I studied at two of the world’s most renowned divinity schools — Yale and Harvard. At the latter, I earned a Master of Divinity degree.
I went to these schools to study ethics, issues associated with global ecological problems, and world religious belief systems.
I desired to continue down the learning path I travelled my entire life.
I was fifty years old the year I graduated from Harvard.
As an older student, I remained objective in my study and analysis of world religions.
I studied all the major world religions, all interesting and rich in history and rituals.
Yet, one is reminded that they remain human constructs formed thousands of years ago in the infancy of our intelligence by people like you and me.
The historical context and ancient mindsets that produced these belief systems are abundantly evident.
They are our early efforts to understand and cope with the withering and unrelenting demands of life.
As such, they should be treated like all other institutions that we have created.
These religions should be studied as history, not adopted as belief systems.
No disrespect or disparagement is meant.
I respect the good efforts of those who preceded us honorably.
We are no different than theyin our quest for life’s ultimate answers.
But as Gandhi once said, “Religious ideas are subject to the same laws of evolution that govern everything else in the universe.”
In other words, there comes a time to let go of dated ideas and advance as life demands.
“Those who ponder human nature and the human condition cannot simply ignore the nature of humanity and its position in time and space as revealed by the instruments of modern physics and cosmology. They must cast off the traditions of thousands of years and accept that we are not special, indeed not at all important in the grand scheme of things. We are made of the same stuff as everything else, thrown together by accident and evolving according to no special purpose or plan in an underlying reality having no beginning, no end, and no distinction between past and future.
“Our highly evolved cognitive capabilities enable us to comprehend this, but only after a huge infusion of data from beyond pure sensory experience. As long as we continue to extend the frontiers of that experience, we can hope for further improvements in understanding ourselves. Ignoring the data from advanced scientific instruments and going back to relying solely on the data from everyday life will only result in a degradation of knowledge and a return to barbarism.” – Victor J. Stenger, physicist and astronomer, Humanity in Time and Space
Driving Ourselves Toward Extinction
Life is full of peril.
It always has been.
It always will be.
Every day, all life forms, including us, struggle to survive and reproduce.
It’s a violent spectacle as life forms consume other life forms.
It’s a macabre daily dance of survival.
“If there is a God, he is a malign thug.” – Mark Twain
To survive, we have organized ourselves into nations, political parties, religions, and corporations. . . tribes.
As a consequence of our struggle to survive, and despite our best efforts, we see and experience inequity, injustice, violence, and suffering.
Most of it caused by ignorance.
We are driving ourselves towards extinction.