Thumotics and Religion, Part Two

Even though the cultural dominance of Christianity is waning, its influence can still be seen in the post-Christian Western religious landscape. For example, many New Age spiritualites operate with the same assumption that we humans are insufficient (unaware, in the dark, unenlightened) when it comes to knowing the truth about reality. Instead of prophets, messiahs, and teachers many New Agers depend on celebrity authors and teachers, some who channel information from supposedly ancient, wiser beings. 

The celebrities, teachers, and channelers function in the same way as prophets, Jesus, and his apostles and teachers. There is no way to verify what they say. We either believe them or we don't. If we believe them and do what they say, we will live in peace, love, and light. If we don't, we will live in pain, suffering and unawareness until we learn the lessons we need to learn in order to advance and ultimately escape the cycles of reincarnation. When we escape reincarnation we merge into ultimate being, like a drop of water merging into the ocean.

The two key features of this religious view have to do with us humans: insufficient in ourselves and necessarily dependent on others with special knowledge.

It is a faith-based view because it requires faith in unverifiable, revealed assertions.

As such it emphasizes our ear and sense of hearing over all of our other senses.

Thumotics and Religion, Part One

This is part one of series of posts that contrast Thumotics and religion in Western civilization.

In my view, at the heart of religion in Western civilization since the rise to dominance of Christianity, is an extremely low and devaluing view of human beings. The view assumes that we human beings are so deeply flawed (fallen, sinful, lost in the dark) that we are incapable of knowing and understanding the world and making decisions for ourselves about how best to live our lives. 

We must depend on Jewish prophets like Moses and Isaiah and most of all on the messiah and savior, Jesus of Nazareth, and his apostles and teachers to know the truth about the world and how best to live. They have special knowledge, revealed to them by God, written in books, that we must hear and believe in order to know the truth about the world and how best to live.

In this religious view, that remains dominant to this day, we humans are insufficient and must  depend on religious authorities and their divinely inspired writings to know the truth about the world and how to live. We must simply believe what they say because there is no way for us to verify the truthfulness of revealed knowledge. 

We either believe them or not. They promise that if we believe, we will live in peace, love, and light for all eternity after we die. If we do not, we will live in unimaginable pain and suffering in hell for all eternity.