so, do you think that it’s time to invent a new religion?
i mean, i know that sounds absurd and absurdly presumptuous.
but what do we know now that is different from what we
knew ages ago?
that the universe is gigantic?
that the universe is old?
that we are made up of matter that used to be other things?
that our actions are seemingly insignificant from a universal perspective?
that matter, at it’s most basic level, doesn’t do what
we think it would/should do?
i sound flippant.
but really, given what we know about the universe and about ourselves, isn’t it absurd to hold on to conventional ideas about our significance and identity and relevance and so on?
again, i sound flippant.
i don’t mean to.
but it’s hard to describe this in a journal(not blog)entry.
i actually think that the teachings of christ accomodate most of the new ways in which we perceive ourselves and our world.
the problem is that although the teachings of christ accomodate this, contemporary christianity does not.
here’s more seriousness dressed up as flippancy:
christ: acknowledging quantum realities.
christiantiy: depressingly newtonian.
does that make any sense?
well, to me it does.
and to some of you it might make sense, also.
i’m sorry that i’m being light and flippant.
i should just be straightforward.
we know things about our universe and about our world and about ourselves that make our previously held ideas about human significance utterly absurd. in order to move forward we need to accept that how we understand ourselves in the future has to be informed by what we know about ourselves from a quantum perspective.
and luckily, there’s not a christian(or new testament)perspective that compels us to hold on to much of tradition.
many christians might disagree, but i would ask them to cite scripture to support their dissent.
i know, ‘quantum perspective’ sounds nonsensical and nerdy.
but we need to move on(no political pun intended).
we all know better.
we’re all holding on to past conceptions of human endeavours and human significance, and they’re outdated and erroneous and anachronistic.
our human significance is both far greater and far smaller than anything than we’ve hitherto recognized.
that is the truth.
we are paradoxical little creatures.
we need a new way in which to look at ourselves and in which to understand our lives and our significance.
there, that’s all i have to say for now.
thanks for listening.
i guess i’ll write more later if anyone’s interested.
if not: uh, go, uh, team.
moby

hmm…questions about religion. hmmm.
my simple feelings regarding religion are that the world is a very old and complicated place, with the complexities and intricacies of the world being inherently outside of the realm of human understanding.
so i’m of the humble opinion that anyone who practices religion with compassion and humility is probably on the right track. and anyone who practices religion with anger and arrogance is probably making a mistake.
i love christ and the teachings of christ, but i’m not ever going to argue with anyone about which religion or system of beliefs is the ‘right’ one, cos, honestly, i have no clue. on a weird and personal level i love the teachings of and character of christ. but i don’t even really think of myself as a christian, for the moment that someone labels themselves a ‘christian’ or a ‘muslim’ or a ‘zoroastrian’ etc, then that person is implying that they’re right and everyone who disagrees with them is wrong. and i certainly don’t ever think that i’m right and anyone else is wrong. and regarding islam, i don’t know enough about it to have too strong of an opinion.
the more militant and violent aspects of islam would seem to have more to do with the human tendencies towards militancy and violence than with islam. it’s a sad fact that people use religion (all religions) in many perverted ways, to justify many perverse acts.

so i stand by what i said earlier, if in practicing religion someone is humble and compassionate and non-judgemental, then, from my humble perspective, great.

but if in practicing religion someone is arrogant, cruel and judgemental, then, from my humble perspective, a problem exists.

the cultural roots of all religions are particularly fascinating, especially regarding the way that religious thought and orthodoxy evolve hand in hand with the prevalent cultural factors in which the religion is born. and it’s odd when certain cultural trappings attach themselves to the practice of a religion, even when the circumstances that gave rise to those cultural trappings passed away a long time ago.
muslims and jews not eating pork and keeping kosher, for example. that made a lot of sense before refrigeration, but it does seem kind of arbitrary now (not from an ethical perspective, mind you, as i’m a vegan i oppose the eating of all animals and animal products, but that’s another (non-judgemental) issue altogether).

ok, this is probably convoluded and rambling, so in summation:
be humble and compassionate and don’t hurt people. there’s enough suffering in the world, we certainly don’t need extra suffering and acts of arrogance and cruelty committed in the name of god(s).
-moby