religious consciousness
in itself. The two should not be confused, but they often are, especially
in Western culture where much of the link between the basics
of religion and what is considered to be religion has been
lost.
Perhaps that's the reason why the significance of religion, the fact that
a worldwide religious consciousness has existed for as long as we
can remember, is often overlooked.
At the same time, spirituality takes a central place in the views of many
New Age people. The existence of higher entities is generally accepted among
them, as is the belief that we are in fact incarnations of those entities,
and that we will return to a higher existence after we die.
Some claim to be able to communicate with these entities. Most report to
have experienced sequences of improbable coincidences that have changed the
course of their lives. Many have changed their points of view about the
universe, about themselves, and the purpose of their lives. They talk
freely about spirituality, the Divine, or the Light. Contrary to many forms
of organized religion, however, they have no trouble admitting that their
experience of the Divine is a subjective one, and that it should not
dictate the attitude of others.
In the previous chapters we have seen how the points of view held in New
Age circles have not appeared suddenly, but are in fact a logical result of
human development throughout the centuries. When it comes to the spiritual
aspect of New Age culture, this is even more so.
The understanding that higher entities exist is not new, nor is the
understanding that after death we live on in another, possibly higher,
form of existence. On the contrary, it's quite old. The only thing
that's new in modern western culture is the return
of the direct experience of the Divine. That direct experience
used to be quite common, but modern man has done away with this as
primitive, as unfitting to someone who thinks logically and analytically.
Now it is being slowly reintroduced, and we often mistake it for a new
idea.
We have ignored one tantalizing question: where did that original
religious consciousness come from? What is it that instilled in
any culture, no matter when or where, the understanding that there are
higher beings and higher forms of existence? Why is it that all
religions, no matter how different, share this common basis?
That religious consciousness is something that we have always known about.
It's something we have always taken for granted. Actually, many of us still
do. It is only recently that we have started to ignore it.
With the advance of New Age culture, many aspects of that old religious
consciousness have begun to emerge again. The times have changed, and so have
the ways in which we experience this consciousness. We have forgotten what it
was like, and we think of it as a new experience. But the spiritual aspects of
the New Age, just like any other aspect of it, have been there all along.
They've just been waiting to be noticed again, and now, finally, we have.