tigreetsa
Posts: 132
Joined: 4/30/2010
From: SW London
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I kind of agree with the OP about critical thinking and lack of it, but I disagree that the key to theology and spirituality is teaching logical deduction skills. In fact I think it's pointless.
Deductive reasoning is useful in science and law which is based on established principles, or mathematics. This only relates to the material, concrete, things we see and know to be true.
Religion is to do with God as you like, or affairs of spirituality and morality. Using deductive thinking doesn't solve the problem, but in fact is part of the problem.
I don't believe in an external God. The only external figure is a central one, Jesus Christ, who serves as an example and who taught that affairs of spirituality and morality are individual, which to me suggests an internal God. Every single religious figure conforms to the pattern of Jesus Christ as a central example figure.
Here is where deductive reasoning leads us astray. Let's take the three Abrahamic religions, Christianity, Islam and Judaism. They are based on mosaic law, or general principles which require conformity and adherence to specific principles.
Deductive thinking relies on principles which can be expressed in devices known as syllogisms:
General principle: Christians observe the Ten Commandments
Specific application: Thou shalt not kill.
Conclusion: To be a Christian I cannot kill another person.
If deductive reasoning was useful to religion, it would also be useful to politics. The structure and hierarchy of the Catholic Church is the same as communism as a political system - an unelected leader or head, set principles which everyone must conform to.
Now explain to me someone why so many people have rejected communism as a political system, but still willingly attend Mass in a Catholic church? Why reject the principles in communism but accept the exact same principles in Catholicism? Or Islam for that matter?
In the early part of the 20th century Austrian philosopher Rudolf Steiner developed anthroposophy, or 'spiritual science'. Steiner opined that you cannot study theology (religion) or spiritual science like any other science, because it is based on belief and not facts - as are other established sciences, such as biology, chemistry, physics. He thus developed the Waldorf education system, which is a highly successful education system and Waldorf schools in many countries achieve the same, if not better results as other more conventional education systems.
The basis of the Waldorf education methods are based on individuality and creativity, meditation and equal importance attached to teaching inductive reasoning - forming principles from experience and examples. Art, drama, music are all taught and treated as equally important as sciences, reading and writing.
This is where the problem I feel is - children are not taught enough critical thinking skills through inductive reasoning, or even 'lateral thinking'. In fact modern religions discourage individuality and inductive reasoning.
Each and every one of us is an individual. We are born in individual circumstances.
The problem with people and religion I feel is that very few work hard enough on their own spiritual development, they do not try and develop critical thinking skills via inductive reasoning, but take much of what is taught by religion literally. They form fixed beliefs which they adhere to right through life. They believe in a Judgement Day, that they will die, somehow magically appear somewhere in the sky on a cloud as an angel in heaven, provided they have stuck to the principles enough and haven't sinned too much. But it doesn't matter if they have, because they will be forgiven.
This is why you're getting Islamic terrorists willing to blow themselves up because they seriously believe they're going to end up in heaven fucking a crowd of virgins. They've somehow been told that if they take part in jihad and sacrifice their lives they're going to end up in heaven with lots of jiggy jiggy. Deductive reasoning.
Jesus Christ is a metaphor. So is the entire text of the Bible. It's based on astrology - sun worship. The sun passes through twelve signs of the zodiac. Jesus had twelve disciples. The astrological sign of Virgo - the sixth sign of the zodiac, has the letter 'M' forming a the basis for its symbol, it is personified by The Virgin, it occurs in September, the time of harvest when the land produces food. Hence the mother of Jesus Christ is Mary, the Virgin Mary.
Let's take the crucifixion, where Christ was crucified on a cross and rose up after three days in the Resurrection. This is a story based on pure astrology and astronomy. This relates to Christmas, the Winter Solstice when the Sun reaches the lowest point in the sky on Dec 22 under the Southern Cross. This is at a point on the horizon indicated by the brightest star in the sky Sirius, pointed out by three stars in alignment, the Three Kings. On December 25 the Sun moves one degree north. This is why thr Three Kings came to Jesus bearing gifts.
This is why we celebrate Easter after the Spring Solstice, when the days become longer than the night - a metaphor for good triumphing over evil. Many Christians actually believe that three kings did actually look for Jesus bearing gifts. That Jesus was actually conceived by a virgin, and rose from the dead after three days.
Many overlook the telling parts. Jesus hung out with people rejected from society, the poor, the homeless, prostitutes, perverts, gays - the sort of people not very welcome in any church. He was persecuted and eventually executed without trial after being made an example of. Why?
He went against the established religious (Jews) and political order (Romans) basically as a sect leader engaging in subversive activities. Why? He was preaching individuality in morality and spirituality.
Now if you put to one side the concept of an external God, the teachings of modern religion, and you actually sit down and study the Bible as a work of literature, such as the complete works of Shakespeare, and try and interpret everything in the Bible through inductive reasoning and look for matching examples around you in life and apply the same teachings of Christ to the concept of an internal God everything should make perfect sense.
Furthermore, if you did the exact same to the Torah and the Koran, taking Moses or Mohammed as the example figure, understanding that G-d or Allah is internal, that you are individual and making your own interpretation to your own life and circumstances then too both Judaism and Islam make perfect sense.
What's more, if you accept that everyone has their own individual interpretation and belief and their own moral hierarchy and belief system then there should be no conflict whatsoever between Christianity, Judaism and Islam.
The reason we have conflicts between all three is because of deductive reasoning and all three claiming to be right. Observe that the exact same situation exists in politics.
Applying deductive reasoning and literal thinking to the biblical quote 'an eye for an eye a tooth for a tooth' has brought the death penalty. This contradicts basic Christianity - Thou Shalt Not Kill.
However if you look at life interpreting 'an eye for an eye a tooth for a tooth' as karma it makes sense.
An external God we are told - if you take it literally - is all seeing, all powerful, in our image, and we come face to face with God when we die. An old white man on a cloud?
And you wonder why some people struggle with this concept? Or even disbelieve it all together?
Okay, simple exercise. You have a soul. You the spiritual world which you might not be able to perceive, but some people can and they can prove it. You are here in the material world in a physical body called life only for a short time.
Multiply that part of you which you call a soul into two. Use the same dichotomy of night and day, light and darkness, life and death. Half your soul exists within you, the other half of your soul is in the spiritual world. We can call that hidden half God. If spirituality is individual, and God is internal, it's quite possible that what is taught in religion that God is all powerful, all seeing, all knowing in relation to you.
Think about reincarnation, you have a previous life. What if the soul from that previous life became God when you were born? And when you die you come together with God and again the soul divides and you are reborn? Think about what Jesus said, referring to himself as an example.
'I am the way, the light. the path, nobody enters heaven except through me.'
Would not a belief in reincarnation, an internal God and individuality in spirituality and morality mean that after death you are reborn and thus overcome death and achieve eternal life?
This is just a hypothesis, developed using specific examples and lateral thinking.
It will not apply to you, simply because deductive reasoning and logic doesn't apply.
You have to develop your own hypothesis, your own beliefs.
_____________________________
'There are many here among us who feel that life is but a joke
But you and I we've been through that
And that is not our fate
So let us not talk falsely now, the hour is getting late.'
All Along The Watchtower (Bob Dylan)
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