IS RELIGION ANTIQUATED ? 1/3

[kazanova3]

1) IS RELIGION ANTIQUATED ? 1/3
by Mohammad Qutb


Sat. 12/Jan. 2001G
Dazzled by the achievements or science during the 18th and 19th
Century many westerners thought that religion had exhausted all its usefulness and surrendered to science once for all. Almost all the eminent western psychologists and sociologists expressed themselves in similar terms. Thus Freud, the renowned psychologist, for instance, showing the futility or any advocacy for what religion stood for in modern time says that the human life passes through three distinct psychological phases: superstition, religion and science. Now being the era or science all religion was out of dale.
As we have already explained in the Preface there were certain causes which led the men of science in Europe to adopt a view of life antagonistic to religion, and based on its hatred It was due to the great controversy that raged there between men of science and the Christian church which made them think quite justifiably of course that whatever the church stood for was reactionary, retrogressive , backward and superstitious. And that therefor it must of necessity vacate its seat for science so as to enable humanity to move ahead on the path of civilization.
Without appreciating the difference between the peculiar conditions of life obtaining in Europe at the time of this unhappy conflict and those in their own Islamic orient, people opposed to their sacred traditions handed down to them from past generations demanded their outright abolition. Then came the contagion of imitation which plagued the dominated Islamic orient and led the naive among its people to fancy that the only way to progress was that followed by the dominant nations of Europe. And that they have to discard their religion just as Europe had already done failing which they feared that they would be trapped in an abyss of reactionaries, backwardness and humbug.
But such people overlooked the fact that even in the West not all the outstanding scholars were antagonistic towards religion, nor do their works exhibit anything of this sort. On the other hand, we find some intellectuals among them of great eminence, who freed of the materialism or the Godless Europe, were driven to the
conclusion that religion is a Psychological as well as an intellectual necessity for mankind.
The most noted figure among them is the astronomer, James
Jeans who started his intellectual career as a Godless sceptic but was led finally by his scientific exploration to the conclusion that the greatest problems of science could not be resolved without believing
God the famous sociologist, Jeans Bridge went so far as to eulogize Islam for achieving a successful amalgam of the temporal with the spiritual into a harmonious system of thought blent with a practical code of life. The well-known English writer, Somerset Maugham epitomized the whole attitude of modern Europe towards religion when he remarked that Europe had in the present era discovered ~ new god-science, discarding the older one.
The god of science has, however, turned out to be extremely fickle, everchanging and constantly shifting positions, upholding today as a fact and reality what it rejected yesterday as false and spurious and vice versa, with the result that we see its "worshippers" doomed to a fate of perpetual restlessness and anxiety, for how can they find rest and peace of mind under such a capricious god? That this constant restlessness with which the modern west is afflicted is a fact, is borne out by the large number of psychological and nervous disorders that are so common in the western community of today.
A still another result of this deification of modern science is that the world we live in is devoid of all meaning and purpose with no higher order or power to guide it, with a persistent struggle ever going on between opposing forces. As a result, everything in this world suffers change ; economic and political systems change; relations between state and individuals alter; even scientific "Facts" do change. What can man expect save misery and perpetual restlessness in a world with such a sombre setting where no Higher Power exists whom he should turn to for support, strength and comfort in this ruthless struggle of life.
It is religion and religion alone that can restore to the world of humanity peace and tranquillity. It instils in man love for goodness and courage to stand up to the forces of evil and tyranny as a necessary condition of obtaining God's pleasure and to make His will predominant on this earth awaiting with patience Hi reward in the Hereafter. Doesn't mankind really need peace, tranquillity comfort, in a word, religion?
What will become of man but for faith and belief in an eternal fife in the Hereafter? In this context man's life upon earth assumes new dimensions opening far higher horizons of progress before him in the absence of which he is inevitably oppressed by a torturous
sense of nothingness, as it means a virtual cutting short of man's total life-span, making him a mere plaything in the ands of his whims and caprices which teach him nothing but to derive the maximum possible amount of pleasure during this short sojourn upon earth. Mutual rivalries, savage battles and conflicts over the possession of material gains follow as now there is no Higher Power to lay checks on men 's desires. So, blinded by his greed and lust each one of them wants to gain whatever he can lay his hands on in the shortest possible time.
Thus man is degraded to lower planes of feeling and thought. His imagination sinks low and so do his ideals and the means to achieve them. They are all marked with abjectness. Mankind is doomed to a perpetual life of hideous internecine wars that scarcely permit it to soar to higher and nobler ends in life. In such a world there is no room for love or sympathy as men are wholly obsessed with their carnal pleasures. They are led by their blind passions. How can they in such a context have lofty aspirations or even appreciate genuine human feelings?
Men in such a world no doubt gain some material profits. But of what use are these when fellowmen are constantly wrangling over them, each ready to cut his brother's throat should he find it opportune for his own material welfare. Materialism spoils life so much that even man's material achievements are rendered useless and senseless. Men are enslaved by greed, lust and avarice. Blind appetites alone govern them. They have no control whatsoever over these vices. Nor can they ever hope to extricate themselves from their trammels.
