The Metaphysics of Religion

A good discussion of the metaphysics of religions. All religious philosophies are elementary science. I use the word elementary in its two distinct senses. Elementary (= rudimentary) means that the thinker had to speculate without much substantive ( = empirical) knowledge. The verifiability of of the empirical knowledge as also pointed out by Gill is the firm ground on which OBJECTIVE statements can be made. Secondly, elementary should be also understood as fundamental. What were these aspects? They are birth, death and purpose of life while it lasts in any given set of molecules (excuse the dependence on post- religious terminology).

We should not lose sight of what the originators of various religions wanted and more crucially how the users ( = politicians and rulers) of the various lands wanted. While the originators were trying to provide a frame work to fit the facts of life, namely, birth, death, and aim of life, the rulers wanted a catchy dogma which can be integrated with the social tyranny and economics to materially benefit the rulers and, only if possible, the supporters of the regimes.

Needless to say the religious philosophers like Christ and Mohammad did not have the wherewithal to develop a consistent, verifiable basis for universe. Hence they limited the definition of universe to which they could address. This meant just providing the social code for the human followers to utilize. This by no means should be understood to undervalue their contribution but by same token the religious philosophies can not achieve any thing more than guidance to living. It is pointless to try to derive any thing supra-human from them.

In conclusion, religious metaphysics can not be anything more than a rough imagery of persons who had a very limited storehouse of verifiable knowledge. It served dubiously as a skeleton for a selfish body of knowledge used by the exploiters of human masses. Its success is derived from the xenophobia that has always existed among the nationalities. It is imperative that the scientific knowledge should be used to provide a rational (vs unverifiable) principles to guide the behaviour of individuals as well as nations.

nae muhra baaqi naa muhra baazi
jeeta hai Rumi Hara hai Raazi

Dill hai Musalmaan mera na tera
Main bhi namazi tu bhi namazi

Tu zindagi hai paindgi hai
Baqi hai ju kuch sab khak baazi

=== Interact Filtered ===
view this users filtered interacts

Muggers in Karachi



I would like to draw the attention of the Sindh police boss to the increasing number of daylight robberies being committed in Karachi`s PIB Colony, particularly in the lane behind the Habib Bank building and on the main road leading from PIB Colony to the New Town police station.

Most pillion-riders snatch, at gunpoint, gold bangles from women or mobile phones and other valuable items. These robbers, mostly educated boys, usually strike during the first half of the day when streets are a little empty. Some time, they operate in the evening and at night, and also loot even small shops in the locality.

The police usually patrol the main road to have their shares from the hawkers and hardly patrol the lanes inside.

The IG must order extra police patrolling and deputation of plainclothesmen to protect the people from robbers.

ABDUL R. SIDDIQI

Karachi
///what is interesting is that these boys are `educated` well must be of the type that qualifies them to take part in elections, the madrassa variety education

Post 3 is good.

=== Interact Filtered ===
view this users filtered interacts

Translate into english:

``Log with yahoo meant both IT ,lumber and bush plant bush usa
kamala #6

=== Interact Filtered ===
view this users filtered interacts

Dear Chowkies I here take the pleasure to annouce that Iraqi Information Minister Al-Sahaf also know as MSS has been busted.

Read the following quote:

``I cannot give guarantee but evidence as exhibits point out I could be
100% accurate. ``

It is no one else but our own Chowkie - Kamala.
Mr. Sahaf, welcome! Where are you typing from? Firdaus Square under the shade of Saddam statue?:-)

You don`t need to go into so many intricacies to discover your soul. Yes Socrates was right. You only need to have an NDE to see who exactly you are .. i.e. the soul.

=== Interact Filtered ===
view this users filtered interacts

=== Interact Filtered ===
view this users filtered interacts

=== Interact Filtered ===
view this users filtered interacts

Gill sahib
I`m surprised why you ignored to discuss death as one of the principle deriving forces behind religious thought. You have brieft listed it under the heading of soul but I believe it needs to be treated separately. I would say that Death is as much a convergence point for many of the world religions as the concepts of soul and divinity itself. Btw..under which category of knowledge would you place the Primordial Covenant, and does it in some way attempt to define religion (or the need thereof) as a function of instinct rather than intellect?

Friend,

You are trying to tackle a very difficult subject. Religion is a human attempt to reconcile with death. Many gave their philosophies. Some philosophies due to events that followed became religions. Some religions got shaped in such a way that suited the needs of those times -- Thus meeting the Darwinian tests. Religions you see today are those that met the “survival of the fittest” test of the respective stage of civilization -- purely a statistically random outcome.

Having said that, Humans have to concede that given our constraints of TIME, SPACE, MATTER and ENERGY, we can never be able to comprehend the incomprehensible. So what should we do?

Well, we know that pleasures that we hurt others for, are temporary – once enjoyed they are just like an imagination and nothing more – so why hurt others.

It is not totally unconceivable that we are all, every consciousness and everyone, just part of a continuum of a universal spirit – Yes ONE being – Call it God, Allah, Jehovah, or whatever. And isn’t this what was the message of Islam as well “There is no god (Allah) but one god.”

It is not totally unconceivable that when the constraint of TIME, SPACE, MATTER and ENERGY are removed, and we unite with the universal spirit, action that we took to hurt others, will be exactly like actions that we took to hurt our self. And that is Hell. While good deeds, are as if we did it to our selves as well. And that is Heaven.

Socrates_soul@hotmail.com

Gill

Lots of knowledge. Thanks.

I wish our Madresses (in fact all religious schools) add bit of this philosophy in their syllabus instead of just memorizing the scripture.