Daily Meditation: Thursday, June 17, 2004

Religion - a form which must evolve

06/17/2004

A religion is only a form through which the spirit manifests, and no form is permanent. Christianity, which was born in the Middle East, received at its inception certain elements from the Greek and Latin cultures. These were added to elements inherited from the Jewish religion, which itself had been influenced by the religions of neighbouring countries such as Egypt and Mesopotamia. A religion is never born from nothing; it takes on elements from previous religions and is itself transformed as it spreads far from its place of origin. The peoples of Africa, America and Asia who have been converted to Christianity, for example, have added elements to it from their own cultures. Whether we like it or not, religions change. Even if the same sacred texts are still used, an ever-widening chasm exists between what people read and how they think and behave. Evolution is the law of life, which is why desperate attempts to perpetuate the forms of a religion are unreasonable.