I didn't set out today to write a four-part series, but I go where the words take me. ;-) Anyhow, I last wrote about the precepts of the predominant religion seamlessly becoming the ethos of a society. This, of course, begs the question: How does this occur? While religious adherents will tell you it's the work of the favored deity, I submit that the answer can easily be found in this earthly realm.
Plainly put, follow the money.
Throughout history organized religion has been one of the great hoarders of money and wealth. From the days of antiquity all the way up through today, religious authorities exact blood money and property from their followers. To be certain, many people give it willingly, but that's because they've been brainwashed to believe that it will better their position with the authorities and/or the deity. So, they hand over their hard earned money in droves.
And what do these fine and upstanding religious institutions do with this largess? Again, looking at history, the answer ain't pretty. They build ornate palaces of worship while many of their flock starve to death. They fund wars against infidels. They force people off their land. They enslave other human beings. They pay off and/or finance political leaders. And, more than anything else, they stockpile it.
Why would a religious body stockpile wealth? Because wealth begets power and the people in power get to make the rules! This fact is true whether we're discussing a dictatorship OR a democracy. The most powerful people in a given society -- those who hold the greatest wealth -- get to call the shots.
The people with the greatest wealth in the US are Christian and so Christian values permeate our ethos. In Iran or Saudi Arabia, the people who control the most wealth are Muslims and so Muslim values permeate their ethos. In time, the common people in both geographic areas come to believe that the values of their society are most preferred by the all mighty.
You see, because the oligarchy controls both formal and informal socialization within a given society, their citizens don't realize the amount of brainwashing going on. That's because such brainwashing is insidious and incremental. It simply becomes the way people look at the world.
When you combine this unholy fusion with the ethos of only one right way, you create a society of blind followers who each believe that the church or religion he/she follows is THE divine one. You create a society in which people naturally see separation, not inclusion. You also create a society bent toward competition and one that tries to annihilate -- physically, economically, civilly, emotionally and spiritually -- anyone who does not view truth as your religious brand does.
What you end up with is the kind of world we live in today -- one that is beset with a host of problems created by and for religion.
Plainly put, follow the money.
Throughout history organized religion has been one of the great hoarders of money and wealth. From the days of antiquity all the way up through today, religious authorities exact blood money and property from their followers. To be certain, many people give it willingly, but that's because they've been brainwashed to believe that it will better their position with the authorities and/or the deity. So, they hand over their hard earned money in droves.
And what do these fine and upstanding religious institutions do with this largess? Again, looking at history, the answer ain't pretty. They build ornate palaces of worship while many of their flock starve to death. They fund wars against infidels. They force people off their land. They enslave other human beings. They pay off and/or finance political leaders. And, more than anything else, they stockpile it.
Why would a religious body stockpile wealth? Because wealth begets power and the people in power get to make the rules! This fact is true whether we're discussing a dictatorship OR a democracy. The most powerful people in a given society -- those who hold the greatest wealth -- get to call the shots.
The people with the greatest wealth in the US are Christian and so Christian values permeate our ethos. In Iran or Saudi Arabia, the people who control the most wealth are Muslims and so Muslim values permeate their ethos. In time, the common people in both geographic areas come to believe that the values of their society are most preferred by the all mighty.
You see, because the oligarchy controls both formal and informal socialization within a given society, their citizens don't realize the amount of brainwashing going on. That's because such brainwashing is insidious and incremental. It simply becomes the way people look at the world.
When you combine this unholy fusion with the ethos of only one right way, you create a society of blind followers who each believe that the church or religion he/she follows is THE divine one. You create a society in which people naturally see separation, not inclusion. You also create a society bent toward competition and one that tries to annihilate -- physically, economically, civilly, emotionally and spiritually -- anyone who does not view truth as your religious brand does.
What you end up with is the kind of world we live in today -- one that is beset with a host of problems created by and for religion.
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