Enjoy the beauty that you are fortunate enough to find in the world; but avoid mystifying or attributing it to the gods.
So, here we are, another Sunday, and millions of Christians will, as they have done every Sunday, making their way to their places of worship, to sit before the leaders of their respective congregations to be told how great their god is. They will collectively beseech their god to give peace to the world; comfort to the distressed, food to the hungry, shelter to the homeless, recovery and good health to the sick, and to help them, god's flock, to hold true to their faith in him.
So it is, with the Christians.
And what of the religious Muslims? Their special holy day for worshipping Allah, which, in truth, they do 5 times a day, is on Fridays. Now, I have never been to a Muslim Friday Prayers, so I cannot say whether the Imams, like their Christian brethren, review the state of the world, and pray to Allah and ask him to intervene and bring peace to the conflicted parts of the world, to heal the sick, irrespective of their religious or non-religious affiliations, to help the hungry to feed themselves, to bring freedom and justice to the oppressed, and to help to bring about a situation where each human, irrespective of his/her faith, aspire to become his brother/sister's keeper.
And so it is with the Muslims, who will know, more than I do, whether Friday Prayers mainly focus of the bit about how great Allah is, and how the faithful should submit their will to his, according to the text and interpretations of the respective versions of the Quran. Or whether addresses human's aspirations for social justice and individual freedoms.
Built by inspired man; but not necessarily inspired by a god, as opposed to one's idea of god.
And what of the Jews? From night-fall on Friday to night-fall on Saturdays, the religious Jewish people have their Sabbath, which, like the religious Muslims, proceeds according to their centuries old rituals, customs and traditions; doubtlessly as prescribed by their version of Jewish orthodoxy or non-orthodoxy.
As with the religious Muslims, I am not privy to how the religious Jewish people go about celebrating their holy day and how they interact with their god and address issues of our shared humanity. As opposed to whether we are Jewish, Muslims, Hindus, Christians, Sikhs, Taoists, Pagans, Non-Believers, et al. I have heard commentaries by the well-respected Rabbi Blue, who tended to be all embracing in his expressed views on society.
And so, it seems to me, that all of these religions, as, indeed, are most popular religions, are based in the questionable and unproven accounts of the gods having spoken to ancient people and telling them how humans should live their lives. And yet, with all of this praying and beseeching of the gods over the centuries and the millennium, not only has freedom from large-scale wars, poverty, and epidemics consistently eludes humans, but these afflictions are, in many cases, becoming more frequent. Clearly, the gods either do not exist, are not listening to the prayers of the faithful, or has forsaken them.
And so it seems to me, that humans are and have always been on our own, with our fate, for better or for worse, being in our own hands, and not that of the gods.
In living your life; trust most in your own endeavour to achieve your goals, and the support of those who are able and willing to assist you. Seek after your own happiness and pleasure, and that of others; it really is what matters most in your life.
To be Continued
Ancient humans stood on the earth and contemplated the heavens; contemporary humans are able to ascend up to the heavens and contemplate the earth. Does that place them on par with the gods?
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