The industrialization of state level society has furthered the religious progress that developed along state level society. Anthropologically speaking we can see a correlation between the level of a society and its religion. State level societies necessitate state level religions.
These are the religions of which are most ‘prone’ to indoctrination and dissemination. It is a part of the level of religion correlated to the level of the state that followers hold a sense of spreading their particular brand of the ‘word.’
What is troubling about this is that the very religions that are conducive to spreading ‘revealed’ knowledge are the ones least conducive to actual revelations. State level religions are by far the least personal of all religions. If we look across the globe at the ‘world’ religions we find each preaching a sense of infinitesimal importance. One is taught what to believe and not to believe, all the while learning to shut out the very mystical forces that perhaps allowed the initial dissemination of the religion from god. In an essence these ‘world’ religions are simply a hierarchy, a mirror of a state.
Where as the lesser religions which are far more individual than anything else are fully conducive to personal feelings, revelations, and faith. These I would like to label the mystical religions. Not necessarily because individuals take part in mysticism. But, in that each individual is in possible direct contact with the ‘god head.’ These ‘lesser’ religions are non hierarchical.
The oddity of most importance here is in relation to sharing ones knowledge with others. I suspect that it is part of human nature to want to share what makes us happy with those we care for. It is therefore understandable that so many would be so excited to tell so many others about their ‘god.’ The issue at hand is that more often then not the ‘other’ has no interest in your god, but perhaps has the same idea of sharing her/his god with you.
In interest of stopping such propagation of religious knowledge it would be most beneficial for ‘lesser’ religions to be propagating themselves rather then ‘world’ religions. As the followers of world religions more often then not are taking advice from another, one who is respected under the precept that it is their daily toil to study the religion. This does not make one an expert.
In matters of faith, faith is emotion it is not reason. Emotion is something felt, it cannot be told. Things told are reasonable or not worth hearing. Such that we would expect non reasonable things told to be ignored. It is for this reason that so many non-world religions proposed to show you the ‘god head’ rather then tell you about it.
I’m having difficulty finding it, but there is a ‘myth’ about an Eskimo child talking to a missionary. In which the child asks what would happen to him if he did not ever hear about God. The missionary replies something to the effect that he would be reincarnated or sent to heaven (nothing bad at least). The Eskimo is then perplexed and asks ‘Then why tell me at all.’
The point being that if life is preparation for the afterlife, then ignorance cannot be punished by the ‘tri-omni’ god. One attractive aspect of Buddhism to me was that it warned against bringing up religion. In a way, clicking on my thread is to initiate a conversation of religion with me.
