Note: This is a re-post of a post originally from July 25, 2017. I am reposting because it is more relevant than ever. I will be posting more on this subject. In my first post on this blog I said that Religion is an inescapable part of human nature—it has been a part of all human cultures everywhere and at all times. Religion serves important functions by providing, among other things: 1) a way to make parts of our lives…
Note: This is a re-post of a post originally from June 20, 2016. I am reposting because it is more relevant than ever. I will be posting more on this subject. Summary: Religiosity is an inescapable part of human nature. Secularization won’t—can’t—overcome it. Instead, the growing trend of secularization has just led those professing no religion to express their innate religious natures in sub-optimal, ill-thought-out, ad hoc ways. My book, The Triple Path, offers a better alternative that integrates our…
Summary: Religiosity is an inescapable part of human nature. Secularization won’t—can’t—overcome it. Instead, the growing trend of secularization has just led those professing no religion to express their innate religious natures in sub-optimal, ill-thought-out, ad hoc ways. My book, The Triple Path, offers a better alternative that integrates our modern scientific understanding of the world with the wisdom of the world’s great religions. I just finished reading Ritual: Perspectives and Dimensions by Catherine Bell. It is an academic work surveying…
A young man decided to seek out a tomb that legend said contained the secret to the meaning of life. After a long search, he found it in the Holy Land, hidden underground among some old Roman ruins. He looked in, but it was empty. He did not know why, but he felt a powerful sense of fear and dread as he entered. Even so, he continued in and explored every nook and cranny. He saw no books or scrolls…
A wise teacher came among a community of the blind to teach them how to cure their blindness. His cure was not perfect, but when applied fully, it restored much of their sight. The teacher was with them only a short time. When he left, only a few had learned incomplete forms of the cure and had only partially restored their own sight. As news about the teacher’s cure spread, his few followers began to teach the different forms of…
A wise teacher came among a community of the blind to teach them how to cure their blindness. His cure was not perfect, but when applied fully, it restored much of their sight. The teacher was with them only a short time. When he left, only a few had learned incomplete forms of the cure and had only partially restored their own sight. As news about the teacher’s cure spread, his few followers began to teach the different forms of…
A wise teacher came among a community of the blind to teach them how to cure their blindness. His cure was not perfect, but when applied fully, it restored much of their sight. The teacher was with them only a short time. When he left, only a few had learned incomplete forms of the cure and had only partially restored their own sight. As news about the teacher’s cure spread, his few followers began to teach the different forms of…
Long ago, there was a man in a far-off land traveling on foot down an empty road through arid, desolate country. He came upon another man traveling the same road. They walked together a while. Feeling thirsty and nearing one of the infrequent wells along the route, they stopped to refill their waterskins and to refresh themselves. When they dipped the bucket into the well, though, it came up dry. They tried again, and again it came up dry. The…
A poor fisherman went out in his boat to catch what he could to support his family. A lazy pelican who hated the effort of searching for and catching fish flew over the poor fisherman’s boat and saw the small pile of the fisherman’s catch for the day. As the fisherman started to guide his boat back to shore, the pelican dived down and stole a fish out of the pile. The fisherman shooed the pelican away. The pelican flew…
A spiritual teacher would meet with others for prayers at his home once a week. His dog, though, would always cause a commotion and distract them from their prayers. The teacher thus began tying up his dog outside each week at the start of their meeting, and would then release the dog after they had finished their prayers. The teacher eventually died, but a spiritual community had grown around his teachings, and they continued to meet and pray together weekly…