[1] Reality
Here, for the sake of illustrating my point, I will
imagine first that everyone is born with a tabula rasa [a clean
slate] regarding religion. Of course, that never happens because everyone
is already born into some concrete traditions and cultures.
Each and every human being is born into reality (into a
world, into "life") which--we can say--can be all of these things at
the same time:
- Reality
can be full of potential meaning
- However,
it is also utterly mysterious. There are lots of things to understand and
fathom but ultimately no one will be able to figure out the "ultimate
meaning of it all." Hence, in the final analysis, reality is a great
mystery.
- We
can see reality also as "neutral" in the sense that it does not
have a meaning unless someone imputes a particular meaning to it
- Lastly (if
you take it in a pessimistic way), reality can also be seen as
meaningless in itself. People just impute meaning to it because living in
a meaningless world is scary for humans.
When faced with this reality, we humans cannot exist in a
meaningless-vacuum. We need to "make sense" of this reality (this
world, this life). I locate the roots of what we know as "religion"
and "spirituality" precisely in this human effort to make sense of
reality.
[2] The "Meaning of It All" | We
humans are equipped with a kind of "spiritual intelligence."
Spiritual intelligence is just one of the dozen or so multiple intelligences
that exist. They include: cognitive intelligence, musical intelligence, moral
intelligence, motor intelligence, etc. This spiritual intelligence is what
drives us to seek for a possible "meaning of it all." In short, there
is a powerful urge deep within humans that leads us to look for
"the big picture" of the whole of reality, an
encompassing worldview or meta-narrative that would potentially make
sense of everything, the ONE thing that "makes the whole thing
tick." Let me define spiritual intelligence here as the deep
desire hardwired in humans to search for "the meaning of it all"
through depth and transcendence. That is, we proceed on this life-long
search for meaning (1) by going into the deepest parts of ourselves to find
what is truly authentic, and, at the same time, (2) by going beyond ourselves
to selflessly pursue something bigger than ourselves that could bring a fuller
meaning to our existence. The former (1) involves introspective work, the
"journey within," while the latter (2) involves transcending our
petty, selfish ego or desires through service to others and to the world.
[3] Spiritual Intelligence | We call this drive
to search for meaning "spiritual" intelligence because most humans in
history have believed that the "meaning of it all" can be
found not only in the material or physical things that we can access with our
senses (or that conventional science can prove). Instead, the deepest and
truest meaning of reality--according to this more traditional theory of
reality--could be found in a dimension that is beyond the physical, in short,
in a spiritual dimension. Plato's allegory of the cave illustrates
this. In the novel The Little Prince, this is expressed
as: "What is essential is invisible to the eye."
[4] "God" | It is
this active spiritual intelligence that has led humans in history to posit
theories about reality, claiming for example that there is a supreme
spiritual Being that is behind everything, a Being that is known in the Western
religious traditions as "God." This Being (at least in the Western
monotheistic traditions) is the source and creator of all; It continually acts
to sustain, heal, and save everything; It is also the ultimate goal and
fulfillment of everything. In non-Western spiritual traditions, the concept of
"God" may not be dominant but there is a similar spiritual reality
that is posited as the heart of all reality, such as "Nothingness" in
Buddhism.
[5] Spiritual Experience | What led
many to posit the existence of "God" or some other ultimate reality?
The cause seems to lie in what is called "spiritual experience."
Alternatively, it is also known as "religious experience," "mystical
experience," "contemplative experience," or even
"transpersonal experience." "Spiritual experience" has been
a universal occurrence found in all cultures and historical periods. Many
spiritual practitioners have had experiences that brought them to realize that
there is indeed a bigger dimension beyond our normal, physical existence which
is benevolent and in which every single thing in the universe is connected.
Hence, one often hears expressions from mystics and sages to the effect that
"Everything is One" -- one in this bigger, benevolent being or
dimension which encompasses everything.
[6] Tradition | It is likewise true that humans
do not have to "reinvent the wheel" every single time because we are
already born into particular traditions, also known as "cultures."
Tradition is an accumulation of meaning, experience, and knowledge that humans
have had as a group. They see the world through it and live within it. They
hand it on to those who are in their communities for posterity. Those who are
born into human communities draw on tradition to understand the world.
Tradition is the foundation of worldview. Religion has been an important
part of tradition.
[7] The Ambivalence of Tradition | Tradition
(I'm thinking particularly of religious tradition) can be good for us because
it provides us with the wisdom, knowledge, and experience of past generations.
However, tradition also has its dark sides because through it we inherit the
dysfunctionalities, downright idiocies, and very limited perspectives of past
generations.
[8] The Clash between Tradition and Innovation in
Religion | Both tradition and innovation have important roles to play
in religion and spirituality. Tradition anchors us to the past and what has
been valued in history. We should not forget though that there are dark sides
in any tradition. Innovation is the willingness to think in new ways or to
create new forms that would enable us to respond more adequately to the needs
and challenges that present themselves to us in the present. There is often a
relation of tension between these two in religious communities. Those who tend
to cling to tradition are frequently known as "conservatives" and
those who are more willing to embrace innovation are called
"liberals." Holding both in a creative tension is the ideal.
[9] Idolatry | At the end of the day, we
have to say though that "reality" or "the world" is
ultimately a great, big mystery that cannot be figured out completely. In the
monotheistic traditions, this is usually expressed as "the utter
mysteriousness” of the supreme reality - God. Despite our best efforts,
reality/life /God cannot be tamed ... It frequently surprises us in very
unexpected ways. The big temptation of institutional religion is to
pretend that it possesses supreme knowledge about the ultimate reality. In the
Western monotheistic traditions (particularly, in Christianity), there has
been a consistent effort to "set things in stone" (dogmatize them) by
investing absolute truth in a teaching authority (e.g. the hierarchy or the
Bible). This is, in the final analysis, a form of idolatry that is pointed out
as the principal sin in the Jewish and Christian scriptures.
[10] The Necessity of Deconstruction in Religion | Institutional religions are relatively stable structures or systems. We grow attached to them. We try to make them unchangeable and even absolute and thus fall into idolatry. Thus, we convince ourselves that we have absolutely true factors such as an infallible pope or an inerrant Bible. But if there be truly a God, this God can never be forced into a hierarchical system or an inerrant book. This God will be so much bigger and greater than any human religious "system" or institution that we can come up with. Hence, there is a need to constantly "deconstruct" these religious structures or systems that we humans construct because all of them are too small and limited. (Philosopher of Religion John Caputo’s work on deconstruction can be utilized with much profit regarding this topic.)
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