The Birth of Religion - Part 17
By Seeker
In the West, and in most formal religions today, we have a congregation being ministered to by some form of oversight. Usually, there are levels of ‘spirituality’ where the average person isn’t really ‘qualified’ or ‘knowledgeable’ or ‘holy’ enough to commune with the Deity. An intercessor is needed; someone with the spirit, the training, or the holiness to be able to intercede for the congregation and bring wisdom or light or interpretation to the masses who can’t achieve this for themselves.
Yet, without exception that I know of, ALL the religions got their beginnings with someone who had a vision, an experience or an enlightenment that brought them to a new state of being. They have then tried to bring the message to all that salvation, growth, enlightenment or whatever are available to all and are a personal experience between an individual and his/her Creator (or the Divine)
Think of Christ. Over and over the Bible tells us he stressed the personal level of experience in being saved, of achieving ‘Salvation.’ He repeated the message so strongly it has been unable to be eradicated from the scriptures, yet right from the start, the Pauline Church placed an intermediary between the people and their God.
The message was corrupted almost as soon as it was issued; thence followed the centuries of persecution and killing to ensure the people never found out they held their own salvation and didn’t need an ‘authority’ to guide or tell them what to do.
Over and again, the mystics, sages, prophets and messiahs have told us that our immortality is our own responsibility and that we need to lead our lives in a way to develop the immortal beingness that is the true ‘us.’
And let’s face it – listening to the pastors, bishops, priests, ayatollahs and popes doesn’t seem to have led us very far up the path of enlightenment.
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