Do we have the power?

I saw an extremely interesting video in Film Theory that I have put a link to below. It discusses existentialism; a theory that I subscribe to. I believe the points raised in the video would make for a very interesting class discussion.

Religious Neurosis?

"The general idea of Christ the redeemer belongs to the world wide and pre-Christ theme of the hero and rescuer who, although he has been devoured by a monster, appears again in a miraculous way, having overcome whatever monster it was that swallowed him. When and where such a motif originated nobody knows. We do not even know how to go about investigating the problem. The one apparent certainty is that every generation seems to have known it as a tradition handed down from some preceding time. Thus we can safely assume that it originated at a period when man did not yet know that he possessed a hero myth; in an age, that is to say, when he did not yet consciously reflect on what he was saying. The hero figure is an archetype, which has existed in time immemorial." This idea has been presented by Carl Jung in his book Man and His Symbols.

In contemporary times, this idea explains the nature of why humans create religions. Jung proposes that ideas of Gods and "God-men" are inherent in the human unconscious. We do not create the ideas of Gods or mystical beings, rather our unconscious creates them for us in order to keep our minds stable, and avoid neurosis. It is a necessary part of human existence. Before we had the ability to intellectualize and conceive things on a conscious level, homage was paid to these unconscious figures purely out of instinct. In our current age of intellectual thought however, many people ignore their unconscious and their natural instincts.

In the times of ancient Egypt, people did not try to rationalize why they made sacrifices to their many gods, they just did because it helped them with their daily processes and relieved anxiety. They had ideas of the Hero, like Jesus, in the form of the Osiris-Horus myth, which is a direct parallel to the idea of Christ the Redeemer. The people who followed the Catholic Church for the many years during the dark ages never questioned their beliefs in the way we do now, but again, practiced rituals, like confession and prayer, to aid in their daily lives.

In the age of scientific thought, many of the unconscious elaborations of spirituality and the existence of archetypal themes are forgotten. This leads to neurotic thought, and instability of the human psyche.

The first five minutes of this clip from the film Zeitgeist elaborates on the many themes of religion that seem to reoccur throughout time and history. Check it out!

http://video.google.com/videoplay?docid=2740987755232169561

Religion and Politics

"We assumed this was no longer possible, that human beings had learned to separate religious questions from political ones, that fanaticism was dead. We were wrong"

GOD told George Bush to run for president, and our citizens were stupid enough to vote for him twice. He has put a halt to stem cell research due to his support from the religious right. He has put halts on abortion as well. How is it fair for our government to decide what our morals should be?

Meanwhile, Jesus camps are teaching our children at a young age some pretty scary things. They actually have children idolizing a cardboard cutout of George Bush. Our first amendment is clearly not followed by our political rulers. When will Church and State truly be separate?

Jesus Camp Video:

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=309MCU8TonE&feature=related


Lilla, Mark. The Stillborn God: Religion, Politics, and the Modern West. New York: Vintage Books, 2008.

Informal Introduction

Hello, my name is Nick Wright. I am not exactly sure of my religious beliefs. They are always changing. I was not a churchgoer at youth and was never interesting in sitting down for extended periods of times. However, my buddies introduced me to a Christian "youth group". It was some of the best times of my life. We would eat pizza, play games as a group, and talk together about stories of the bible and of moral values.

One day at youth group, the leader told me how to alleviate my sins. He said all that I had to do was accept Jesus as my savior. I did. I was happy.

Then I started to hear about the corrupt things certain religious people were doing. Two examples on the top of my list were the Catholic priest molestation ordeal and the rising prejudice I saw between religious groups after 9/11. This scared me. I lost faith in organized religion. I was atheist.

After this I started to think atheism was too cynical and a grim way to live life. My friend gave me a wonderful book called the Tao of Pooh, and I read it. I loved it and became a Taoist, which is basically like a more chill version of a Buddhist. I got bored of that too eventually. I didn't really no what I thought. So, I became Agnostic.

Over time, though, I got sick of not knowing, or knowing, or wondering, or worrying about my religious beliefs. I consider this apathy to be realism, so that must make me a Realist. That is what I consider myself now. I don't care about where I came from or where I'm going. I'm happy to have this chance to live. But of course, I am taking the Sacred and the Secular, so I must reevaluate yet again...