Religions are not revealed: they are evolved...
"Religions are not revealed: they are evolved. If a religion were revealed by God, that religion would be perfect in whole and in part, and would be as perfect at the first moment of its revelation as after ten thousand years of practice. There has never been a religion that which fulfills those conditions. -Robert Blatchford, author (1851-1943)"
I read this quote today and simply had to comment. I couldn't disagree more but I should take opportunity to explain why. The foundational flaw in this argument is that the author unwittingly intimates that religion is for God and not for men. God has no need of religion for God is already perfect. Man, who is wholly imperfect needs religion as a means of relating to perfection.
Since religion is for man and not for God any religion revealed by God would exist to create temperance of the imperfections within the created. Since the basic mechanics of any religion consist of "positive laws" as revealed by God and since these laws or rules pertain to imperfections, they are themselves imperfect. In the case of the Christian Bible and the revelation therein it even agrees:
Galatians 3:19,21-25: What purpose then does the law serve? It was added because of transgressions till the Seed should come to whom the promise was made; ...Is the law then against the promises of God? Certainly not! For if there had been a law given which could have given life, truly righteousness would have been by the law. But the Scripture has confined all under sin, that the promise by faith in Jesus Christ might be given to those who believe. But before faith came, we were kept under guard by the law, kept for the faith which would afterward be revealed. Therefore the law was our tutor to bring us to Christ, that we might be justified by faith. But after faith has come, we are no longer under a tutor.
God's intention for the law is to bring us to a place of maturity where we can live "lawlessly" meaning that our understanding will provide an adequate measure for our actions. In addition to this eventual discarding of "religion" for a more mature "relationship" with God, God extends to us Grace as a means of having a relationship while we grow and mature into the desired paradigm.
This is similar to raising children. When you make a rule or law for the safety or growth of your children, both the meaning and discipline surrounding the edict change with the maturity, understanding and environment of the child. A simple rule like "don't hit your sister" can take on various gravities. If both children are young it can be for the safety of the daughter as well as training for the son. When the children are a bit older it can be more for the safety of the son because the sister might just clean his clock. The alternative purpose of the commandment never changes, to teach the boy right conduct in the world until he can learn to more fully control his own actions.
Be angry and sin not, Ephesians 4:26. This simple command is right on par with "don't hit your sister." What does it mean for you? What does it mean for a small child? What does it mean for someone in another culture? What does it mean right after you've lost your job or a loved one? The context changes the meaning for the creature but the intention of the Creator remains unchanged.
As man evolves, man creates a new understanding of the perfect revelation through the filters of history, culture, environment and experience. Therefore, to take a perfect law such as "Love thy neighbor as thyself," to which there can be no logical opposition in any religion whose foundation is peace, and apply it to humanity at various times and places through history we would create a myriad of meanings and actions based on the same truth.
The revelation is indeed perfect, the interpretation and understanding of the law or the revelation is suspect. Purporting that religion, as a practice, is flawed will garner my wholehearted agreement for it was indeed created for imperfect beings. Purporting that because something is imperfect it could not be revealed by God is illogical.
What we have revealed here is nothing more than an author's prejudice. I deduce from this quote that the author believes man to be basically good, incapable of corruption or misunderstanding, and wholly capable of executing perfection. In addition, the author belies his immature notion of God as a magical being willing to interfere with the gifts of free will and autonomy as a created being.
Magical thinking believes that God will materialize the immaterial on demand. It supposes that if God is real He will "stop the glass from breaking" when it is dropped to the floor. It supposes that God will suspend His own laws to "show off" or, in biblical parlance, "give a sign" where no sign is needed. Magical thinking says, "Prove thyself" to which the Bible responds, "Do not put the Lord your God to the test" The quote exposes a man who tried and failed at religion thinking that it was God.
Since he's passed away, now he knows whether his words were true or false. All things are proven in the end.
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I read this quote today and simply had to comment. I couldn't disagree more but I should take opportunity to explain why. The foundational flaw in this argument is that the author unwittingly intimates that religion is for God and not for men. God has no need of religion for God is already perfect. Man, who is wholly imperfect needs religion as a means of relating to perfection.
Since religion is for man and not for God any religion revealed by God would exist to create temperance of the imperfections within the created. Since the basic mechanics of any religion consist of "positive laws" as revealed by God and since these laws or rules pertain to imperfections, they are themselves imperfect. In the case of the Christian Bible and the revelation therein it even agrees:
Galatians 3:19,21-25: What purpose then does the law serve? It was added because of transgressions till the Seed should come to whom the promise was made; ...Is the law then against the promises of God? Certainly not! For if there had been a law given which could have given life, truly righteousness would have been by the law. But the Scripture has confined all under sin, that the promise by faith in Jesus Christ might be given to those who believe. But before faith came, we were kept under guard by the law, kept for the faith which would afterward be revealed. Therefore the law was our tutor to bring us to Christ, that we might be justified by faith. But after faith has come, we are no longer under a tutor.
God's intention for the law is to bring us to a place of maturity where we can live "lawlessly" meaning that our understanding will provide an adequate measure for our actions. In addition to this eventual discarding of "religion" for a more mature "relationship" with God, God extends to us Grace as a means of having a relationship while we grow and mature into the desired paradigm.
This is similar to raising children. When you make a rule or law for the safety or growth of your children, both the meaning and discipline surrounding the edict change with the maturity, understanding and environment of the child. A simple rule like "don't hit your sister" can take on various gravities. If both children are young it can be for the safety of the daughter as well as training for the son. When the children are a bit older it can be more for the safety of the son because the sister might just clean his clock. The alternative purpose of the commandment never changes, to teach the boy right conduct in the world until he can learn to more fully control his own actions.
Be angry and sin not, Ephesians 4:26. This simple command is right on par with "don't hit your sister." What does it mean for you? What does it mean for a small child? What does it mean for someone in another culture? What does it mean right after you've lost your job or a loved one? The context changes the meaning for the creature but the intention of the Creator remains unchanged.
As man evolves, man creates a new understanding of the perfect revelation through the filters of history, culture, environment and experience. Therefore, to take a perfect law such as "Love thy neighbor as thyself," to which there can be no logical opposition in any religion whose foundation is peace, and apply it to humanity at various times and places through history we would create a myriad of meanings and actions based on the same truth.
The revelation is indeed perfect, the interpretation and understanding of the law or the revelation is suspect. Purporting that religion, as a practice, is flawed will garner my wholehearted agreement for it was indeed created for imperfect beings. Purporting that because something is imperfect it could not be revealed by God is illogical.
What we have revealed here is nothing more than an author's prejudice. I deduce from this quote that the author believes man to be basically good, incapable of corruption or misunderstanding, and wholly capable of executing perfection. In addition, the author belies his immature notion of God as a magical being willing to interfere with the gifts of free will and autonomy as a created being.
Magical thinking believes that God will materialize the immaterial on demand. It supposes that if God is real He will "stop the glass from breaking" when it is dropped to the floor. It supposes that God will suspend His own laws to "show off" or, in biblical parlance, "give a sign" where no sign is needed. Magical thinking says, "Prove thyself" to which the Bible responds, "Do not put the Lord your God to the test" The quote exposes a man who tried and failed at religion thinking that it was God.
Since he's passed away, now he knows whether his words were true or false. All things are proven in the end.
