Modern Religion´s Missing Ingredient
Pete LaTona
June 01, 2009
I know I am treading on hallowed ground and I am sensitive to this matter. This short essay is not one rallying against religion, but rather an attempt to explain one piece of its declining popularity. In my morning newspaper just today, there is a nationally syndicated article titled, "More Americans Claim No Religion." An excerpt, "Fifteen percent of respondents said they had no religion, an increase from 14.2 percent in 2001 and 8.2 percent in 1990, according to the American Religious Identification Survey." "The current survey, released Monday (3/9/09), found traditional organized religion playing less of a role in many lives."
Religion has played a key role molding societies and cultures throughout history. We could debate the ebb and flow of these influences, but not their existence. Although religion once provided community stability, the 20th century witnessed huge population growth and a shift from rural to industrialized living. Religion failed to evolve and meet the demands of these changing times. We lack the sense of spiritual connection and many seek this connection in non-traditional practices.
As rural communities turned to cities, the sense of community connection was lost, except in dire circumstances such as natural catastrophes and war. We have become a collection of individuals. We behave according to what is good for me and not according to what is good for my community. Individualism is placed on a pedestal and we strive to be unique. This is a trend that has been growing the past hundred years and now it has reached unprecedented heights. Unfortunately, we are seeing the ramifications of unchecked egoism. Although we would never admit it, our societies (nations) are operating as, "what is mine is mine and what is your should be mine" News stories of selfishness, grandiose behavior, abuse of power and greed, surface daily. (Need I say Bernie Maddox?) I submit these corrupt behaviors and not systems caused the global financial collapse.
Religion is in a quandary, as their strength is reaching out to the masses and now they must reach the individual, who by the way, is very selfish and wants to know what is in it for me. A second dilemma is our need for instant gratification. I am no longer willing to wait until the next world for my reward. I want it now. Those of us inclined to look for spirituality, a connection to God or however you care to call it, need something different. We are no longer willing to accept things on belief, we only accept what we can sense and perceive. Our egos demand the real deal and not taking someone else´s word for it.
So here is modern religion´s missing ingredient. They can teach us how to behave towards our self and others, and they can promise a reward in the afterlife for good behavior, but they have no secrets on how to personally experience the presence of God. To go beyond believing in His/Her existence to experiencing His/Her existence. Our egos are bigger than ever and so are our demands!
How is it that we could possibly perceive and sense the Creator of this Universe? Our five sensory organs are severely limited. Think about it. Our mind is like a black box with five holes that allow a minute portion of outside Reality inside. These five holes are our five senses of sight, sound, touch, taste and smell. Our understanding of Reality is limited to what our five senses allow in our black box and how our brain interprets this data. The information that gets in is smaller than an electron when compared to the information remaining outside. We cannot see like an eagle, hear like an elephant or smell like a dog. Our microscopes and telescopes allow us to discover worlds we had no clue existed. What is the tool that we need to sense and perceive our Creator?
Perhaps there is a sixth sense? A sixth sense that removes us completely from this black box so that there is no more separation and all becomes one unified field. After all, universe does mean "one verse". Perhaps in this interdependent and interconnected one verse, we actually can sense and perceive God? Perhaps the very reason our egos have evolved over these thousands of centuries is so we will finally begin to try and know God and not settle for believing in God. There is nothing wrong with the moral precepts and practices of our traditional religions, but their one missing ingredient is what we most long for now. An ability to sense the presence of our Creator as a reality, right now.
Religion has played a key role molding societies and cultures throughout history. We could debate the ebb and flow of these influences, but not their existence. Although religion once provided community stability, the 20th century witnessed huge population growth and a shift from rural to industrialized living. Religion failed to evolve and meet the demands of these changing times. We lack the sense of spiritual connection and many seek this connection in non-traditional practices.
As rural communities turned to cities, the sense of community connection was lost, except in dire circumstances such as natural catastrophes and war. We have become a collection of individuals. We behave according to what is good for me and not according to what is good for my community. Individualism is placed on a pedestal and we strive to be unique. This is a trend that has been growing the past hundred years and now it has reached unprecedented heights. Unfortunately, we are seeing the ramifications of unchecked egoism. Although we would never admit it, our societies (nations) are operating as, "what is mine is mine and what is your should be mine" News stories of selfishness, grandiose behavior, abuse of power and greed, surface daily. (Need I say Bernie Maddox?) I submit these corrupt behaviors and not systems caused the global financial collapse.
Religion is in a quandary, as their strength is reaching out to the masses and now they must reach the individual, who by the way, is very selfish and wants to know what is in it for me. A second dilemma is our need for instant gratification. I am no longer willing to wait until the next world for my reward. I want it now. Those of us inclined to look for spirituality, a connection to God or however you care to call it, need something different. We are no longer willing to accept things on belief, we only accept what we can sense and perceive. Our egos demand the real deal and not taking someone else´s word for it.
So here is modern religion´s missing ingredient. They can teach us how to behave towards our self and others, and they can promise a reward in the afterlife for good behavior, but they have no secrets on how to personally experience the presence of God. To go beyond believing in His/Her existence to experiencing His/Her existence. Our egos are bigger than ever and so are our demands!
How is it that we could possibly perceive and sense the Creator of this Universe? Our five sensory organs are severely limited. Think about it. Our mind is like a black box with five holes that allow a minute portion of outside Reality inside. These five holes are our five senses of sight, sound, touch, taste and smell. Our understanding of Reality is limited to what our five senses allow in our black box and how our brain interprets this data. The information that gets in is smaller than an electron when compared to the information remaining outside. We cannot see like an eagle, hear like an elephant or smell like a dog. Our microscopes and telescopes allow us to discover worlds we had no clue existed. What is the tool that we need to sense and perceive our Creator?
Perhaps there is a sixth sense? A sixth sense that removes us completely from this black box so that there is no more separation and all becomes one unified field. After all, universe does mean "one verse". Perhaps in this interdependent and interconnected one verse, we actually can sense and perceive God? Perhaps the very reason our egos have evolved over these thousands of centuries is so we will finally begin to try and know God and not settle for believing in God. There is nothing wrong with the moral precepts and practices of our traditional religions, but their one missing ingredient is what we most long for now. An ability to sense the presence of our Creator as a reality, right now.
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