Gatorubet;2016199; said:
I think the point of religion is to respond to the spiritual in humankind, which has been expressed in a wide variety of ways, much of it culturally influenced. There was, of course, a need to understand man and man's place in a frightening and violent world. The how and why of nature, thunder, the seasons, the stars, and why men act so different than animals. The nature of morality was of interest - and what was the "right" way to act so that the God(s) would look kindly on us, and increase the chances of having a better life.
As we grew to know more, the questions became more complex, but then, the explanation for things like the cause of thunder became more complex answers as well. And learning about charged electrons did not answer the "why" there were charged electrons in the first place.
Certainly, if you look at Buddha, Christ, etc., there is a great commonality of expression as to the need for (out of a lack of a better way to put it) the "Golden Rule". That the core teachings are neglected is not totally the "fault" of religion, as religion is what should remind us to act that way in the first place.
In the Rosicrucian Order they describe religions as many streams flowing from one river.
Okay I am going to get freaky here.
My family traces back to the Knights Templar through the Rosicrucian Order in Scotland. Weirdly, when my Grandpa died, my mother, then me (she had five siblings, but we most represented my Grandpa somehow to the rest) were determined to carry the line. Total Dan Brown stuff.
Anyway, this isn't just a story. I can post pics. I have tons of old literature on the Rosicrucian Order. A crate with a shield on the top that says ATAN, with the first letter scratched out, but you can make out the "S." Books on all types of weird things: the true life of Jesus, witchcraft, anything you can think of. A seance table. Candle holders with pentagrams. The books, btw, are separate from the crate.
I have a funerary stone for a royal woman in Egypt, limestone I think, wrapped in rotted leather with either a Templar or Scottish dragon on the front. I had the stone analyzed by museum peeps.
Hmm. There is a lot more in that crate. A huge old Bible with differing passages. I mean this thing is 6 inches thick and maybe 14 by 12 inches.
There is so much more. I didn't really look through it until a few years ago. Currently, I use the crate as a table for my Playstation and Cable box. Ha.
There are also a lot of very old pictures and strange letters from others in the order. I'm trying to think of what else there is. Most of it is very, very old. One hundred years, a few thousand years (like the Egyptian stone, which the curators were very mad at me for having).
This is no joke.
Edit: I would actually love to post pics and see what you guys think. I don't know why I haven't gone down this rabbit hole before, except for the stone.
