In the Beginning
"Science without
religion is lame; religion without science is blind." -- Albert Einstein
Recent
evidence appears to reveal that the earliest beginnings of civilization were
stimulated by religion. This is based on the archeological discovery of a 12
thousand year old temple that was erected for burial rites1,2. This
occurred during the hunter-gatherer period of human history. Its construction
required social organization and local agriculture. This led to the creation of
cities and the beginning of civilized society. From this beginning, we see the
intimate relationship between civilization and religion, for better or worse,
through the history of the ancient nations of Babylonia, Egypt, Israel, Greece
and Rome. And, this relationship continues until today. In its essence religion
evolved from three essential issues: death, social cohesion and humanity's
place in creation.
Death
rituals raise the question of the value, meaning and purpose of an individual's
life. Morals, ethics and justice address the individual's role within a
connected community. Questions of humanity's place in creation have given birth
to science.
Religion
gave birth to science? In our age, when religion and science appear to be in
opposition to each other, how can this be? The need for fixed and dependable
agriculture became essential for the evolution of cities. This required the
ability to predict the cycles of the seasons. People soon discovered the
correlation between the seasons and the cycles of the sun, moon and
constellations. In studying these heavenly bodies, they came to realize that
their very existence depended on mysterious forces. These forces were far
removed from them and, humanity had no control over them.
The
response to these mysteries was both science and religion. Science sought to
understand the processes involved in these mysteries. Religion sought to
understand the effects of these mysteries on the human condition. The two were
complementary paths to the same objective. Then, came the great breach, and
they became contending paths.
Despite
the contention, the reality is that science and religion are complementary. The
revelation of the mystery of our true place in creation depends on a balanced
approach to both. This begins when we recognize that there is no separation
between the material and the spiritual. They are an overlapping continuum. Each
affects the other.
There
is a parable that illustrates this. There was once a cruel king that that built
an extremely complex maze below his castle window. Whenever a criminal was
brought to him for sentencing, he would send him into the maze with the promise
that if he came out the other end he would be rewarded with great wealth. None
ever survived to collect the reward. Until a tall blind man and a lame
man were brought before him. The king thought it would be very amusing to send
both of them into the maze together. The king watched with great amusement as the
two helplessly stumbled and staggered. Then the two came together. The lame man
climbed on the shoulders of the blind man. Being able to see over the hedges,
the lame man was easily able to guide the blind man to the exit of the maze and
a shared reward.
To
demonstrate the validity of this approach, it is necessary to connect the
realities of life in the here and now with the "spiritual realities"
of religion. The challenge is made more complex when we realize that our
scientific knowledge today is only a small fraction of the total knowledge
required to understand the material creation. Similarly, Maimonides teaches
that the perfection of humanity is in the acquisition of knowledge of God. This
implies that we are far from complete knowledge of God and God's governance.
The
sages tell us that we are not required to complete the task, but neither are we
permitted to refrain from it. This is the purpose and mission of the Secular
Kabbalist.
Footnotes:
2) http://www.smithsonianmag.com/history-archaeology/gobekli-tepe.html
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content copyright © Secular Kabbalist
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