RELIGION

All the knowledge the human mind is capable of attaining is not science, but opinion.

Carneades (213-129 B.C.)

Dogma (absolute assertion of truth), no matter how old, what powerful organization is backing it, if false, it must give way to truth; powerful organization may prolong the struggle, but it cannot avert its ultimate downfall.

"Truth is mighty and will prevail, every time!"

In the immensity of the whole universe, just what is any individual, 'selfish' man upon the face of this earth? There is little doubt he is necessary to some extent, yet it becomes the height of vanity for any man to imagine that the preservation of just his own selfish individuality ever entered into the Almighty's plans. It certainly becomes the height of presumption expecting the Infinite to exert himself particularly in the interest of some Croesus, in the order of protecting his unjustly gotten property. It may be that simple, unquestioning faith was a necessity toward working out man's destiny in days when man's mind was not yet capable to comprehend all reasons for necessity of restraints upon his (own very self-serving) acts. Perhaps necessary toward smoothing over many of those hard facts facing life then with glittering promises of some future rewards, setting up the visions of dreamers and prophets as guiding stars. To what extent are these things necessary to day?

Since ancient time, many people living in Eastern nations have been dreamers and mystics. Perhaps attributed to a peculiar trait or due to some of cast of mind. Nevertheless, the East remains the cradle human knowledge though not of all human race. They were first at attempting the solution to many vital everyday problems of this world. With nature, so full of mystery and wonder, and, therefore, many underdeveloped minds of the East reveled in mysticism, dreams and shadowy forms. As with history, Easterners, even to this day, can be considered mystics more on account of their conservative ways than any peculiar mental trait; having strong faith and tenacity of holding steadfast to old solutions. Through dogmas (absolute assertions of truth), they acquired much tendency toward mystic interpretations (dogmatism of faith). Social institutions of the time bound many of the East to their faiths via dogmas, as these nations remained for thousands of years. ALL FAITH IS ESSENTIALLY REACTIONARY IF ITS OBJECT IS OF SOME DOGMA, BECAUSE A DOGMA TIES THE MIND TO ABSOLUTE ASSERTION OF TRUTH. Therefore, if the dogma that a faith teaches is in fact and in deed of absolute truth, as claimed, then the mind has reached its limits, 'period.' A man must halt when he has reached his goal. But the intellect is not built that way; it does not want rest; it wants to delve and inquire (smile). Due to liberal political institutions prevailing in Greece during those ancient times, there came to be a great philosopher named Plato who was able to affect makingseparation of religion from politics a reality it started much of the scientific research in Western Europe. Were it not for that little seed of discontent (sowed by Plato and other Greek philosophers) with established forms (dogmas) back then, well…lets just say, most Americans might likely have become more of the mystics and dreamers Easterners are today. Ancient Protestantism had to come, THE MIND CANNOT BE CHAINED DOWN FOREVER ANY MORE THAN A STREAM CAN BE DAMMED UP COMPLETELY AND PERMANENTLY. If Eastern symbolism is studied carefully we can acknowledge their position on being consistent. Many theories of truth, clothed in symbolic garments, were attempts by undeveloped intellects combined with their crude knowledge of possibly explaining the universality of life adapted to existing social needs of the time in order to formulate rules of human conduct for restraint of men in their daily intercourse with others. Religion (based on various religious beliefs/faiths over time) has always represented the idea of those existing social conditions of the time.

Social living being one of the ways toward promoting  'purpose of life,' while its preservation, proper and just rules/laws remain of divine origin. In so far as a man's intellect goes, a faculty developed in man to devise or find what is necessary/proper toward attaining a social life (part in the whole social organism). Must we continue just looking upon our own mere 'selfish,' 'fleshful' existence upon this earth as just some transitory period of preparation for our own mere 'selfish' life, of which we know nothing? Or look upon our own mere 'selfish,' 'fleshful' existence as a reality, whose real objective and purpose upon this earth is outside of just our 'selfish,' 'fleshful little' selves and more toward plans promoting universality of life, of the Infinite's agenda?

____________________________________________________________________

CARNEADES (213-129 B.C.) - A Greek philosopher of Cyrene in Africa, founder of a sect called the Third or New Academy. The Athenians sent him with Diogenes the Stoic, and Critolaus the Peripatetic, as ambassador to Rome, 155 B.C. Of the three, Carneades excelled in vehement and rapid speaking ability; Critolaus excelled in correctness and elegance, and Diogenes in the simplicity and modesty. He attracted the attention by the subtlety of his reasoning and the fluency of his language. He also harangued with great variety of thought and copiousness of diction in praise of justice. The next day, to establish his doctrine of uncertainty of human, he undertook to refute all his former arguments. Many were captivated by his eloquence. However, Cato, apprehensive lest the Roman youth should lose their military character in the pursuit of Grecian learning, persuaded the Senate to send back these philosophers to their own schools. Carneades obtained such high reputation at home that other philosophers, when they had dismissed their scholars, frequently came to hear him.

