Hmm... Looks like I've got the hang of it now. I have resolved not to leave those wide open chasms between my blog post periods.
The reason for this particular post is that today, much against my wishes, I was sucked into a rather lively argument on the case of the "Holy Books". Normally I am the kind of person who does not give a damn about any of the "religions" that the people in this universe, or any other universes follow. But I did feel strongly that I had to contribute my share to the meaningless trash that passes today for discussion on "religion".
Well, the discussion was about the role of the "Holy Books" that the different religions and cultures follow. As you might have expected, any discussion about anything on religion is a livewire topic, and rightfully so, the atmosphere became really heated. People had a wide range of opinions on the "Holy Books", right from the ones who said that we should follow what it says, then only our lives would be meaningful, to the ones who were of the view that , especially in this time and place, the "Holy Books" are of little consequence. Then there were the people who leaned toward their "Book" of choice. All in all, I had a different opinion as to the relevance of the "Books" in daily life.
I personally feel that the Holy Books, of whatever faith it may be, hold a good deal of value, especially in this day and age. All the Books advocate healthy living, adherence to holding good values and morality, and living a full, satisfying life. That being said, I must say that, for all the value and power that the "Books" hold, they are only that. They are books, that is all they are. And what should we do with books ? We read them, try to understand what is written, and in some cases, relevantly apply what was explained. That is all there is to them. Nothing more, nothing less.
For all the regard/importance/power/fear that people hold them in,
THEY ARE NOT THE WORDS OF GOD.
Everything that was ever written in every one of those books, was not written or passed down by GOD. Whatever was written, was written by the HANDS OF MAN. Men wrote them, and they wrote what they believed in. Man alone wrote them, and Man alone is responsible for the consequences arising as a result of actions carried out on that information. They are not "RULES" that we should strictly follow, rather they are a set of guidelines that we should relevantly apply to lead a life that holds meaning.
Relating to the Heading of this post, do you think that the "Holy Books" should be Banned ? Given that the vast majority of the world's populace does not have the capacity to correctly decipher their meaning, given that the general populace blindly follow their supposedly "Religious Leaders", and given the fact that, throughout the history of mankind, religion has done more harm than any sort of good, do you think that the "Holy Books" of all faiths should be subject to a universal ban. I know it is not possible, and I am not sure whether it is wholly advisable, but still, what do you think ?
yours truly,
Ar'Nath
4 comments
stuffs said in ur post was good and reflect ur thoughts very well. i go by that thoughts but there is no need of banning them instead everyone can treat them merely as a book and read it and sink in them and realise what is said in them.
nice post dude.
hmmm...
i guess that you missed a point. religion began as a security blanket to protect against things taht people never understood. there in lies the start of the religious books. when one thinks about it, over the years people were supposed to get enlightened about what it really meant. that has not happened. on tthe contrary, they haev become more dependent on thigns that abstract. in this day and age, when people talk abouit science and capacities of the human mind, the concept of god has been able to maintain it relevance.
coming to the books, they were meant to to tell epople how to live life in another age and another time. if you ask me they seem to be losing relevance this side of the millenium. the reason is they talk about life 5 millenia ago.
the simplest solution would be to ban them and let people fend for themselves. let darwin rule - survical of the fittest.
but the amount of dependance that they have on those books is too high. that means that a ban will result in chaos.
the logical option is to enlighten them abotu the relevance this age. but if they have not learnt in 5 millenia, i guess they will never ever learn.
the only option is lve ur life and forget what others do.
"What should we do with books? We read them, try to understand what is written, and in some cases, relevantly apply what was explained. When that is the case, what's wrong with having such "Holy Books" with us? Maybe the claim that they contain "The Words of God", is not true. But they contain enough values and guidelines equivalent to, if not more than any philosophical book these days. People don't go about banning all the books that give guidelines to mankind, do they?
In fact, most of the religious practises have a scientific reason behind them, if one bothers to notice them. Agreed that most people follow it blindly without looking for a reason. But if it does them good, why not? I do not understand this statement of yours - religion has done more harm than any sort of good. Maybe I haven't tried to look into the negative aspects.
Plus, not all mortals these days are properly oriented, as in, they don't have their own discretion. Most of them need some kind of discipline enforced on them; if religion and the books can guide them through life, why ban them? It does not sound rational, but most things these days are not.
That doesn't mean I agree and support fanaticism. It is just that people need to check their premises for themselves, and take guidelines that'd apply to them.
Look at this way, an overdose of a medicine can kill but that doesn't mean that the medicine can't cure and that it should be banned.
Religious books are meant to be interpreted the right way. Sometimes we will sometimes we won't but the struggle will always be to debate, reason and to get more people to see the truth. That is the quest of all things in life.
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