No doubt that religion can work in that way. If sufficient resources were made available then the unlucky many who rely on religion for emotional support would be properly fed, clothes housed and educated in life and social skills along with the usual syllabus. If that happened, I suspect many would not need religion as a salve or behavioural limiter, although they may still benefit from the social and networking aspects. Also, some people enjoy being part of a team.Belinda wrote:... reason nonetheless should be an aim for all including traumatised children and adults who have been cowed by cruel circumstances. Christianity is specially suited to people who are weak, including moral weakness, in one of the many ways that we can be weak. Is it not possible to arrange for Christianity to be a springboard for very independent choosings that may well include energetic and active resistence to the evils that we know of?
I do think of liberal Christianity in this way. Judaism too. Those religions , but only the liberal versions of them , are not limited to literal beliefs, rituals, and dictatorial behaviour regulation but potentially are sources of personal strength.
Perhaps no coincidence. The idea first came to me from my peak experiences. Maybe that's where mystics picked up the idea too?Belinda wrote:That, Greta, is a beautiful statement of what I meant by "liberal Christianity and Judaism". What you describe is easy to translate into the language of forgiveness and courage.
Before the PEs I was focused more on the suffering side of things. I could not imagine that everything might be okay after all, that disasters are only temporary setbacks in the reconstruction process. That catastrophes will probably increasingly be outstripped by continuous creation as matter becomes increasingly aware and potent. Thus our lives are at once both a destination and part of a larger journey (and an ecosystem, for that matter). No matter how badly we mess up our lives, we inevitably fulfill our function as part of matter's awakening. Well done, all! :)