When a religious doctrine is born, the followers are normally asked to have blind faith in the teachings of the founders. This practice is hard to accept in an age where critical thinking is required on a daily basis. Today we are living in an age of ‘time disparity’: On one side humans have the capabilities of cloning species, travel to other planets and design robots with human intelligence. On the other side people believe in a world picture that was formed millenniums ago. It collides with today’s scientific knowledge “What is the world made of?” and “What holds it together?” Mankind is beyond atoms and Physicists working at particle accelerators—or “atom smashers”—have discovered numerous of so-called fundamental particles. Everything from Bosons-Forces such as Gravitons, Photons or Fermions-Matter like Electrons, Quarks may effect whatever happens in the universe. New thoughts in the realm of Quantum Physics and String Theories may explain further how this world and entire Universe functions.
Metaphysics can be described as the fundamental issues of our existence such as reality, being, time, space, god(s), soul, causation, values and truth. These parameters are the arch stones of human behavior. Probably, the most passionately discussed and troublesome question maybe the existence and role of a deity.
Why people believe and why they would believe in things that are not logical or true. Why would people believe in miracles, angels and sometimes in witches but not in Santa Claus? Some of the earliest forms for the answers to life’s most basic questions have been found in the form of stories that were told long and were passed on from generation to generation. This is the rational thought about morality, wisdom, religious issues and concerns without a presumption of the existence of a deity or reliance on acts of faith. Reason and Critical Thinking stands in the way of blind faith.
Based on Einstein’s theory it is clear that our physical bodies and our essential energy are one and the same. Similar to the situation when Galileo stated that the Earth is round and not flat. This knowledge collides with a bronze age belief system that is 5000 years old and humans behave at times like 6 year old who have the responsibility for a jumbo jet. The old picture of humans as divine creations made in the image of the creator is rather silly. It seems more the other way around; that is, humans created God in their image.
The problem here is that the world religions have not caught up with science and desperate attempts are made by religious groups to reconcile the old believe system (i.e. intelligent design) with scientific advances with some rather nutty and violent results. Many of these religious ideas are childish, violent or outrageously hateful.
Just check the site http://www.skepticsannotatedbible.com/ and compare today’s ethical standards of the followers of what I call the ‘flat earth religions’ with the sometimes absurd statements in their so called holy books.
The era what German historian and philosopher Karl Jasper called the Axial Age was time when incredible thinkers in different parts of the world such as China, India and the Mediterranean produced likeminded results without having little or no contact with each other. Pythagoras, philosopher and mathematician, was very much a man of the Axial Age of 6th century BC such thinkers as Zoroaster, Lao Tzu, Siddhartha Gotama a/k/a Buddha, Confucius were trying to make sense of the mysteries of the universe and the human role in this puzzle. Pythagoras saw the dualism of 1) the perfect and eternal on the one hand and 2) the changing and corruptible or destructible on the other. The cosmic order or heavens belonged to the realm of the perfect and eternal. The human soul was caught somewhere in between. It had the potential to go either way: toward perfection — or corruption and destruction.
The teachings of the Buddha can be looked at as a Thinking person’s religion and can be somewhat compared to the Western Empirical Philosophy, in that the mind needs to be evaluated by direct experience. There is no concept of sin and redemption. Instead, it is ignorance or plain stupidity that is looked upon as the hurdle to salvation. The individual must achieve the salvation or liberation called ‘Nibbana’ and there is nothing in the entire Universe that can help. Salvation comes when you yourselves know, that certain actions are good or bad. “This is unwholesome and bad or these things when accepted and practiced lead to harm and suffering, then you should give them up.”
One of the most anti-dogmatic statement is the Kālāma Sutta, or a validation of faith. The famous discourse to the Kālāmas is often quoted as the Buddha’s Charter for Freedom of Inquiry. It begins with the Kālāmas expressing their doubts about the doctrines they have heard from various teachers, who praise their own doctrines and disparage those of others, so it is hard to know who is speaking the truth. The Buddha advises them that it is wise to make a proper examination before accepting any religious teaching. There should be no threats of hell or promises of heaven attached to belief. If the religion encourages universal compassion and positive actions and states of mind then it is doing its job. If it causes hatred, fear, division and pride then it isn’t working and maybe we should try something else. There should be no attempt to suppress reason by dogma. Unlike most other religions, Buddhism isn’t so much about things to believe, as things to do. It is a technology of mind improvement. This is why Buddhists often refer to themselves as practitioners rather than believers. The Buddha told his students to trust their own experience of the effectiveness of the teachings, and not believe things just because he said so. It concludes by saying how a noble disciple abides free from covetousness, ill-will, and confusion, with a mind made that foster loving-kindness, compassion, sympathetic-joy, and equanimity. Thus he enjoys bliss here and now no matter what circumstances are arising. In the Kalama Sutta the reader is challenged and it questions religious teachings. Judge for yourself:
❀ Mā anussavena: Do not believe something just because it has been retold for many generations.
❀ Mā paramparāya: Do not believe something merely because it has become a traditional practice.
❀ Mā itikirāya: Do not believe something simply because it is well-known everywhere
❀ Mā takkahetu: Do not believe something solely on the grounds of logical reasoning
❀ Mā nayahetu: Do not believe something merely because it accords with your philosophy.
❀ Mā akaraparivitakkena: Do not believe something because it appeals to “common sense.”
❀ Mā ditthinijjhanakkhantiya: Do not believe something just because you like the idea.
❀ Mā bhabbarupataya: Do not believe something because the speaker seems trustworthy.
❀ Mā samano no garu ti: Do not believe something thinking, “This is what our teacher says.”