Religion: What is going on in the church today.

international | rights, freedoms and repression | opinion/analysis

Monday January 14, 2008 23:58

by Seamus Power. - Victims of the Legal Profession Society

What is going on in the church today.

Institutionalised religion is concerned in retaining control: the reality of power is more important than the prospect of exploring multiple realities. Anything new or different raises the alarm bells.
The words of church officials come from dogma not from the heart, influenced by tradition, not intuition.

While civil law and common law have different terms of reference the principles underlining both disciplines are very much the same. Rules, laws and regulations are designed to define the conduct of the citizen and devotee. This adherence to a set standard often works against the greater good, this is especially so with regard to religion.

Religion plays a major role in the world today. It controls the minds of billions, underpins many political ideologies and shapes events in almost every part of the globe. Belief in the supernatural influences individual behaviour, culture, the arts and music. Very few activities are outside its remit. It cuts to the very heart of human affairs and most people in some form or other rely on its guidance and reassurance. It is the one phenomena that unites all of humanity, but at what cost?

Religion today is far removed from the ideas of its founding fathers. The institution now takes precedence and dogmas have formed and hardened with the passage of time. These beliefs often bear little resemblance to what was practiced in the early days. Superficiality has taken over and the core message is often lost. Religion to many has become just another consumer product defined by the expedient of the time. Today religion accommodates the world more often than it inspires it.

The ancient practitioners understood reality and the subtleties of the unknown. They connected with other worldly energies and gave meaning to the ordinary. The known and the unknown blended into one and the mysteries of the universe were sensed, if not understood. The seers and the healers could penetrate into different realms of consciousness; their revelations were inspiring and practical, not like today.

Modern religious diktats often have little relevancy to what is happening in the world. The words of church officials come from dogma not from the heart, influenced by tradition, not intuition. Only those that can feel can reveal, a select few. These are gifted people with certain skills and abilities. They are found in all places and in every strand of society. They have little say today, institutionalised religion dominates.

Its functionaries are trained in dogma and tradition. They learn from ancient books and scribes. They reflect on the wisdom of the past, but can offer little useful advice today. They repeat the words of the founding visionaries but do not have enough insight to change the narrative. Only those that have contact with the unknown can act as an intermediary: they can bridge the gap between humanity and divinity, a vital task but one largely ignored today.

Modern religions are based on ancient truths, idioms that have little application today. Church functionaries act as bureaucrats, they implement the rules, preserve the past, and keep the system intact. Religions today rather than challenge the world, compliment it. The political system would not survive without ecclesiastical support. It is the backbone of the modern dilemma. The poor will be always there, it couldn’t be otherwise.

Had institutionalised religion not taken control and had ancient practices remained intact, the world would be a different place today. The ministers, mullahs that instruct the masses are bureaucrats not visionaries, they learn from man not mystery. They connect with the past, not with the unknown. Religion is not a force for change, it has entrapped the spirit. Ancient truths and wisdom are tied up in ecclesiastical bureaucracy.

Institutionalised religion is concerned in retaining control: the reality of power is more important than the prospect of exploring multiple realities. Anything new or different raises the alarm bells. A structure built on illusions cannot sustain the threat of fresh thinking. There is no place for the shaman or the wise man. The fixed idea is crucial, everything hangs from this. A litany of encyclicals, edicts and pronouncements define church policy, the institution takes root and big power follows.

If there was no institutionalised religion today the world might be better for it. The seers and healers would return and the human spirit would be enlivened again. The intermediaries without clerical garb would connect the known with the unknown and the mysteries of the universe would infuse the ordinary. Everything would take on a new meaning and make more sense. The ignorance and confusion that props up the institutional system would dissipate.

Bureaucrats and religious functionaries without insight or special gifts would disappear. The world would return to its ordinary level, dignified, silent and serene. The tyranny of religious paraphernalia would be over, the poor might then inherit the earth or at least their rights, today, not in some cloudy deferred mystical future.

The new church or gathering would consist of healers, visionaries, prophets and wise men. They would be part of the community not the basis for an institution. They would confront events in the world, not condone them, change rather than consolidate being the operative word. Belief would be based on insight not dogma. People could see for themselves and understand the energies that shape events.

Direct contact with the unknown, no need therefore for official church intermediaries. In this way power returns to the individual. It is this prospect more that any other that so disturbs the religious empires of the modern era.