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Bill Bruehl

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Consider this: the revelations of science and scholarship especially in the 20th century are a GIFT to religion as well as a challenge.

The supernatural foundations of religion that have sustained it since time immemorial have been undermined by the revelations of science showing humanity for the first time the workings of the cosmos and nature. In addition, scholarship has revealed much about the early workings of the Patriarchal religions that have not been realized until our time. If religions can let go of LITERAL beliefs in the impossible and see their narratives in metaphorical terms, our crumbling and panicking religions will undergo a transformation in the 21st century. Jill Taylor's experience validates this idea.

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Topics: philosophy
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  • Bill Bruehl

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    Jun 20 2011: Joe, I understand. In other words, you are coppering your bets on the possibility of your consciousness existing somewhere for an eternity. Ask yourself if you've been conditioned to believe in something that has never been tested, never been proved; indeed, something for which there is no testable and repeatable evidence, something that simply does not exist except in the wishful thinking of human beings, something that is always taken advantage of by religious and political leaders for their own purposes.

    It is a fascinating subject. We are capable of literally believing in things like a father God, life after death, resurrection of the body, the Assumption of Mary into a heaven somewhere beyond the cosmos. Isn't all that just as mad as the most outrageous science fiction when it all makes so much good sense as metaphor? Isn't it like believing dogs and cats literally fall out of the sky on rainy days?

    We need religion but not for supernatural reasons. We need it for the reason Jesus gave us: to love one another, to support one another and come together in loving communities. That is what churches were originally designed to do. To believe literally in all the magical thinking is merely a human way of controlling populations by threatening impossible hell beneath our feet or impossible heaven beyond the cosmos. Hierarchies use those fantasies for: controlling us. We don't need any of that, Joe. Heaven is right here within each of us.
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      Joe Delsen 20+

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      Jun 20 2011: I agree with you Bill, I'm probably been conditioned to believe in something that has never been scientifically tested. Indeed I think that supernatural discussions are usually beyond its practical usefulness. I apologize for for my seeming to have implied a different meaning to your question. We do have the power to bring 'heaven' here on earth.
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    Joe Delsen 20+

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    Jun 16 2011: Hi there Bill, the supernatural foundation of religions are more relevant in enhancing the right hemisphere of our brains. These are our scientifically undefined power to love, hope and trust and be happy. I think most of our debates about supernatural matters is not important in forging our mutual interest to right our planet (http://bit.ly/PowerCommon).

    I think we have this natural desire to control everything in our lives and until the day that science alone can control everything, I'll take refuge to the yet undefined supernatural powers to take care of everything else or we're just helpless tiny humans simply erased from existence, wrecked or invaded by a powerful interstellar aliens or object one day.
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