Religion as Human Expression (ritual, Creator, myth, experience, dogma)

[angellous_evangellous]

Here's something that I have been thinking about, and can be interpreted as a development of my approach to religion as "whatever makes one feel warm and fuzzy."

I have been thinking for a while now that religion is a universal form of human expression, much like art and music. Religious myth-makers and interpreters have been at it since the dawn of humanity, sculpting and painting beautiful peices of theological art, which is the expression of the human spirit. There is just something more to a person who is endowed with a special talent for art and music, and I think that a similar quality is found in poets and myth-makers.

Some groups have paintings and art interpretations, and say that there really is no other "true" art. Their art is from the only artist! Of course we know that there are many artists, and many wonderful types of art. Or, some will defend their musician with dogmatic ferver. They only listen to one type of music, nevermind that the 12 note scale is far more sophisticated than the 5 note scale. Some will read only one type of poetry, ignoring Shakespeare or Keats.

Just a thought.

[Buttons*]

Well since i view Gods as personified thought, i agree with you 110%.....

[sandy whitelinger]

Originally Posted by Buttons*

Well since i view Gods as personified thought, i agree with you 110%.....

Could it be that Romans 1 is true when it says that all things created know their creator and this is the where the overwhelming desire to describe God comes from?

[angellous_evangellous]

Are non-Christians able to post on this thread as it's in the Christian forum? If not, will a MOD please move this thread to the appropriate place? I'd like anyone to be able to discuss this... thanks!

[d.]

i agree - different cultures have different religions. religion is very closely linked to art, language, culture and so on. i personally see religion as cultural expression.

[angellous_evangellous]

Originally Posted by divine

i personally see religion as cultural expression.

Yes!

In my post, I was focusing on the individual myth-maker as artist or musician. The human community that accepts a religion or religions makes it a "cultural expression." As a communal expression of culture, I think that religion is the oldest form of human government that only recently has been seperated from the state...

[sojourner]

Originally Posted by angellous_evangellous

Yes!

In my post, I was focusing on the individual myth-maker as artist or musician. The human community that accepts a religion or religions makes it a "cultural expression." As a communal expression of culture, I think that religion is the oldest form of human government that only recently has been seperated from the state...

This is a really interesting idea, and one I've been mulling over for years. It's one of the reasons why I'm a universalist (little "u"). All religions seek to provide meaning for humanity on a roughly spiritual basis. All religions agree that there is something out there better, or greater, or deeper, than what we experience here and now. Whatever that is. Maybe that's the only thing we can all agree on.

I also agree that religion is heavily invested in the culture.

I, too, would be interested in the voices of other religions in this topic. Thanks, AE!

[angellous_evangellous]

Originally Posted by sojourner

This is a really interesting idea, and one I've been mulling over for years. It's one of the reasons why I'm a universalist (little "u"). All religions seek to provide meaning for humanity on a roughly spiritual basis. All religions agree that there is something out there better, or greater, or deeper, than what we experience here and now. Whatever that is. Maybe that's the only thing we can all agree on.

I also agree that religion is heavily invested in the culture.

I, too, would be interested in the voices of other religions in this topic. Thanks, AE!

I am a Christian, and I have been meditating long and hard over a simple question, "Where does God's grace end?" Eternal damnation for belief or non-belief in the supernatural seems like condemning someone for their taste in art or music, and that does not appear becoming of the descriptors that Christians use for God. If God really is just, beautiful, and loving, how can we justify God sending more people to "hell" than to "heaven" with little to no regard for how they live their lives? Sadly, such reasoning is why religion (belief followed by ritual) has replaced ethics in Christianity.

[sojourner]

Originally Posted by angellous_evangellous

I am a Christian, and I have been meditating long and hard over a simple question, "Where does God's grace end?" Eternal damnation for belief or non-belief in the supernatural seems like condemning someone for their taste in art or music, and that does not appear becoming of the descriptors that Christians use for God. If God really is just, beautiful, and loving, how can we justify God sending more people to "hell" than to "heaven" with little to no regard for how they live their lives? Sadly, such reasoning is why religion (belief followed by ritual) has replaced ethics in Christianity.

Your last sentence here really caught my attention. Right now I'm taking a course in the history and polity of the Stone-Campbell movement. The disconnect in the two earliest splits in that movement (the Disciples of Christ and the Churches of Christ) represent exactly the disconnect you talk about here. Your statement is very "Stoneite" in nature, whose guiding principle was built on the love of God. This is one of the reasons why I tend to be more universalist.

[michel]

Originally Posted by angellous_evangellous

Are non-Christians able to post on this thread as it's in the Christian forum? If not, will a MOD please move this thread to the appropriate place? I'd like anyone to be able to discuss this... thanks!

Sorry it took so long; it didn't work yesterday.