Similarly, he nations too, due to similar causes, get entangled in devastating wars which spoil all harmony in life. And science with all its dreadful weapons is employed for the extermination of the human race and its obliteration rather than make it serve man and contribute towards his well-being.
Viewed in this context religion means broadening the mental horizon of mankind, for life is not confined to this world alone but continues even beyond it up to eternity. This brightens hope in man's heart and encourages him to fight steadfastly against evil and oppression. Religion teaches love, sympathy and univrsa1 brotherhood and is thus the only way to peace1 prosperity and progress which is in itself a sufficient reason for its retention. It equips man in the best possible way for the hard struggle of life.
Furthermore, it is faith and faith alone that can inspire man to rise above his self and suffer for noble and lofty ideals. Once it is taken away from him he is left with nothing else to look up or pin his hopes to outside his own self. He changes into a brute immediately. Many a man fell fighting in the noble cause of truth spending the whole of their jives in the struggle yet achieving nothing in the materialistic sense of the word. What inspired these noble souls to engage in a battle that brought them no material rewards, that caused them rather lose whatever little they happened to possess? Undoubtedly, it was one of the many miracles of the Faith, for, so far as selfish motives viz. avarice, greed, lust etc. are concerned, these can never make man achieve anything really good1 noble or of a permanent value. This is why the material triumphs won by selfish avarice are so short-lived and temporary as the incentive for immediate gain cannot equip man with character, nor can it give him the courage to stand fast suffering patiently and for long for a truly noble and lofty cause.
There are in fact some so-called "reformers" who seek inspiration from hatred rather than love. This is the headspring of their inspiration, which they say gives them the courage to bear hardships for their cause with patience. The hatred they cherish may be personal in character or it may spring among a class of people and be directed against mankind in general or the generation they may have happened to be born in. Such rancour-inspired people may realize some or their ends by way of ~ Their rancour coupled with their fiery and innate. cruel natures may as well sustain them and boost their "morale" to willingly suffer privation for the sake or the cause they stand for, but a doctrine based on malevolence rather than love can never lead humanity to anything good. They may remove certain evils and put an end to the existing state or injustice but offer no sound remedy for these ailments or mankind. Based on hatred and malevolence, such a philosophy or life is bound sooner or later to degenerate and create far more evil and injustice than that it had originally professed and sought to cure.
On the other hand, a creed that does not aim at the immediate gains or this world, nor derives inspiration from malevolence but fosters in men noble passions of love, fraternity and a will to lay down their lives serving their fellowmen. can alone guarantee to humanity a reward permanent and worth striving for, and pave the way to its future progress and prosperity. The essence of such a creed is faith in God and love for Him with a consequent virtuous mode of living that helps man get nearer unto ills Creator. But both of these remain lifeless so long as one does not believe in tile Hereafter as well. Belief in the Hereafter gives man a sense of security banishing from his heart fear of extinction with his physical death and promising him an eternal life. This, ii' other words, means that his efforts shall not be wasted away but shall be crowned with their fullest reward in the life to come, if not in the life herein.
All this is, however, what follows as a natural corollary to a simple belief in God and the Hereafter as such. But. so far as Islam is concerned it does not stop short there9 but goes a long way ahead it has a quite different and far more fascinating story to tell.
Those who may imagine that Islam has become outmoded and is no longer needed, do not know as t') what it stands for, nor do they in any wise seem to understand its real mission in human life. As taught to them in the history books prescribed by the agents of imperialism in early life they think that Islam was revealed merely to put an end to idolatry and guide man to the worship of God alone, that the Arabs were torn into antagonistic tribes, so Islam came and united them and made them a strong and unified nation, that they were addicted to drinking and gambling and led depraved lives, so Islam came and checked them from these depravities as it did abolish so many other evil customs prevalent among them such as burying alive their daughters and wasting away their strength in acts of revenge, and that Islam called upon Muslims to disseminate its message which they did, this in turn leading to the battles that ultimately determined the boundaries of the Islamic world as we know it today. This was then according to these people the sole purpose of Islam in human life! "being a historical mission it has long since been fulfilled : there is no idol-worship in the Islamic world; the once antagonistic tribes have been more or less subject to a process of absorption losing their identity in the larger nationalities or communities. As far as gambling and drinking are concerned let us bear in mind that human civilization has advanced to such an extent now that it is useless to declare such pastimes unlawful as we see that despite all religious taboos they still persist. It is no use insisting on their abolition. Thus they conclude that Islam has served its purpose in this world; it has had its day but is now quite out of place and is, therefore, no longer needed. We must, therefore, turn towards the modern doctrines of life as in these alone lies our salvation".
Thus parroting the ideas of their western teachers these people betray their own ignorance. They know nothing about Islam or its real mission in human life. Let us, therefore, before proceeding further, see what Islam is, and what in fact it stands for.

