The Future of Religion

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To understand where the future of religion is going you first must understand its origin. So with an open mind, let’s examine the thorny issue of religious worship – its past, present and future, The word worship means ‘to show honour to an object’ and often involves veneration, adoration and singing songs of praise. Most academics think worship started with ancient astronomers like the Sumerians, the Egyptians or the Druids. But in reality it started much much earlier than that – with the dawn chorus.

The Dawn Chorus

The dawn chorus is the spectacular singing of birds each morning as they greet the rising sun. These birds are singing because the light of the world – the mighty sun – has returned – ending the dreaded darkness, a dangerous and confusing time for most lifeforms.

It is when predators hunt prey under the cover of night. Fear of the dark is innate. The dawning of the day is a time to rejoice for these singing birds. Only a fool could argue that the singing birds are not rejoicing as the returning sun overcomes the darkness. By honouring it in their own little way, the birds are demonstrating that at some level, they are aware of the huge importance that the sun’s light and warmth plays on earth.

The first known singing birds appeared on earth around 66 million years ago. So we can safely assume that the sun has been honoured with a dawn chorus for eons – certainly millions of years before man first walked the earth. Astronomy is defined as the study of ‘celestial objects’ in the heavens, essentiality it’s the observation of the sun, moon and stars.

We cannot know for sure what exactly dawn chorus birds are actually thinking when they break into song, as they watch the sunrise. What we do know for sure that they are very obviously ‘watching the skies’ for daybreak.

This meets the definition of astronomers and since astronomy is the world’s oldest science. We can therefore say that science on earth did not start with man. Astronomy in its most primitive form predated man by millions of years and still exists today!

Early Man

Early man first emerged ignorant and alone into a terrifying world of howling wolves and dangerous predators. With an innate fear of the dark he soon developed an awareness of the sun’s life-giving warmth and a fascination with its daily movement.

The golden sun naturally became man’s first object of worship and wonder, just as it had done millions of years previously when birds first sang the dawn chorus. The earliest surviving human carvings depict the cycles of the sun and moon. Early man learned to predict their movements and to create a primitive calendar.

To early man, the magnificent music of the dawn chorus signified the end of the dark terrifying night and the birth of a bright new day. The mysterious moon, with all its changing colours, shapes and sizes also became an object of worship. It provided moonlight which eased man’s innate fear of the dark. The word heaven literally means ‘sky.’

The Sun

As man first developed an appreciation and awe for nature, the sun was soon perceived as the ‘king or bull of heaven,’ the moon was considered the ‘queen or cow of heaven,’ and together male and female ruled the ‘kingdom of heaven.’ In Old Ireland, the Milky Way was known as ‘the way of the white cow’ in honour of the moon.

Meanwhile, the 8 great festivals of the ancient Gaelic world all coincided with the sun’s movements. All around the world, the ancients honoured the sun, moon and stars. They were seen as visible symbols of nature’s invisible wisdom. Today’s modern religions are overflowing with astronomy in disguise.

Early man was wise enough to recognise that all life on earth was dependent on the life-giving rays of the sun and the cycles of the moon. Soon the sun became symbolic of ‘fire’ while the moon became symbolic of ‘water.’ The mysterious moon, with her numerous different colours, shapes and sizes became an object of both fear and wonder. The earliest philosophers worshiped nature and its universal opposites – light and darkness, fire and water, male and female.

The Future of Religion

The Future of Religion: Temples

The world’s first temples were star temples – groves, mounds, and standing stones where the movements of the heavens were studied. Stone circles have been found all over the world, as have mounds. This suggests a long forgotten (or deliberately hidden) ‘seafaring mother culture.’

Over time astronomer priests gained huge power and prestige as many stunning constructions were built under their guidance. Timeless constructions like the Pyramids, Stonehenge and Newgrange were all were built as a symbolic bridge between earth and heaven. This can clearly be demonstrated each winter solstice when the sun’s golden rays enter the symbolic ‘womb’ of Newgrange and fertilise mother earth.

Around nine months later the crops are harvested as the wheel of time turns once more and the cycle begins anew. Newgrange was a place of ‘scientific religion’ – unlike modern man, the ancients were wise enough not to separate the two.

Abuse of Power

With knowledge comes power and with power comes corruption. Over time, astronomer priests around the world recognised the awesome power that predicting the movement of the heavens had on the ignorant masses. Knowing than an eclipse was due, astronomer priests would often ‘punish’ the masses by pretending to take the sun away.

The very sight of an eclipse would terrify the ignorant masses and the astronomer priest would then demonstrate his awesome power by returning the sun. To the ignorant this was a most terrifying ordeal. Over time, the power of the astronomer priests was overtaken by self-appointed ‘god kings.’ They claimed a divine right to rule as light and darkness became symbolic of good and evil. This is a motif that is still used today by religions, storytellers and movie makers alike.

Astronomy is so interwoven into the world’s 4,300 religions that it becomes blatantly obvious once you search for it. Consider the works of Francis of Assisi. He wrote the “Canticle of the Sun” where he spoke about “brother fire” and “sister water.”

Sun and Moon

Major religious feasts like Easter are still determined by the movement of the Sun and Moon. Almost all of the world’s major religions still worship on the day of the sun – Sunday. Yet darkness is as much an essential part of life as light.

Virtually all lifeforms including animals, plants, and microbes have circadian rhythms. These are natural 24-hour cycles that respond to light and darkness and cause physical, mental, and behavioural changes. Both light and darkness are essential to the healthy balance of mind and body. Without a healthy balance the body deteriorates.

Everything in nature has its opposite. The earliest religions had a healthy balance between the two sides of nature’s coin. Yet over time the physically dominant male corrupted this natural order and with the rise of several mass religions the dark ages were born as the world was riddled with priestcraft.

