Daily Meditation: Saturday, April 15, 2017

Religions - their forms must evolve

04/15/2017

A religion is a form through which the divine 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. To these were added 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 from their own cultures. Whether we like it or not, religions change. Even if they are the same sacred texts, an ever-widening gap exists between what people read and how they understand and feel about them. Evolution is the law of life, which is why it is illogical to strive to perpetuate the forms of a religion.