he himself is.
Not only this. Islam means freedom from lust as well, including even the lust for life, as it is this very weakness of man which is exploited by tyrants and dictators intentionally or otherwise in enslaving their fellowmen. But for it no man would silently accept slavery to men like himself or sit idle to watch tyranny strut abroad and dare not challcnge it. It is a great blessing of Islam that it taught man to fight tyranny and oppression bravely rather than cringe before them in abject servitude. Says the Holy Qur'an: "Say: If it be that your fathers, your sons, your brothers. your mates, your kindred, the wealth that ye have gained, the commerce in which ye fear a decline, or the swellings in which ye delight-are dearer to you than God, or His Apostle, or the striving in 14i5 cause,-then wait until God brings about His Decision: and God guides not the rebellious" (ix : 24).
Contrasting the blind passions and appetites with the love of God, that represents in life love, virtue and truth and striving hard in His way-in the way of all that is good and lofty in life. Islam subjects the former to the latter. Unruly passions must be kept in check by the love of God; it must be the dominant and real directing force in man's life as without this no man can claim 10 be a true Muslim.
A man engrossed in sensual pleasures may form a mistaken out-look upon life and think that he enjoys life more than others do. But soon he realises his mistake as not long after this he is reduced to a mere slave to his blind passions. He is doomed to a perpetual life of deprivation and restlessness. For animal desires once run rampant are never satisfied : they are rather sharpened all the more and degrade man to lower levels of animalism where all his effort are focused on one object : how to derive thc maximum possible sensual pleasure in life? Such an attitude towards life is, however. ft not conducive to progress, material or spiritual. as humanity cannot soar in higher realms unless it is freed from the dominance of the blind animal appetites. Only then can it march ahead freely in the fields of science, arts or religion.
It is for this very reason that Islam attaches so great an importance to the freeing of man from his animal passions. For this purpose it neither favours monarchism. nor does it forbid its followers to partake freely of the good things of this life. Rather it aims at the attain-ment of a balance between these two extremes. Whatever things are here, are for man. They are to serve him, not to dominate or rule over him. He should not, therefore, allow himself to be made slave to them. He should not, therefore, allow himself to be made slave to them . He should rather use them as means to a higherend i.e. his spiritual perfection by disseminating the word of God amongst his fellowmen. Thus Islam has a twofold objective in this regard: in the individual life, it aims at making a just and sufficient provision to each and every individual so as to enable him to lead a decent, clean life; and in the collective sphere, it arranges things in such a way that all the social forces of a community are directed towards the enhancement or progress and civilization in accordance with its basic outlook upon lire that aims at striking a balance between the units and the whole, between individuals an d the community.

