!7# Do You Think Religion Has Value For The 21st Century?

!±8± Do You Think Religion Has Value For The 21st Century?

b>Religion has value, if it is not abused or misused.

For instance, the other evening I was watching the Republican presidential candidates on national TV. A few of the candidates espoused their religious convictions. Well, we all admire men of conviction. At least to a point, even if you don't believe Religion has value.

What does raise one's eyebrow, is when a presidential candidate emphasis the point, that a person's religious convictions will definitely affect his governing strategy. I say, yes and no. I still think religion has value.

Critics tried to hang that number on John F. Kennedy, when he ran for the presidency. They thought the Pope would be giving him orders about running the government. JFK set his critics straight. He told them that he doesn't take orders from the Pope when it comes to running the United State of America. You recall, JFK was a Roman Catholic and he believed religion has value.

It's obviously a terrible abuse of religion when senior men, who know better, use religion as a weapon to get their followers to martyr themselves for the sake of a political cause. Yeah, like they are doing in the Middle East. I suppose anything can be rationalized. Nevertheless, it is very difficult to swallow. I suppose to the terrorists, religion has value in a perverted way.

Culture has a tremendous influence on religion and the people involved.

Take the pre-historic period. You had all kinds of religions going on. Most of those religions dealt with surviving the very harsh environment that was the "world" back then.

You had gods for just about everything. Just about all of it pertained to surviving...like having enough food to eat. Not being torn apart by the wild beasts of the land. Or, not being killed by other people or tribes. There was a definite purpose and reason for religion. The focus was "outward"...physical survival.

As time progressed, and culture and society evolved, religion became an excellent tool to help people become "civilized. The aristocracy of the times recognized that religion had a strong influence on its subjects. Thus, society and its culture, was encouraged along religious lines.

All religions provide for peoples' needs.

Hinduism, Judaism, Buddhism, Taoism, Confucianism, Shinto, Christianity, and Islam historically speaking, followed each other in time frames. They all provided their peoples' needs, certainly culturally speaking.

o where was this more self evident then in Hinduism. The art of developing an introspective life within oneself for the sake of acquiring wisdom in order to master ones outer world and oneself became a guiding light. Subsequently, men of unusual skills developed, which are referred to as Yogis.

Shortly thereafter, Buddhism took a strong hold on India, China and eventually Japan. Buddhism served the needs of its culture regarding dealing with the extreme hardships of life.

Martial Arts and Buddhism.

I was an active martial artist for ten years. Consequently, I have great respect for Buddhism. Especially, I like the use it was put to in Japan. Specifically, Zen Buddhism. And, I will tell you why. The ruling aristocracy of the times, made sure that the Zen teachings were internalized by the Samurai Class of society.

The Samurais were the soldiers of those times. Their role in society was to protect the rulers, the people of influence and wealth. We know these aristocrats as Shoguns. Basically, the Samurai was a man of the sword. He literally lived and died by the sword. Through the teachings of Zen Buddhism, the Samurai learned to live with the idea and reality of his immanent death.

Subsequently, the Shogun had a fearless warrior. He wasn't afraid of death. And, ironically, this made the Samurai an incredible fighter with the sword. Why? Not fearing death, freed him to boldly execute the skills of superb swordsmanship.

You can't beat Courtesy

Interestingly enough, as a side note, Courtesy became a very prominent use in Japan because of the Samurai. How? Simple enough. The Samurais of those times mostly lived in temples. And, a Samurai never was without his sword! Subsequently, these hard chargers would periodically bump into each other in their living quarters.

Guess what? With just a smirk or the wrong kind of gesture, a fight to the death would occur. And, with the skill these men had, fights were finished in seconds. Subsequently, the shoguns who owned these temples, made hard and fast rules for their Samurai...everyone was required to give each other the most courtesy and respect!

So, if you as a Samurai, accidentally bumped into a fellow Samurai, you immediately apologized and bowed. This ended the losing of valuable soldiers because of personal arguments and disrespect.

Unification

Religion certainly had an unifying force on the tribes of the semites; namely, the Jews and Arabs concerning Judaism and Islam.

Additionally, a refinement of ethics and morality were given great prominence by both societies. Also, both religions lent a new emphasis on the "inner" life of mankind. Skill sets on living an introspective life were given recognition. There are many examples in this very interesting history that demonstrate that religion has value.

Certainly Yahew, the God of the Jews, was responsible for the unification of these semite tribes. Here are many examples of where religion has value. Judaism is directly responsible for leading the Jews, who were slaves in Egypt, to their own country.

It took an incredible prophet named Moses to steer his people through an seemingly unending journey in the desert for 40 years. But the Jews proved to be a tough resilient group, and they stuck with Moses. They were rewarded with their "Promised Land", known as Israel.

Many great historians credit the Judeo-Christian principles and heritage for the greatness of the United States of America. As an American, it is hard not to argue that religion has value.

Islam is another great religion that has stood the test of time. The worship of Allah. Like Judaism, Islam served to unify great Semite tribes in terms of their religious belief systems.

A Golden Age during the Dark Ages

No question about it, Islam helped civilize a strong people in terms of ethics, living a honorable life, and dealing with justice. Ironically, during the Dark Ages of Europe, the civilized society of Islam was creating unparalleled achievements in the fields of science, literature, and spirituality.

If you want an expanded and detailed view of the world religions, check out Huston Smith's book, "The World's Religions". I am a big fan of his. Trust me, you will be glad you did. Yes, religion has value in the 21st century.

In summary, yes, I believe religion has value. Like anything else, it has the potential for misuse and abuse. If feel that as long as religion fulfills the needs of people, then, religion has value. On the other hand, if culture continues to change and subsequent needs of society changes, then, religion needs to "watch out".

Simply stated, people will loose interest and go on to something else that more readily helps them live their life with integrity. I had a wonderful writing teacher that once told me, "God will be dead in maybe 10,000 more years". Yeah he was an atheist. He simply felt that humankind would have the desire for worshiping a supernatural being weaned out of them by then. I still believe religion has value.

On the other hand, their is a new pioneer of the religious community that has arrived on the horizon, Pastor Joel Osteen! He is a young guy who has the largest and fastest growing congregation in the United States.

The name of his church is Lakewood. Located in Houston, Texas. His congregation is one of the most diverse ethnically and racially groups in America. Which means this man knows how to meet peoples' needs. He also has writen a best seller.