The Source of Religion.

Religion is the most powerful force on earth. Despite the claims of many to the contrary, everyone on earth is religious. Religion is defined as the adherence to a set of beliefs that regulate the moral, social, and ritualistic behavior of the individual. The definition would include the so-called atheist, secularist, communist, socialist, humanist or agnostic, for they all adhere to a belief system of some kind, even if it is the belief that there is no providential component in creation or life as we know it, or a belief in the power of the human as the supreme measure of truth and right.

Virtually every majour problem in history and in our contemporary world can be traced to some religious foundation. Religion has motivated the massacre of millions over the years in such horrific events as the Crusades, the Inquisition, and wars related to the Protestant Reformation and the Catholic Counterreformation. Slavery, ethnic cleansing, apartheid, segregation, racial discrimination, and other oppressive practices all have been justified by some religious code or system.

Even this new millennium commenced with definitive acts of religious terrorism. The terrorist attacks of September 11, 2001 sent shock waves through the global nervous system of mankind and continues today to fuel the fires of conflict, hatred, fear, and murder throughout the world. How ironic it is that religion, the very thing that by its nature is supposed to provide the solution to mankind’s problems and provide hope and faith for life, has itself created more problems throughout history than it has solved.

Perhaps this is one reason so many millions have turned away from all forms of institutionalized religions and opted to embrace such philosophies as humanism, communism, and agnosticism. Some have simply given up and lost all hope in humanity. I myself have struggled long to come to grips with this dichotomy of human nature – our desire to worship and serve some deity that we claim to be benevolent and loving, while at the same time demonstrating a destructive zeal motivated by our “allegiance” to this same deity. Along the way I too lost faith in the concept of religion and in a real sense had to seek for something beyond and superior to these defective practices created by man.

Yet religion is a natural phenomenon that exists in some form in every human culture – and always has. Primitive and modern human societies alike manifest religious rituals that define their culture and communal life. This raises the natural question: What is the source of religion, and why is it such a natural, inherent characteristic of the human spirit?

Thirty-five years of research and personal exploration of this question have led me to the conclusion that religion is the result of an inherent hunger in the human spirit that man cannot define yet must seek to satisfy. This indefinable hunger, arising from a vacuum created by the loss of something man used to possess, drives him to pursue answers beyond his own realm. Generations of humans have attempted to satisfy this hunger through superstitions, sophisticated rituals, customs, and practices that often seem to defy human logic and reason. Most human religious activities attempt to deal with the questions of mankind’s existence and purpose as well as life after death and the unknown spiritual world. Many of these religions are attractive because they promise their adherents power to control the circumstances of their daily lives. Whether or not they can deliver on this promise is another matter.

The purpose of this book is to help you address these questions and to present to you a proposition that goes beyond religion straight to the heart of mankind’s greatest need and offers a solution to this universal human search. I am convinced that every person on earth ultimately is searching for two things in life: power and purpose. All of us look for meaning for our existence and the power to control our lives and our circumstances; power to determine the future and predict the unknown; power over death and life. We seek this purpose and power in many ways: religion, politics, money, fame, notoriety, recognition, influence. Our pursuit of purpose and power is the primary source and motivation for the development of religion.  

Excerpts from:

Understanding Your Place in God’s Kingdom.

Author: Dr. Myles Munroe  

Contact:

The Kingdom Life Ministries

Tel: +234 809 809 0197

Whatapps: +234 809 809 0197

E-mail: kingdomlifeminstries46@gmail.com