[Nonson]

A few more thoudands of words of ignorant utterings by an un-educated hypocrite.

[B_Ungaro]

The question was: Are RELIGIONS outdated?

Yes they are. All previous religions are outdated and are considered SUPERSTITION. All the current RELIGIONS, will one day recognized as SUPERSTITIONS. (A lot of people are already at that point.)

In the meantime HUMANITY is suffering do to the DEMENTIA
in the name of RELIGIOUS FREEDOM.

[Nonson]

Bill,

So long as man has the capacity to believe that he is more than just a chance event then religion will remain a perfectly viable alternative system of belief. In the final analysis it has absolutely nothing to do with superstition of either the past, the present, or of the future. It is the spirit of man longing for that final and eternal unification with the creative essence of the universe. The glories of life and being lie in the spirit, not in the death of objective or material existence. Man aspires to that which is spiritual, not to that which is material. Spirit is animator. Material is the cold, the silent, the motionless. That which is of value and is enduring is of the mind and spirit, and not of the constantly changing material universe. All values are of the mind and the spirit. All cherished memories reside in the mind, the emtions, and the spirit. They are not imprinted upon the physical body. Happiness and love are spiritual, not children of the physical. One cannot, or should not, credit a material object with the same value as one places on the offerings of the spiritual. We all are creatures of a three-fold existence, and until and unless we recognize this fact and work within the boundaries of it we can never be wholly fulfilled beings.

Nonson

[B_Ungaro]

Dear, Dear Nonson,

Spirituality, Love, Kindness, Memories are all very important to me.

The difference is that I get my fulfilment from my family,
friends, associates, business, hobies and other REAL TIME EVENTS.

Without wanting to offend anybody, let me say that those who
DEPEND on PIE IN THE SKY MYTHS, are CHEATING their FAMILIES,
FRIENDS and are CHEATING THEMSELVES.

To say that without some kind of DEPENDENCY one can not be a complete package is DENIGRATING the human SPIRIT.

What do you think?

[Nonson]

Bill,

Not one of the things mentioned by you is a result of the physical/material world. In fact, they are the products of a myth-making mind. With spirituality, love, kindness, and memories all being a part of the mental-emotional-spiritual complex you are in actuality finding happiness within rather than from without. The MES trinity cannot be separated anymore than you can separate life from death. What seems to be your point is that you wish to deny man an essential aspect of reality. The other side of that logic coin is that those who you criticise are entitled to render the same service to you.

Nonson

[B_Ungaro]

Greetings Nonson,

Actually, I am in favor of REALITY. I am seeking the kind of
spirituality that does not require me to believe in the UN-REAL, the SUPERSTITION.

Human spirituality does not need to be DUMBED DOWN or to be DENIGRATED by PIE IN THE SKY MYTHS.

The Bible makes for great reading. It was written by HUMANS.
Let us celebrate the creativity of the human mind. We need not to attach any other significance to it. All the great authors who followed those who wrote the Bible, did not require nor receive special meanings for their work.

Make up your mind, you are a member of the human race. Your spirituality is fulfilled through your family, friends,
and other earthly things. Stop cheating your surronding by HALUCINATING about things that are only a MYTH. Heep all your love and kindness on people who are REAL. You will be rewarded in REAL TIME, not by a PIE IN THE SKY.

Start today.