All religions work like a product. Let me just say: a salesman came to your door and would try to convince you to buy his product: a vacuum cleaner. They would use various methods of selling, such as showing you pictures of how dirty your carpet is deep inside, telling you how fast dirt can accumulate in the house, or telling you how many times you would need to use your normal vacuum cleaner to get rid of dirt. In basic, the salesman works to convince you that you need his product. It first creates a problem (a dirty carpet), and then it gives you the solution (a vacuum cleaner). Such is with religion. Christianity: “You are a sinner and are going to hell (problem), but accept Jesus and get salvation (solution).” “Religion – or the profession of a body of faith or beliefs organised into doctrines and manifested in a collection of norms and rites – intended to guide particular behaviours or interpretation of particular events – performed a vital function.”(Lang, J. P.1989.Dictionary of the liturgy. New York.Catholic Book Publishing Co.) In earlier epochs, religion as present among our ancestors as they performed elaborates and mythical rites in anticipation of, or gratitude for, things like victory, rain or a good harvest. It helped to make unexpected or strange phenomena intelligible at a time of raw and unsophisticated knowledge. (E.g. Belief system of a pantheon of gods, spirits, creatures, and men that guarded the streams, fields tress, mountains, forests and houses.) Religions came from the east, from the ancient world. Today, some of them are exported from the west(Pentecostalism, New Age). Missionary movements follow different routes, not west to east nor north to south. There are cases where Christianity spread originally by western missionary movements has become itself missionary, sometimes to western countries. Do we need religion?
Why do we need a religion or a belief ? What do we need? More care for children, more peace of mind for their parents, better guidance for people entering or reentering the job market, for business leaders, for government officials, and for retirees - indicates what humanity not only needs but in many instances is desperately seeking. Materialism is not it. People want to feel secure.
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