Religion and places of worship - the cause of the world's problems today?!
Posted: Mon Feb 21, 2005 1:30 pm
Religion and places of worship - the cause of the world's problems today?!
I recently heard a speech where the speaker was very critical of all religions and "extravagant places of worship". He was especially critical of the Christian faith. He conveniently quoted bits out of the bible in an effort to show how harmful religion is. His claim was that it is religion (especially Christianity) that is the cause of the worlds problems today.
Being a subject that is always rather topical I thought I would share my thoughts on the matter. You/your readers may not agree with what I say but it should get our minds working, to decide one's personal opinion on this matter.
Places of Worship
Temples, Mosques, Churches etc are places of worship. They are places we build and dedicate to worship our God. When built they should be a reflection of the community that builds it. Neither God nor people nor the community itself would give any credit for building something that is beyond or beneath the means of that particular community.
Places of worship are also such that anyone can visit and find peace,experience reverence and meet the related worshipping community. It is a place that anyone from any religion should be able to visit and feel that
they are in a place dedicated to worship - not by the richness or plainness of the building but through the ambience created by the community within it.
I believe that places of worship are of great value and benefit not only to their community but also to society on the whole.
Where these places have been built at unacceptable financial cost or in the face of human suffering; it is the greed and ambition typical of human beings that is to blame!
Religion
Religion is a following of faith. All who have similar faith subscribe to a particular following and therefore belong to the same religion.
To be truly religious though, one has to believe from the heart and let one's actions be guided by this belief.
Throughout history humankind has perpetrated injustices against its own. It is people to blame for that; not religion!
There are many different religions in the world.
All religions have two important things in common -
- firstly they proclaim the existence of a greater being we call God;
and
- secondly they advise that achieving salvation in our lives depends on our treatment of ourselves and our fellow human beings.
Followed correctly most religions have great value and depth in what they communicate.
In the Christian religion for example it is the message of Jesus Christ which is the basis of the religion. If human beings then decide to behave differently, it is them who are responsible - not the religion!
Some of the religious writings are those by prophets or messengers who human like us all translated God's message to their own way of thinking - we are all educated enough to consider these in context. In any religion it is easy to
corrupt its teaching by taking bits out conveniently to expound our own views or even to mistranslate parts completely.
I am a strong Christian and my beliefs and actions are dictated by belief in and relationship with God. I have however made, and continue to make mistakes. These mistakes are not based on what my religious faith teaches me but as a result of my own personal weaknesses! To say anything otherwise would be dishonest!
When we want to therefore consider the wrongs of the world - let us first look at ourselves and ask ourselves how we treat ourselves and then how do we treat others. When we see things wrong let us be brave enough to blame ourselves
first, not religions, or communities or anyone else for that matter. That will be a good first step to making this a better world to live in.
Thank you.
I recently heard a speech where the speaker was very critical of all religions and "extravagant places of worship". He was especially critical of the Christian faith. He conveniently quoted bits out of the bible in an effort to show how harmful religion is. His claim was that it is religion (especially Christianity) that is the cause of the worlds problems today.
Being a subject that is always rather topical I thought I would share my thoughts on the matter. You/your readers may not agree with what I say but it should get our minds working, to decide one's personal opinion on this matter.
Places of Worship
Temples, Mosques, Churches etc are places of worship. They are places we build and dedicate to worship our God. When built they should be a reflection of the community that builds it. Neither God nor people nor the community itself would give any credit for building something that is beyond or beneath the means of that particular community.
Places of worship are also such that anyone can visit and find peace,experience reverence and meet the related worshipping community. It is a place that anyone from any religion should be able to visit and feel that
they are in a place dedicated to worship - not by the richness or plainness of the building but through the ambience created by the community within it.
I believe that places of worship are of great value and benefit not only to their community but also to society on the whole.
Where these places have been built at unacceptable financial cost or in the face of human suffering; it is the greed and ambition typical of human beings that is to blame!
Religion
Religion is a following of faith. All who have similar faith subscribe to a particular following and therefore belong to the same religion.
To be truly religious though, one has to believe from the heart and let one's actions be guided by this belief.
Throughout history humankind has perpetrated injustices against its own. It is people to blame for that; not religion!
There are many different religions in the world.
All religions have two important things in common -
- firstly they proclaim the existence of a greater being we call God;
and
- secondly they advise that achieving salvation in our lives depends on our treatment of ourselves and our fellow human beings.
Followed correctly most religions have great value and depth in what they communicate.
In the Christian religion for example it is the message of Jesus Christ which is the basis of the religion. If human beings then decide to behave differently, it is them who are responsible - not the religion!
Some of the religious writings are those by prophets or messengers who human like us all translated God's message to their own way of thinking - we are all educated enough to consider these in context. In any religion it is easy to
corrupt its teaching by taking bits out conveniently to expound our own views or even to mistranslate parts completely.
I am a strong Christian and my beliefs and actions are dictated by belief in and relationship with God. I have however made, and continue to make mistakes. These mistakes are not based on what my religious faith teaches me but as a result of my own personal weaknesses! To say anything otherwise would be dishonest!
When we want to therefore consider the wrongs of the world - let us first look at ourselves and ask ourselves how we treat ourselves and then how do we treat others. When we see things wrong let us be brave enough to blame ourselves
first, not religions, or communities or anyone else for that matter. That will be a good first step to making this a better world to live in.
Thank you.