VEHICLE OF HATRED...

THE MEANING OF RELIGIONS

It does not seem daring or blasphemous to believe that all religions derive from a very human need for the supernatural , determined by the need of protection by an upper body and omnipotent Being, in different languages corresponding to the name of God, the one or plural , from which is expected, in addition to protection from earthly adversities, also the defense from a natural law that is the law of the stronger , which underlies all the creation to guarantee survival against the risk of extinction.

Defense that arises from a requirement wholly human of equality , criterion - in hindsight against nature - aimed at creating the need for equality, through the defense of the weaker, less gifted by nature 's own defenses of the stronger. The exercise of this defense , difficult - as we shall see - on earth, is put to the deity , which is expected to have the capacity - just supernatural - of intervening on the earth , but - in any case - to be able to balance the fate of the weak , and ie of the less favored by nature - nature being a bit careless in our eyes - by a compensatory life , of course eternal in the supernatural world , living in constant contact with the divinity and achieving that happiness , failed on earth.
The wicked - ie those favored by nature - must not believe they get away with it if they do not repent - having , in spite of themselves , obeyed the law of nature - as for them is assured eternal punishment , which for Christians is the perpetual fire , fed by an evil angel , called the Devil , the one having the employment guaranteed forever.

Basically religions stem from a feeling of rebellion against the natural law of the more strong , imaginative rebellion that leads to the construction of a virtual organization to watch supernatural protection of the weak , the only guarantee of justice , the true religion that should govern, regardless of the nature , the life of all mankind.

And it is a feeling of rebellion that arises , among other religions , the Christian one. The rebellion of a people strongly cohesive by a deep religious monotheistic feeling , the Israelite, against the Roman occupation, which was considered an expression of evil , coming from an winning empire because , following the law of the strongest, it had imposed on other peoples - in the historical conditions in which it developed - by mean of the systematic use , expertly organized , of abuse , looting and violence in general.

In the absence of the improbable supernatural intervention , the need for defense of the more weak - in accordance with the innate human standard of justice - has transformed, over time, religion , from what was supposed to be an inner feeling of faith on something unproven , into a factor of clot inside the single people , mostly already united by the use of the same language , this resulting from spontaneous aggregation of related dialects .

This phenomenon did not lead , however, to the development of solidarity in assistance and defense of the weak , but rather has helped - over thousands of years -to confirm the validity of the natural law of the more strong , involving fratricidal strife between the components of the human race , itself more strong compared to the other creatures of the earth - been favored by evolution into a higher predisposition and intelligence.

History shows that religions so far have not been at all a vehicle for peace , but a means of oppression , having in fact helped to catalyze the fratricidal conflicts, in nomine Domini, against the alleged incarnation of evil, personified in the different ,both in language and religion.

Think for example of the sacrifices in men and means to conquer to Christianity the Holy Land where Christ had spent his own short life , and which had been occupied by Arab nations after the expulsion of the Jews as a result of the repression of Titus, this occurred more than a thousand years before. Those who were called Crusaders faced then sacrifices lasted several centuries , huge and unsuccessful , taking on - to the eye of the judges today - the nature of a madness , promoted by the popes, givers of indulgences , who wanted to chase from the Holy Earth the profaners of its sacred soil , that is the followers of a religion, Islam , derived from the Christian one six hundred years after the coming of Christ , and therefore considered infidels , to hunt in hell.

There are countless cases, scattered in the history, of religious intolerance ,inquisition processes , torture , massacres . Even today news reporting cases of crime speak often , instead of nationality of the contenders , of Christians against Muslims, and vice versa , of Shiite Muslims against the Sunni Muslims and vice versa , etc.,demonstrating a religious regimentation that has nothing to do with the individual desire of the supernatural, as a source of hope for the remuneration of earthly suffering .

Since the desire of the supernatural is an inner need of the individual, it should not lend to organizations requiring- to justify their existence - the faithful (also called believers) arbitrary behaviors , which condition the freedom of the individual , regardless of the human laws aimed at ensuring the peaceful coexistence, in reciprocal respect.

These organizations have for centuries influenced the civil structures , imposing sanctions to dissidents, such as the Christian excommunication , which was not an easy exit from a party, but unduly reflected on daily life (eg: condemnation to hell , and -even before- the stake ) because of popular obedience to religious canons of doubtful validity ' , which was claimed to be based on singular divine appearances and so-called holy scriptures by which , it was assured , God has spoken to humanity by the mouth of interpreters, also called prophets , arbitrarily inducing a frolic of improbable obstacles and limitations to the divine omnipotence , in terms of direct public relations .

To day God more likely turns to Catholic believers , using as interpreter the Pope , the Vicar of Christ, who recently claimed that Christ, the Son of God , in the end forgives all : good and evil . This statement raises concern because it seems attributed to Christ an unconvincing inability of judgment : in fact it is difficult to imagine as residing in hell only Hitler and a few others.

Everyone can safely admit that nothing prevents each of us to think of a supernatural life that touches us at the end of the natural one.Nothing prevents from thinking that supernatural life is gained by doing good for the less fortunate , alleviating suffering , causing smiles of gratitude and finally attracting the love of neighbor.

But the conversation with God cannot but be direct and personal .

The human organization must not be used to organize other that the good works that we are willing to do, as a group rather than alone , but not to engage in mediation with God.
The priest who officiate the Mass does not exercise a brokerage, generally not required , but instead arises as a guide in the supposition to offer the faithful a more effective way of praying , suggesting , from one generation to another , the prayers more suitable , whose formulas are proven for centuries.

Since the priestly guides must in turn be guided by a leader, as it is, on an orchestra , a conductor , so it is justified the centralizing function of the Pope in the Catholic Church , or of the Archimandrite in the Orthodox Church.

"Ora et labora" was the motto of St. Benedict , " Pray and Work " translated from Latin.
It 'clear that the work is the preponderant part of a faithful , having endless possibilities of application , while, on the contrary, prayer is likely to appear naturally repetitive and not funny for the god charged of listening. The work for religious leaders is the natural outcome when oriented to jobs of solidarity for the most weak and activities of support for harmony among religions.

To come to the concrete, we might imagine as possible multi-religious assemblies , also called consistories , where beyond the theological themes - on which is easy to imagine sterile stiffeners of various faiths - would be examined themes of solidarity ' , to be applied between faiths themselves first, and then turned to the world's needy populations , involving representatives of the secular power to every corner of the world, for the practical organization of the initiatives , on which has been found harmony .
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It would be something new and certainly the most weighty of any debate promoted in the past in secular world , where the presence of religious leaders have been often marginal .

It would be great to see that finally religions - become jointly solidary - could be seen as a vehicle of love and no longer of hatred , as history - unfortunately - has so far proved.

 January 10, 2014

Rino Palmieri