2015-02-25-Evolutionary Religion

Session

Lesson

Prolotheos: “Religion, defined in terms of evolution, came into existence together with the primates’ attainment of personality will. Will came to human beings concomitantly with the function of the last two Adjutant Mind Spirits, wisdom and worship. And being the last, they opened way for the appearance of religion in human life. Religion is the capacity to believe in the transcendental, even if the object of this belief is not accurate. Exercising this new faculty, which may be called faith, makes man a religious being. Today we are going to study the manifestation of religion in human life. Here are its major aspects:

“Institutional Religion: Here, religion becomes an organization, reaching social and political arenas. It not only regulates religion, but also social life and politics, becoming even a state religion, as was the Imperial Roman religion and its successor, the Roman Catholic Church of today — the Vatican State. Religion, then, is a means to control and it has little to do with real faith and devotion. It occupies itself with creeds, written confessions, dogmas, encyclicals, and more. Institutional religion is a scaffolding necessity in human development, but the day will come when ‘you won’t worship God neither in Jerusalem nor Gerasim, but in Spirit and Truth.’

“Ceremonial Religion: Ritual in religion serves to compensate for lack of spirituality, to uniform and control people — usually by a priestly hierarchy. Evolutionary religion inherited its rituals from the ghost cults. The living feared the dead, molding their lifestyle by copying their lives and ritualizing them. Ceremonial religion tends to become meaningless when the ritual is performed for its own sake, without spiritual power. Ceremonial religion sometimes becomes a misguided religious duty the religionist believes to be owing to Deity as an offering, usually in trying not incur its wrath. Little or no spirituality can be manifested through stylized religious rituals.

“Personal Religion. Worship is the highest form of personal religion, but petitions, gratitude, intercessory prayers also can express real spirituality, if they are not mere repetitions. Personal religion is by nature an enlightening religion; it promotes spiritual growth and spiritual sensitivity. However, personal religion can also become meaningless when the individual ‘overloads’ it with mysticism, fantasizing or fanatizing the faith, sometimes to the degree of delusion, paranoia. Religion then becomes a personal drug. Personal and authentic religion is what really counts in acquiring a spiritual status before God. Personal devotion is the only religion that the Spirit Within fosters in the human mind.

Closing

“So, my pupil, religion is so relevant to human beings that it requires the exercise of all human faculties — especially worship. Certainly it is the most important dimension in human beings because on it depends their eternal survival. Exercising religion with devotion, actual faith, but balancing it with all other fields of life prevents a life sterile of spirituality or a spirituality exacerbated by fanaticism. Religion is not a divinely manipulated function; rather, it is sponsored by the Spirit Within with revelations for man’s spiritual growth. I am Prolotheos, your Teacher on the morontia spheres of Nebadon. Peace be with all.”

Translations

Spanish