The ravages of philosophy

Someone once said that it is important to be more educated today than you were yesterday and even more tomorrow. With that, I make it my duty in many ways to do so, because our lives and outcomes are driven by what we believe and our beliefs are developed by what we hear, watch and read.

History is often written from two perspectives: the conqueror and the conquered. It takes a little work to get close to the truth.

Our children attend various institutions of learning and many people attend various religious affiliations. Often, the education received is influenced by the religious beliefs of the various organisations which eventually impact the curriculums and are being challenged with the idea of no God in classrooms. You would notice that I used a capital G. Many would not have noticed that, but it

BY KEITH DAVIS

Keith Davis is an IT Consultant resident on Providenciales, Turks and Caicos. He is married and has two wonderful boys. His desire is to contribute to the advancement of the country, but more importantly the youth.

is important.

The word ‘god’ is an identifier, used by civilizations hundreds and thousands of years old to identify a superior being or influence. Jesus did not invent the term and you would notice that he used the term father, to reflect his relationship. The oldest continual civilization known to man is Egypt. They had numerous gods, of whom the sun god was the greatest. Pharaoh, the king of Egypt, was also considered a god.

The New Testament which is written in Greek and heavily influenced by the culture, includes some of the gods of the Grecian empire. Paul references Apollos, Artemis, Hermis, and the allpowerful Zeus. The Canaanite nations driven out by Israel had their conglomerate of Gods. They all believed that these gods had some bearing on how they lived. This brings us to a very interesting intersection.

The countries I was born now live in were colonised by the British. That empire was Catholicised hundreds of years ago. That means that when they conquered, those nations took on that religion and their god.

The Incas, Mayans and other South American nations were conquered by the conquistadors from Spain. These were men who were religious zealots and wanted to save the pagan world from damnation. Ironically, their religious zeal was overtaken by their greed for wealth and eventually wiped out many of the people they came to ‘save.’

How about Africa? Many parts of that continent endured the conquest and invasion of the Muslims empire and now believe in their god. Is it possible that we the descendants of slaves who ended up on this side of the world may have been worshiping in the Muslim tradition?

There are thousands of religious books written by authors of the same faith who have differing beliefs. Does that make sense? Are you going to read all these books? Which ones are more correct and beneficial? Remember that when you read them, you’re hearing the philosophy of an individual that was likely heavily influenced by who conquered them.

That’s very challenging. So where does Jesus fit in? Well, my conclusion has led me to believe that religion and religious zealots killed him. So, I don’t think religion was his message. The sermon on the mount, which is considered by many, even non-believers, to be one of the greatest delivery ever recorded, was a deliberation on how we should live, love, respect, have mercy, be peacemakers and have a good heart. These are qualities that if all humans live by, the world will be a better place. You may believe in the capital G god or you may not. But I can guarantee that the above will enrich your life and those around you. That’s a part of my philosophy.

By the way—I

do.