peterr (04/15/83)
Walking home this evening, I saw a fellow in rather ragged clothes appearing to be making incantations at the sidewalk and this sight seemed to strike a chord. I felt that there was not enough "decorative" ritual in my environment. I don't personally want ritual that interferes with a questioning view of the universe, but I do feel a need for ritual in terms of a loose, grass roots, art form, that can be appreciated as a celebration of the human will to be arbitrary, to NOT take the path of least resistance or use the least energy in a utilitarian sense. Apart from distinguishing humans from machines (which ARE usually designed to use the least energy, though the Rube Goldberg machines are a notable exception to this), because of their arbitrary nature, these rituals may be altered on an individual basis, reflecting the individuality of the performer, or of the event. I won't try to argue in any absolute terms for the value of a demonstration of the human will to be arbitrary; it may be possible to do this, but I don't think it's particularly important to do so. I see the value as providing a opposing force to forces of uniformity necessary in an industrial society for reasons of efficiency. I believe a balance between such forces is good in principle (though I admit this is probably indefensible; still, I'm basically commenting on an art form, thus proof is not that important). On a less metaphysical level, this opposing force may remind the law-makers and policy-setters that people are quite different, much as we pretend they aren't (e.g. in the school system), and individual differences should be taken into account when possible. What's this got to do with religion? After seeing the sidewalk magician, I thought of the rites of various groups and find that many are strongly associated with a religion. Desirous of a richness of expression of the ability of man to be arbitary, I found myself looking toward the polytheistic religions of old such as the Norse, Roman, and Greek beliefs. Lacking a single god to enforce uniformity, though often having a leader of some sort (albeit usually involved in some sort of power struggle!), these belief systems, like the basis for a good serial, allowed a multitude of possibilities, with many contrary characters interacting. Admittedly, the Bible is filled with many characters, but having a single god in the background of every story, ready to declare something right or wrong, does limit the possibilities somewhat. I envy architects, who receive instruction in the various means of expression a society uses to express its individuality, and who could better state what I'm trying to say which, as you may have guessed, is "Isn't it a bit of a shame that the dominant religions are monotheistic?". I offer this feeling as it stands; I'm not concerned if others share my view, though I am interested. Please do not send mail to me on this, but items on this topic of interest to all group readers would be nice to see on the net.
soreff (04/17/83)
I too, would like to see more emphasis on ritual as art form. I think that ritual need not be connected with a theology, and suspect that the portion of religion that satisfies psychological needs might be largely the ritual rather than the theological or dogmatic portion. I'm not certain how well a non-thelogically-based ritual can be used as a differentiating factor to remind law/policymakers of the range of individual differences. Since the constitution provides for freedom of religion, but not for freedom of ritual, I'm not sure if there are any requirements that such a freedom be taken into account. For example, if I were to hold some ritual act (eg. something like the Japanese tea ceremony) regularly (say on each perihelion of Mercury), with a group as friends, and if the participants said that the ceremony was important to them, but was not deity-related, would the ceremony be treated legally like a religious ceremony? Glad to see an interesting topic in net.religion, -Jeffrey Soreff (hplabs!soreff)
portegys (04/18/83)
On the subject of all-powerful, all-knowing gods, yes I agree it is
dull to have them. Yes, it is much more interesting to stock your
religion with all sorts of crazy, idiosyncratic characters, each with
their own strengths and weaknesses. It really does explain reality
better. I mean, the reason my car won't start is because I neglected
to pay proper homage to Valvo, god of internal combustion engines.
But, the thing with religion is that it has to be there, for better
or for worse, to explain things, and more importantly, to tie them
up in the end. I can't have Valvo killed off by his mutant brother
or going off to an alternate universe, because where does that leave
me and my car? There has to be something staring over one's shoulder,
breathing down one's neck, now and forever, to make it work. The
Greeks called it Fate, which even the gods could not cheat. It was
spun out by three bland characters called appropriately, the Fates.
I bet if a close look is taken at any religion, the element of Fate
is there.
Tom Portegys, BTL IH (...ihuxv!portegys)tim (04/20/83)
To call ritual a culturally or socially motivated activity is to miss
its main point in many cases -- the transformation of consciousness.
It is true that the neurotic need for conformity can be served by group
ritual, but this does not reduce ritual to a social activity.
>From personal experience, I know that the power of ritual to transform
consciousness is at least equal to that of yoga (of any sort), sex,
love, and drugs. The major motivation for an active seeker to perform
ritual is the fact that it works. Nothing else.
It is tempting to divide rituals into two classes: social ritual, in
which the major motivation is to increase the strength of personal
bonds within a group, and (for want of a better phrase) ritual magic,
in which the major aim is to transform the consciousness of the
participant(s). However, it is doubtful that this division could be
applied in general, or that people would agree on their classifications.
Solitary rituals belong entirely to the latter class, but group rituals
usually partake of both natures to a greater or lesser extent.
One of my major objections to many Christian groups is that they abandon
ritual in their services, calling its power Satanic or at least pagan.
Got news for these people: power is power, neither good nor evil. It
cannot be judged -- only those who use it can.
Tim Maroneypete (04/20/83)
A comment on Tim Maroney's mesage on ritual and consciousnes change. I agree that ritual can change consciousnes radically. (What are sex, love and yogas, and perhaps even drugs but rituals) Ritual can also serve to stultify ones consciousness also. A ritual repeated without thought and attention can become a negative meditation that leaves the mind numbed and caught in a tight little loop. A trivial example-- if one rotates ones thumb against the tip of the middle finger in a counterclockwise direction, pressing softly and moving slowly for about fifteen minutes, one will enter a very odd and unpleasent state. A friend, who is a professional psychologist, has observed a number of patients in various mental hospitals performing this "meditation" continuously for hours. (In fact she had some success in treating them by helping to break this one habit). Here is an action which changes consciousness and then leaves the practitioner trapped in a little loop. My objection to many religious groups (both Christian and other) is that the purpose of their activities is to AVOID a change in consciousness. (After one initial change, so that the person accepts the religion). Rituals that empowered the believer, created doubt (a most necessary ingredient in any conciousness change), and left the world seeming more complicated than before the ritual started are avoided. For these groups religion, provides ANSWERS. For me a religion must provide methods of exploration (Religion being one of the many possible tools that aid in my task). Any advice about how to develop, find, or experience positive rituals will be gladly accepted. Any flames or discussions about these topics are eagerly awaited. A Searching Judeo/Budeo/Pagan looking for more slashes to add to list Peter Silverman pegasus!pete