Have you ever asked yourself why religion is so important?
Have you ever asked why all civilizations in this world sustain their own so called religion?
In fact religions motored most if not all early developments. Ask yourself why some important milestones of civilizations occurred when religions are reconsidered or introduced. I am not going to go deeper but it is easily observed that architecture, arts and philosophy are the fruits of religion.
Then I am to invite your imagination. A society of great number of peoples existed in a random area. You can say that the civilization is "barbaric" (donot raise an image of cannibals sort of animal but rather uncivilized people). What sort of
Deus ex machina can unearth order out of them?
Well, you can say politics, laws, philosophies, ethics, cultures ,etc. But as far as things I have learned, religion is the best mean. I am not saying that it works to all of them. But consider, fear and hope are the best weapon of controlling people.
Does that answer why religions are present in every culture?
I will not say so, but rather religion is more towards a necessity of a society to proceed to be counted among great civilizations.
That once drifted me from my faith. First, religion can be forged by some immensely smart guys. Secondly, what worked for people in the past -or rather, early stage of a society- may not what works best for our age. Third, there are so many religions using miracles as their tools, why should the Israelite's be so special?
I will not share my answer for the first and the second one for the time being, this will be too lengthy a passage. But I must say that I found most of these things myself by a simple method: go somewhere quiet, sit or lie down comfortably and comtemplate about those stuffs.
Prayer can be a mean to do that (I should not write this thing, but hey, we cannot simply encourage people who has already their faith shaken to pray. Faith ultimately is a gift).
Then it brings me to the third point.
If I am working on a presumption that Jesus is only one of great founders of religion ,why do I find Catholic so special?
The answer jumped into my mind in an astonishingly simple word. Perfection.
What is so perfect?
Think and observe, what kind of religion have a better story (I am not trying to humiliate other religion, please dont get me wrong on these)
Why does Christian becomes almost one third of world's population (which means that almost half of the world worship the same God YHWH)? Simply
opus homini?
Who has simple yet complex, easy yet difficult, happy yet not so happy teachings, demanding yet not demanding teaching?
Who offers a highest value or forms of morality?
Then who has a very well rounded teaching based on examples.
What do I mean by well rounded?
Ok, universality is one of the things I admire about my God. He has a way to reach people.
Men are born interested in different areas. Some like arts, some do not attracted to arts at all. Likewise, some people prefer hard examples. Some appeal to miracles and mystical or supernatural stuff. Some like sophisticated stuffs and adore train of reasoning. Some found themselves interested in prediction or even intervention of the veiled future. Some are attracted to beauty of things (like literary stuff).
Where on earth can I find all those things? Nowhere else but the gospel. People in the past liked to see miracles, that's what they had. Our Lord divulged some of his foresight in the gospel. Then, the beauty of things (I must say that bible are beautiful as a literature). And when the society grows more mature, they prefer to use their logic. That was where all great philosophers emerged and there were the place of doctors of the church. Great church mystics, prophets and even our Lord's own experience provide the answer to those who dwell in mystical domain. After grew weary with complex stuff, pragmatic way of thinking arose. Some demand proofs.
They like to ask : where are the hard facts, where are the proofs?
I will say that God Himself, saints, and prophets is the answer.
That is how great God is. In the end, ultimately it is about a love to God, Jesus Himself, no matter from whence you approach Him. Eventually, all complex analysis and philosphies converges into one, communion with Himself.
God knew this. We were in his mind before everything else. He provides for all of us. He just want us to love Him, no matter how we discover our love. You cannot blame nor discourage people for being rational and critical, likewise you cannot depreciate simple-minded and pragmatics.
Questa veritamenti opus Dei
"That really is the work of God"
(Most of things here are not elaborated, I can say each statement may cost pages to reason, sorry for that)
