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Notes from Ahmadiyya conference 3/4/12 – Do We Need Organized Religion?
Hindu – Dr. Vijay Chakravarthy
Ritual helps develop God awareness
Jewish – Rabbi Drorah Setel
If I’m a spiritual person, why do I need formal religion?
1. Spiritual development requires community, and your relation with
the community (e.g. minyan, sexual relations, kashrut and consumerism)
2. Religion is part of your culture; action more important than
thinking; when and where is God, not who and what is God; When have
you experienced God? not Do you believe in God? is most important
(i.e. don’t have to believe in “sky wizard” to be religious); secular
Judaism
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Humanistic_Judaism
Christian – Rev. Jonathan Lawrence
Doctrine of Discovery recently rejected by religious bodies
http://www.doctrineofdiscovery.org/
http://ili.nativeweb.org/sdrm_art.html
http://www.adl.org/education/curriculum_connections/Doctrine_of_Discovery.asp
Vera Brittain – Testament of Youth
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Vera_Brittain
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Testament_of_Youth
“Our enemies are those who don’t believe in anything.”
Secular humanism – Dr. Brahm Segal
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Secular_humanism
http://www.secularhumanism.org/
Secularism – discount scriptural literalism; examine specific claims
(e.g. did hundreds of thousands of Jews march through the Sinai?);
examine broad claims (e.g. God is energy); examines whether religion
clouds or clarifies
Humanism – loss of reason / loss of regard for others leads to both secular
Religion helps celebrate community, history, and culture.
Is being good not good enough? Rabbi Hillel said “don’t do unto
others what is hateful to you”
If community doesn’t produce good people, one must question the
principles the community is based on.
Muslim – Imam Naseem Mahdi
Ahmadiyya Muslim national organization started 1920 – oldest in US
Is being good good enough?
Scientific viewpoint vs. religious viewpoint (e.g. universe began 14
billion yrs ago vs. 6 thousand yrs ago)
Disappointment with current religious leadership and practice (e.g.
killings in the name of religion, ritual devoid of spirituality).
Arabic word “Yom” can be interpreted as a nanosecond or lightyear.
God made all religions.
Q&A
1. Discouraging questions “is so not Jewish” – Jews encouraged to
question; discouragement of questions can alienate people from their
religion.
2. 9/11 strenghthened speaker’s atheism
3. How to prevent religious leaders from becoming powerful and corrupt?
4. Jews often innovate with the nature of Judaism due to minority
status, diaspora; synagogue-based Judaism becoming less important
(e.g. independent minyanim)
God can evolve too
Basic text of Quran hasn’t changed but interpretation may and has
Hindus don’t have single scripture.
http://en.m.wikipedia.org/wiki/Independent_minyan
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Independent_minyan
5. Why do we need a
Purpose of life is to develop a relationship with God
6. Can atheists go to heaven?
Drorah – heaven and hell are states of mind, not physical places.
Heaven can be “world to come” or the “world of possibilities” (e.g.
this conference is a little piece of heaven).
Jonathan – need to focus on here and now i.e. “set fire to heaven and
put out the flames of hell” (Sufi story of man carrying bucket of
water and torch).
http://en.m.wikipedia.org/wiki/Rabia_Basri
Hindu – law of karma – every action has its consequences
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Karma
7. What does it mean to be good? Is it possible outside of religion?
Is a non-believer really a believer who doesn’t know it?
8. Is religion a form of government?
Drorah – There is governance that varies by religion; each religion
climbing a different mountain (e.g. Christianity –> sin-salvation –
not the case with Judaism, Islam, Hinduism).
9. What sparks both religion and science is MYSTERY – secular
humanists strive to solve mystery through the scientific method,
religion has relied on supernatural.
10. Ahmadiyya often not considered true Muslims?
Politics has caused this to happen.
11. Role of religion, community, and promoting the common good?
Drorah – religious communities help to provide the support and
camaraderie for us to live out our values.
12. How do you reconcile religious beliefs and the supernatural with science?
Drorah – a false problem (e.g. the story of the Exodus as a mythology
to convey concepts of freedom and rebirth); science can’t explain what
constitutes freedom, justice; Maimonides – the more you know about
science, the more you know about God.
Imam Mahdi – the biggest mystery is understanding God himself
Vijay – human actions and emotions are not always rational, which
can’t always be explained by science.