I'm often wondering why so many people impose all kinds of artificial restrictions and limitations on themselves - and more often than not on other people. Restrictions and limitations concerning their lives and especially concerning their relationships with other people.
Amazingly often those limitations are based on "moral" or "ethical" codes derived from religious scriptures and teachings. God says how you must live, God says what you must not do, God says whom you may - or may not - love, or to whom you may show warmth, affection, tenderness...
Well, let me tell you one big secret... God says nothing!
I'm reading one extremely interesting book: Karen Armstrong's "A History of God - The 4000-Year Quest of Judaism, Christianity and Islam". A very eye-opening and thought-provoking book, indeed. It's also an extremely neutral, analytical and impartial view on the religious, and partly social, political and cultural, history of the western and middle-eastern world.
Karen Armstrong is a former Catholic nun who had a serious crisis of faith when she was a bit younger. In order to solve her crisis she set out on a journey to find God - and to find about God. She studied countless religious writings, the history of religion (and christianity) and had discussions with several theologists and experts of their own religions.
At last one old jewish rabbi and a great expert on ancient jewish scriptures, told her: "I'm telling you a secret... There is no God!"
Not in a real sense. "God" is just a product of people's own imagination and represents people's desperate need to explain those things and phenomena in the world they don't understand. "God" is, or had been, merely a symbol or a metaphor for the higher or better purposes people wanted to strive for.
Unfortunately, that symbol and metaphor became quickly misunderstood and misinterpreted. Partly by mistake but in great part on purpose by individuals or groups who wanted to use it to strengthen their own influence, power and social or political position in the society.
Back to the commandments, rules, restrictions and guidance provided in the holy scriptures of different religions. Let's take a look at the holy book of christianity, the Bible.
The oldest texts in the Bible, the Old Testament, were written or gathered during a period of about 2000 years B.C. During that time most of the texts were edited or rewritten countless times. It's doubtful if there's much original thought left in them.
It has been deduced from some scanty remains that the very earliest notes have been more like ponderings of the universe and life and some humble wishes about how people's lives could be made better.
As it is often the case, the later generations saw them as a fit building ground for stricter rules and codes of conduct, and at some point along the way somebody came up with the idea of the more "real" or concrete "God" character to give even more weight to their attempts to lead the people to the direction of their choice.
And, of course, many rulers and kings used those scriptures and commandments to strengthen their power and to keep their subjects on leash - rewriting the texts as they saw fit.
The Bible as we know it was mainly composed during the early medieval time. Again, not much thought was given to the original texts or the idea behind them but instead the aim was to produce as effective a tool as possible for ruling and subjugating the uneducated lower class folks.
The book was edited heavy handedly. Numerous texts were simply dropped out because they either contradicted with the objectives of the emperor or the pope or didn't support those objectives strongly enough. Even more texts were partially rewritten to give more support for the ruling classes.
Many of those parts and religious principles of the Bible that the christian community now hold as the centrepieces of their faith were actually concocted during that era. One of them is the deity of Jesus. Also, the principle of the Holy Trinity was completely made up by the Catholic church in order to suppress a number of uncomfortable questions.
And this same process has been going on in the other "big" religions, too.
So, to make a long story short: Is there anything to really hold as a guide to a good life in the scriptures and teachings of the monotheistic religions?
Not much, really. All the basic principles of moral and ethics have existed long before any of the present day religions. That one must not kill or injure or cause damage to other people and one should try to help those in trouble and treat everyone in an equal and humane way is a natural part of the human sense of justice.
For example the Bible hardly covers even that in whole. Instead it's filled with a sundry of demands and punishments each one more horrible and unjust than the other. Other than that it's mostly brainwashing and mere poppycock.
In the beginning I pondered especially on the rules and limitations concerning human relationships. People have a natural tendency to feel and show affection and tenderness towards other people. The strict and oppressive rules stated in religious teachings have almost managed to destroy that trait, instead bringing up the tendency to fear and hate everything different.
After all, the purpose of those rules has always been to prevent the uniting of large numbers of people which could pose a serious threat to the ruling classes and their self-imposed privileges.
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