Certainly, the Creation that is Earth and life on it, is one of beauty and awesomeness. As to who or what created it, or whether some higher power exists, or which of the world’s religions is the “true” religion, we’ll leave to others to never-endingly debate.
However, the conscious need for religion, the need for some greater power to worship, a God or gods who can do what no human can, is uniquely human. Like the rest of life on Earth, we humans had no conscious need for religion during most of our 3+ million year history. The conscious need for religion came into play about 17-40,000 years ago when humans became self-aware.
The conscious need for religion is an offset – its purpose is to balance something. What it balances is the loss of our freedom, passion and purpose, which we have turned over to other humans. Giving up freedom is frustrating (observe animals in a zoo), and frustrated animals are angry, restless, discontented – and rightly so. They are restrained from living their lives naturally, 100% free. Religion attempts to compensate for this loss or gap or hole-in-our-soul.
We need to take our lives back; to live free lives in our groups and communities globally. To live FOR our community, not just in it. Then we won’t need religion to offset our frustration, and we can enjoy the many benefits of a spiritual life (or choose not to).
Does that mean we won’t want and continue to benefit from religion and God? Absolutely not. Most believe that there is some higher power or consciousness at work in the vastness of the cosmos, a power way beyond our ability to comprehend. If there is a fallacy, it is the human ego’s childish notion that we can do our lives independently, on our own, without the connection to other humans and to Earth and the rest of life on it. That may work for children. It won’t work for mature adults.
Stephen R Covey, author of Seven Habits of Highly Successful People describes the 3 levels of maturity:
- Dependence – infants and children
- Independence – adolescence
- Inter-dependence – maturity, wisdom, adult-hood, the certain knowledge that none of us can do this thing called life, alone
Is humanity globally acting independently (I’m right, you’re wrong), or inter-dependently (how can we find common ground, discover what we have in common, and thereby … “live and let live?”).
In the book The Abundant Community by Peter Block, a study was cited which found that the strongest indicator of safety and security in human lives is NOT a huge government, NOT a strong, powerful and deadly military. Instead, the strongest indicator of human safety and security is the support of a strong community. But to reap these benefits we need to be living FOR our respective communities, not just physically living in the same area.
We at A Return to Peace propose a return to living in community, as we were designed. If this lifestyle appeals to you, then JOIN US. Seek out Christian groups and Unity organizations that you agree with. In unity and numbers, if our cause is just, if we are attempting to live in harmony with our God-given design … WE CANNOT FAIL. Join us!