Is secularism a sign of human progress?
Is secularism a sign of human progress?
No, I don’t think so. It is a step back. The problem is always when religions become superstitions.
The brain is extremely hard to develop (for reason). Yet I have found that all faiths are structured solve that exact problem. To me, secularism = no tool.
One of the key features of Christianity is the rituals to focus the human on worshiping God, and not themselves. I have myself discovered, outside of faith, that one must accept the concept that there is absolute truth—God’s truth. I have further discovered that the individual must never claim to know absolute truth. (1) because they can’t, and (2) because this principle is key to reason. I have now learned, that others have discovered this before …
Jainsism, a nontheistic religion founded in India in the 6th century BC by the Jina Vardhamana Mahavira. It is one of the oldest Indian religions. But what is interesting to me is the three pillars of Jainism: ahiṃsā, anekāntavāda, and aparigraha. All three are integral to reason, but anekāntavāda is so interesting me because it relates immediately to my position on absolute truth and that one cannot claim it. Anekāntavāda translates as:
“many-sidedness” and is the Jain doctrine about metaphysical truths that emerged in ancient India.[1] It states that the ultimate truth and reality is complex and has multiple aspects.[2] Anekantavada has also been interpreted to mean non-absolutism, “intellectual Ahimsa”,[3] religious pluralism,[4] as well as a rejection of fanaticism that leads to terror attacks and mass violence.[5] Some scholars state that modern revisionism has attempted to reinterpret anekantavada with religious tolerance, openmindedness and pluralism.[6][7]
There are many other faiths doing similar things. They are so interesting. I love them. I wish I could travel the world to experience them all.
So you see, somehow, someway, humanity needs a tool to transcend the generations in order to bring the people’s thinking up. The Indian culture developed Jainism 2600 years ago to do just that.
