the case for religious practices It is relatively easy to make an atheistic charge at criminal behavior of religious institutions and atrocities done in the name of religion, but to keep an atheistic stand in general is not a simple task. Take, for instance, The Case for God by Karen Armstrong, and try to argue against her defense of religious practices. She asserts that religion is a continuation of the role played by myth in most premodern cultures. Yes, her book should be titled The Case for Religious Practices, not The Case for God.
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from The Case for God by Karen Armstrong (2009) But a myth would not be effective if people simply "believed" in it. It was essentially a program of action. It could put you in the correct spiritual or psychological posture, but it was up to you to take the next step. The only way to access the value and truth of any myth was to act upon it. Myth and ritual were thus inseparable. Religion, therefore, was not primarily something that people thought but something they did. Its truth was acquired by practical action. ... There are some things that can be learned only by constant, dedicated practice, but if you persevere, you find that you achieve something that seemed initially impossible. ... You do not always understand how you achieve these feats, because your mind directs your body in a way that bypasses conscious, logical deliberation. But somehow you learn to transcend your original capabilities. Some of these activities bring indescribable joy. It is a satisfaction that goes deeper than merely "feeling good". Religion is a practical discipline that teaches us to discover new capacities of mind and heart. It is no use magisterially weighing up the teaching of religion to judge their truth or falsehood before embarking on a religious way of life. You will discover their truth - or lack of it - only if you translate these doctrines into ritual or ethical action. Like any skill, religion requires perseverance, hard work, and discipline. Some people will be better at it than others, some appallingly inept, and some will get nowhere at all. Religious people find it hard to explain how their rituals and practices work, just as a skater may not be fully conscious of the physical laws that enable her to glide over the ice on a thin blade. Our scientifically oriented knowledge seeks to master reality, explain it, and bring it under the control of reason, but a delight in unknowing has also been part of the human experience. Even today, poets, philosophers, mathematicians, and scientist find the contemplation of the insoluble is a source of joy, astonishment, and contentment. |
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Why negate the positive aspects of religious practices? But, then, how to accommodate religious practices in our highly technological environment based on science?
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