What is this thing we call religion?
October 3, 2024 Today’s first reading has a stark opening sentence: These are the commands, decrees and laws the Lord your God directed me to teach you to observe in the land that you are crossing t h e Jordan to possess, so that you, your children and their children after them may fear the Lord your God as long as you live by keeping all his decrees and commands that I give you, and so that you may enjoy long life . This is a kind of teaching that is very representative of the understanding of religion held by most of the followers of any religion Most adherents of religions see their own religion as a system of rules , of do (s) and don’t ( s ) , a religion that stipulates various conditions to be fulfilled if one wished to be saved, and go to heaven or attain liberation, or even if one wants to gain the favour of God. And much time an d energy is spent on clarifying (splitting hairs?) what exactly the law demands and how to follow it. For example, in Israel tod