To this day the legacy of the dark ages remains. Women are still treated as second-class citizens by many of the world’s religions, while ‘unholy wars’ are commonplace. By their deeds you shall know them.

The Future of Religion

Theism, Atheism & Naturalism

When it comes to understanding religious beliefs there is a very wide spectrum which we will oversimplify into 3 categories:

  • Theism
  • Atheism
  • Naturalism

On one extreme you have the broad category of ‘Theism.’ This is a belief that there is a god who intervenes in the world’s affairs. Underneath the umbrella of theism we find all 4,300 of the world’s religions, cults and sects.

Most of these (but by no means all) are monotheists who claim that theirs is the one true god, that they have the one true supernatural book and most importantly, theirs is the one true church which somehow always seems to need more tax-free money.

Alignments

On the other extreme you have ‘Atheism’ – a belief there is no god and that religious books are nothing but mythology. Underneath the umbrella of atheism, we find thousands of different views including non-religious, non-believers and agnostics. They are all usually linked by their disdain for religious dogma, institutions and absurdities.

In the centre, you have ‘Naturalism’ which is often called the scientific religion of nature. This is a belief in an intelligent universe based on logic rather than doctrine. Underneath the wide umbrella of ‘Naturalism’ we find many different varieties such as pantheism (that god is the universe, they are the same thing), panpsychism (that everything including the universe has a mind) and ‘Panetheism’ (god is greater than the universe).

As we can see it can all get very confusing very quickly. However, the point here is that it’s wise to study multiple points of view to form a balanced worldview rather then limit your thinking to any one closed minded local creed.

Regardless of your stance on such matters there is no escaping the importance of the universe to the world’s religions and sciences – it’s omnipresent. The definition of the universe is ‘all that is.’ Therefore everything physical and nonphysical is part of universe.

The Future of Religion: God, Space, Time

Some religious zealots argue that their God is beyond space and time. However this is both an irrelevant and ignorant argument in the future of religion. Quantum entanglement, which Einstein famously called ‘spooky action at a distance,’ is a proven phenomenon that is clearly beyond space and time. Yet it’s still part of nature. The opposite of nature is impossible.

Broadly speaking, religion is concerned with the ‘metaphysical’ (non-physical) while science is concerned with the ‘physical.’ And if they both had their way never the twain shall meet. Modern sciences are broadly very critical of metaphysical studies.

However, it must be remembered that by definition modern empirical science is based on measurements using the 5 senses (sight, smell, sound, touch and taste). Yet the metaphysical mind is beyond all five senses. Someone can be deprived of one or all of the senses, and yet still think proving that the metaphysical is on a level beyond our current empirical sciences.

As the handbrake of academic dogma is slowly being released, the study of the metaphysical will yield extraordinary breakthroughs that will inspire humanity. Nikola Tesla was a genius whose technology has transformed our modern world. He famously said that, “the day science begins to study non-physical phenomena (metaphysics), it will make more progress in one decade than in all the previous centuries of its existence.

Sadly that day has yet to come. Modern religion has lost its mind while science has lost its soul. Yet the two are inseparable and both are necessary.”

Einstein and God

Einstein famously said, “science without religion is lame, religion without science is blind.” Einstein also said, “God is a mystery. But a comprehensible mystery. I have nothing but awe when I observe the laws of nature.”

Einstein, like so many of the world’s brightest minds, sought to understand nature’s universal eternal laws. They considered this the ultimate form of worship. The more we study the universe at all scales and uncover its eternal principles the more we develop a deep reverence for the wisdom of nature and our place in the great cosmic theatre.

At all scales of existence, from the quantum to the cosmic, the same universal laws of nature apply. Marcus Aurelius once said that to understand something we must understand its nature. The nature of nature itself is transformation – the relentless recycling and evolution of nature’s technology – from the tiniest atom to the cell to the mind.

We tend to have a very narrow self-centred view of technology limiting it to just a few manmade items. However in reality, all of nature is technology. The atom is an awesome piece of technology. As is the solar system, the acorn and the planet.

The Cell

Take for example the cell – the very building block of all life. Put all the scientists in the modern world into a room and they couldn’t run the millions of incredibly complicated processes inside a single cell, let alone create one. Yet single cell lifeforms have been on earth for billions of years.

This proves that the humble cell possesses a level of technology and intelligence billions of years ahead of our modern sciences. So sophisticated and effortless is nature’s technology that our modern sciences don’t even recognise it as technology. Instead, it labels it a ‘self-organising system.’ They have obviously never tried to organise anything!

Our species is very much like an infant inside a huge library – the infant may be aware there are books. But it has a lot of growing up to do before it can actually read and understand them. Similarly, humanity has a lot of maturing to do before it can read the book of nature and understand its place in the great cosmic arena. There is a deep yearning in the modern world to restore balance and harmony with nature.

Religion in the Future and Over Time

Religions and sciences rise and fall yet nature remains timeless. Long after our confident modern religions and scientific theories have run their course in the future of religion, nature’s universal principles will still remain written in the pure language of the universe – mathematics. The ‘scientific religions’ of the future have yet to emerge. And when they do, they will focus on nature, just like their ancestors.

They will be based on the one thing that man cannot corrupt – nature’s eternal mathematical laws – as our everadvancing civilisation seeks to restore harmony with nature. A keystone species is defined as a species which has a disproportionate effect on its environment. Humans are the ultimate keystone species – so profound has humanity’s effect been on the planet that we have literally lit up the earth.

View a nighttime picture of the earth from space and you will observe it is alight with human technology. The destiny of our species is to light up the universe by developing ever more advanced technology, just as the wisdom of nature intended.

The Future of Religion

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