[ExI] Rick Warren on religion

[spike at rainier66.com]

From: spike at rainier66.com <spike at rainier66.com> 



 

>…I have a fun contribution to the notion, an observation from the current
7th grade public school curriculum.  Since at least the time I was that age,
religion in all its forms was avoided in public schools.  It is difficult or
impossible to explain the history of Europe in particular without talking a
lot about Christianity, and without going into detail on the Protestant
reformation.  They tried.

 

 

They tried and mostly failed.

 

>…Now, suddenly, everything is different… spike

 

Ja, I am replying to my own post, with some further thoughts please. 

 

What if… we think of religion a little differently.  Instead of thinking of
religion in general as a field of philosophy, let us think of it as a kind
of technology.  This technology is used for something we don’t really need
anymore.

 

As a thought experiment: imagine a group of geographically co-located
humans who have no common folklore, no common mores, no common system of
ethics, no historical common roots.  Anyone can fight anyone (and they do.)
Groups form, loosely connected via genetics: extended families and
associates, to form tribes.  These tribes form their own philosophical
common ground, an accepted folklore, an accepted mostly universal
superstition.

 

If we view that common folklore as a technology, it gives that tribe an
advantage in that it suppresses internal conflict, allowing that society to
work together more effectively, using its fighting prowess against external
enemies.  That tribe grows.

 

In the days before nations grew to where their boundaries touched, this
unifying technology was important.  It made society work somewhat in unison.
Now, we don’t need it anymore: we are unified by other means.  Result:
people who embrace varying religions all act pretty similarly in public.
The religion doesn’t matter as much.  So… there is no need to keep
supporting it financially.  It fades over time.

 

If we view religion as a kind of technology, the history of Europe in
Medieval times interpreted as a struggle between Catholicism and
Protestantism, makes complete sense.  Why the final shots in that war are
recent (in Ireland) makes sense.

 

That we no longer need religion as a unifying force explains why we have
political parties rising as new substitute religions.

 

spike

 

 

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