he religion A Blessing or a Curse
Religion usually becomes a destination rather than a boat to reach a destination. It usually occurs as a movie projected on the screen of thoughts directed by one’s own conditioning with a cast of characters from the religious doctrine. When we consider the religions of the world, past and present both, one can think about the great good done in the names of many of those religions, or the great evils. Religion can be a blessing as well as a curse to humanity. It is important to consider why people of every race, color, and creed place great importance in religion, for good or for ill.
Primarily, religion can be a blessing when one considers all of the good things or influence that come from it. Many people live by the words and norms preached from many of the religions. Ideals and true belief in such things as mercy, compassion, charity and many others often found through the words of religion when they would not find otherwise. For this reason, alone, the religion considered one of the great blessings humanity has.
Religion has contributed in many other ways as well. Due to the teachings of their faiths, vast numbers of people throughout history have aided others in times of trouble, worked together to help the weak and helpless, pitched in and helped when disaster struck. The world would indeed be a lesser place without religion.
Religion can also consider a blessing due to the many contributions it has made to the world throughout the past decades. During the "Dark Ages" of Europe when most people were barely surviving, civilization and learning were forgotten words, it was the monks and religious orders who kept a great deal of knowledge from being lost. It was because of not only the Christian orders but also the Islamic faiths. It is a known fact that the Muslims founded the first universities in the world. What we know about science, mathematics, history and many other areas of learning would greatly reduce were it not for religion.
Religion is also directly responsible for some of the greatest evils ever occur in the history of the world. There have been people throughout history who have twisted religion for their own purposes and have used religious belief to commit atrocities that almost unbelievable. They take faith and twist it around in such a way that they believe they are truly doing God's will or Allah's will or whoever.
There were ancient religions that engaged in human sacrifice, believing that it pleased their gods. The Crusades, The Spanish Inquisition, acts of modern day, Muslim terrorists, and fanatics considered the types of animosities. Religious belief is responsible for all of these terrible things and more. It said that individuals are responsible for these acts, but without religion to give them legitimacy, these atrocities would have been much less. It is understandable that many have cursed religion because of these kinds of events.
Religious beliefs are also responsible for a great deal of prejudice and intolerance between peoples and cultures. The attitudes of "you don't believe what I believe so you are inferior or an infidel or a heathen" have generated a great deal of animosity between people, nations, and cultures. Wars have fought in the name of religion and hatreds that have existed for centuries have caused by it.
I believe that religion is a great thing for the most part; however, it has one very big problem. The problem with religion, at least in the organized sense, is that people administer it. That may sound rather obvious, but when you consider the fact that people are emotional beings and often times ruled their bases instead of their kinder and gentler ones, this could definitely cause severe problems. When belief overrides common sense and intelligence, it is often to the detriment and sorrow of many.
A perfect example of this is the Muslim radicals and terrorists of today. Their beliefs blind them to reality and to what their religion actually says. They have taken a faith that preaches purity of self, kindness, and charity towards others, peace and goodwill towards all and other noble qualities, and they have turned it into a symbol of hatred. Instead of compassion and mercy, they offer bloodshed and murder of the innocent. It is a striking comparison to the Christian Crusades of the Middle Ages, where much of the same beliefs held by the Christians of the time.
There was a time when religion, principally the Christian version, dominated Christmas landscape. However, that scenario is fading. What was formerly the story about Jesus’ birth is now the story of how holiday sales are going. While many of us feel the loss, the change is not very troublesome. Religious devotion has not always blessed society. Many of history’s most savage episodes have taken place when religion exercised a stranglehold on culture. One thinks of the crusades, the inquisition, the Salem witch trials, the Holocaust, slavery, segregation, and apartheid ‘ all with the cross of Jesus going on before. Christians do not have a corner on that treacherous model. Even today, Muslim fundamentalism has spawned much of the terrorism that currently grips the world. This sad commentary is not the major story of religion, but it is certainly part of it.I do not have an answer to this seemingly insurmountable problem that afflicts humanity. Perhaps there is not one, or perhaps it will take a change or event of such magnitude that it is unimaginable. There is one undeniable fact, however. Whether you consider it a blessing or a curse, religion will always be a part of the human condition.
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