Documente Academic
Documente Profesional
Documente Cultură
Augustus Sessley
What is Religion? On what is it based? What are the societal functions of Religion? Why
and How?
When first contemplating what religion ³is´, I find myself drawing a blank. That
examining religion in a personal sphere and how religion, or more appropriately faith,
affects almost all aspects of life. The parade of thought then is then quelled by the
daunting task of how to approach such a topic as faith. Religion does not fit into pre-
constructed categories such as a noun or an emotion. It comes close to´ a way of living´
or ³societal norms´ which both loosely describe culture or society. I emphasize faith
because religion seems to be abstract ideologies under social and culturally realistic
constructs concerned with the explanation of the human experience of mystery in self
and universe, fear of pain/suffering, death and life. Ultimately, religion and rational
morality are universal in their definition of humans and their unique features and
activities.
The divine intellectual spiritual and moral activities of humans arise out of natural
divine essence shared with God and include spirit, creativity, freedom, mind, moral
agency, agape, forgiveness, justice, knowledge, language and self transcendence. God
or the ³transcendent mystery´ sustains the all encompassing reality that holds the
cosmos and those apart of it to a principle of order. This ultimate reality describes
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concrete existence, the redemption from the threat of evil (chaos and disorder),
Faith deals with the explicit awareness of both God¶s omnipresence and
revelation in god and can be expanded through divine enlightenment providing spiritual
vision or ³special insight´. To be precise, the quest for God beings within the ³self´ and
concludes with awareness of God¶s presence within said self, further revealing the
divinity of man. Upon such ³enlightenment´ one is able conceptualize the perceptual
difference between seeing an ordinary physical event and witnessing the sense of
In its fundamental nature, God¶s divine essence and attributes are revealed to
the finite minds of humans through their own perception of nature and history as seen in
natural laws propagated by man¶s own divine attributes directly resembling those of God
The evolutionary nature of man is expressed through divinity in mind, spirit, etc. which
effectively transforms human beings from their original nature into extraordinary beings.
(imago dei). The most prominent example is that of Jesus Christ whose moral life was
most perfect in society and evolutionary religious moral history. He is one of the many
examples of how the manifestation of such qualities in morality and spirituality create a
desire for union with god, purification/ perfection and fulfillment and happiness in life.
Furthermore, the act of persuading the mind that an idea is true without proof is the key
to truly understanding religion because the most prominent factor regarding religion is
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As an institution, religion was organized to establish and protect the interest of
the socioeconomic elite. This is exemplified in the distinction between early Neolithic
religion and the more organized religions of the Greeks, Babylonians and Egyptians.
Originally, religion was based on existential harmony with nature and the flow of the
universe and because of its animistic nature one was able to experience universal
consciousness through all aspects of life. Consequently, society was more spiritual as a
whole and better connected locally through their understanding of ³God´. The
among society and inadvertently corrupted the concept of divinity. It was this distinction
that led me to conclude that religion is based on ones quest to fulfill a desire to access
realities that transcend perception in an attempt to medicate not only the reality but
presence of pain. Religion is concerned with the causes and how¶s of the universe while
spirituality or faith pertains to a concept much more complex. Another example is the
only to those of the covenant. The election references Hebrews and their descendants
as ³insiders in God¶s holy kingdom´ and those not included are considered gentile.
govern a model lifestyle that¶s reflects the ideals of human nature. Most religions use
the language of myth or parables as metaphors to explain the values and meaning of
life. Sam Keen describes myths as interlocking stories, rituals, rites, customs and beliefs
that enable a sense of meaning and direction to the individual, family, community and
culture.1 These myths along shape both individual and collective thinking and though
they are the lens in which we our self, society, and God they are largely unconscious.
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With these non-scientific world views one is provided not only meaning in existence but
identity that myth gives us is a double edged sword in a sense that we undergo selected
blindness by imitating hero figures and repeating rituals as done before. Another
function myth holds is the creation of a realm of heaven and hell in order to designate
the dramatic conflict between good and evil. For Keen, alienation from ones spiritual
self/an apparently "absent" God would result in a rediscovery of elemental emotions and
Myths are pivotal in almost all religions to personify God and other deities.
Ironically, they also are primary factors in lack of understanding in finite aspects of life.
By definition God is the ³transcendent being´ that created and sustains the cosmos.
Being transcendent, God exceeds the capacity of the human mind and is
incomprehensible by nature. The Christian belief has particular emphasis on this fact
while still maintaining the concept of ³imago dei´ (mirror of God). The nature of Jesus
Christ is of specific interest because of the distinct divinity placed in a finite being. This
and mortal. God¶s election of a man to be his divine representative adds to the cosmic
mystery that is the creator. The concept of god working through a man to carry his word
embodies a sense of self-actualization and defends the theory that what we do on earth
(as humans-endowed with supernatural powers) is what distinguishes us from the rest
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of creation. With a figure like Jesus, it is hard to debate that human nature is divine and
animal, spiritual and material and immortal and mortal. Through communicating values,
life myths are able to defend religion without actually proof of God¶s existence.
At the end of the day most religious traditions have value in promoting peace,
love and respect the neighbor and creation. God¶s law of order, balance and harmony is
wonders of celestial mystery. More so, God¶s gifts of life, mind, justice and unconditional
love have to be considered as the most important divine gifts to humanity. These
turn provide means to fulfilling the divine nature of man in a finite existence. Inside this
accordance with the creative laws of nature individually created to be a free and
responsible moral agent. Consequently, as humans we are what we think, act and
choose to be. Animal by evolution divine by nature, human beings are unique
possessing moral divinity as well as religious linguistics within God¶s cosmic creation.
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