Is practice more important than truth in religion?

[sandandfoam]

I think so.
Setting aside for a moment my objections to the concept of objective truth.
If for arguments sake I did arrive at a religious truth what would I do next? Please God I will be alive for another 40 or 50 years. What to do with them if I held the truth might be a very big problem.
Practice on the other hand is well suited to my mind. Especially so since I don't believe in perfection.

 

[Onkara]

I like this, Stephen.
Yes, I would say practice is as important as the goal. In fact the Quran places emphasis on our actions. The Bhagavad Gita also explains actions in depth, highlighting the need for yoga practice. Buddhism and Sikhism are practice orientated, from my point of view, and so on.

One fact that has stuck with me is that even Self-realised/God graced masters continued to practice and carry out 'rituals' (Puja, mediation, chanting, daily prayers etc). The question as to why did they just not stop on reaching their goal, has been an interesting question to tackle in itself.

 

[LuisDantas]

I guess I agree.

 

[Revoltingest]

Practice is the only thing.

 

[Jacksnyte]

I think so.
Setting aside for a moment my objections to the concept of objective truth.
If for arguments sake I did arrive at a religious truth what would I do next? Please God I will be alive for another 40 or 50 years. What to do with them if I held the truth might be a very big problem.
Practice on the other hand is well suited to my mind. Especially so since I don't believe in perfection.

My approach is: Whether or not the gods or spirits or powers or principalities actually exist is irrellevent. By performing certain actions, you attain certain results. It doesn't matter whether you believe the effects of these actions to be psychological or spiritual or both, the actions produce the desired results. So I would definitely say that, ultimately, IMHO, the practice is far more important than truth, as it is the vehicle which takes you there!

 

[Gaura Priya]

As Baha'u'llah has said:

"O MY SERVANT!

The basest of men are they that yield no fruit on earth. Such men are verily counted as among the dead, nay better are the dead in the sight of God than those idle and worthless souls."

-- Hidden Word II:81

 

[Mister Emu]

If for arguments sake I did arrive at a religious truth what would I do next? Please God I will be alive for another 40 or 50 years. What to do with them if I held the truth might be a very big problem.

Live that truth...

 

[Caladan]

As they say.. practice makes perfection. truth? right or wrong? these are questions for theologians.

 

[SilverSoul]

I would say that there's more than one kind of practice. You seem to mean worship and ritual, but as Mister Emu suggests, the way you live your life is also a way to practice your religion. I would say that this practice is driven by spiritual truths, and not isolated from them.

People are seeking answers to unasked questions from religion. We want to know the hows and whys of the universe, and of ourselves. At first, we pray and worship to open ourselves to something beyond ourselves, hoping to gain truths. When you learn something about yourself or the universe, you feel gratified. What you seem to asking is: What then? Which is more important: gaining that truth, or continuing to pray?

It sounds like you're saying we can never know everything, and I certainly agree with that. But I think it's also important to learn those truths, and then take them out into the world and act on them. Not necessarily proselytizing, but just being. I see the two as feeding into each other, instead of having to choose between them. Religion is about truth, but also about practicing that truth, and then learning new truths.

My two cents,
SilverSoul

 

[Kilgore Trout]

Without practice reinforcing the perception of religious truths, they would lose much of their weight.