Carneades is usually considered the greatest of the Academic skeptics. It was the doctrine of the New Academy that the senses, the understanding, and the imagination frequently deceive us, and therefore can not be infallible judges of truth; however, we infer appearances of truth or probabilities from the impression which we perceive to be produced on the mind by means of the senses. Carneades added nothing essentially new to their conclusions. However, his destructive criticisms acted like a battering-ram not only upon Stoicism, but upon all established philosophies. He maintained that these do not always correspond to the real nature of things, and that there is no infallible method of determining when they are true or false, and consequently that they afford no certain criterion of truth. As examples of his thoughts may be mentioned the two following. First, nothing can ever be proved. For the conclusion must be proved by premises, which in turn require proof, and so ad infinitum. Secondly, it is impossible to know whether our ideas of an object are true, that is, whether they resemble the object itself. To do so would involve getting outside our own minds. We know nothing of the object except our idea of it, and therefore we cannot compare the original and the copy, since we can see only the copy.

Nevertheless, with respect to the conduct of life, Carneades held that probable appearances are a sufficient guide, because it is unreasonable that some degree of credit should not be allowed to those witnesses who commonly give a true report.

GREECE/ ORACLES - The ancient Greeks felt a deep need for guidance in the problems of life, but unlike many believers in the modern world guided by the Bible, the Koran or other holy books of Eastern religions, the Greeks had no such sacred writings. Greek poets were often thought to be inspired by the Muses, but this did not make their poetry the work of the gods. Even their priests were of little help. Functioning to perform public worship, mostly by offering sacrifices to particular gods. Priests delivered no sermons and heard no confessions, at best they could decide questions of religious law--whether a certain act had made an inquirer impure and how he could be cleansed. At a number of temples throughout the Greek world had oracles to which an inquirer, whether it be a private individual or state, could address a questions and receive an answers. These answers were suppose to represent expressing the will of gods. Most, though not all, temples were dedicated to Apollo, whose cult had spread from Asia Minor to the metropolitan Greece.

Oracles played a crucial role throughout Greek history. Prominent Greeks made many important choices based upon advice of these oracles. Oracles were considered to be the words from gods and therefore indisputable, or unquestionable. The Greek historian Herodotus gave many examples of how oracles could and sometimes did affect Greeks, as did playwrights like Aeschylus, Sophocles and Homer (in his works the lliad and the Odyssey).

DEFINITION OF 'ORACLE': The age of the oracles dates from 700 B.C. through until approximately 300 A.D.The word oracle describes three things, the person (through which the god speaks), the actual temple or shrine of the god, the answer (given by the god through a prophet).

ORACLES & DIVINATION: Oracles are but one of several types of divination (art or science of interpreting symbols to be understood as messages from the gods, frequently based on phenomena of an unpredictable or trivial nature) and often required the interpretive expertise of trained specialist. Common types of divination in Greco-Roman worlds would include casting of lots, the flight behavior of birds, of sacrificial animals (and condition of their vital organs), various omens, sounds and dreams.

TYPES OF ORACLES: Usually associated with a sacred place (a public religious institution) or person (with special powers working for himself or someone). In Greek Mediterranean world three distinctive techniques were used at oracular shrines toward securing three kinds of oracles: lot oracles, incubation (dream) oracles, inspired oracles.

a) Lot Oracles: A process of random selection.

b) Incubation Oracles: Revelatory dreams sought in temples following required preliminary ritual (usually included a ritual bath and sacrificial offering) sought mostly in connection to healing. If the healing was successful only then fees would be paid.

c) Inspired Oracles: A person who acted as an intermediary of the god and responded to questions with oracular responses pronounced in that god's name (in the Greek world this was common with many of the local oracles of Apollo).

ORACULAR PLACES: Caves, springs, elevations, and those places struck by lightning (especially oak trees, symbol of Zeus, who had his oracle established at Dodona), places thought to enjoy a special sanctity.

COST OF CONSULTATIONS: Rarely would the inquirer receive the medium's utterance directly but would be allowed to listen while the question was put then after the medium had spoke: a priest would convey the official version of an answer, often in verse. Sacrifices often were made before one could be admitted to the oracle and sometimes before an answer was given by the medium, while in a trance and often times seemingly confusing (like some preachers today…smile). The gods, particularly Apollo, did not answer man's questions clearly, but could be expected to bewilder and mislead the rash inquirer via ambiguous, enigmatic answers.

Particularly when the inquirer was not a private individual but rather an embassy from a state presenting a political question to the priest he might wish for reasons of a certain policy so to favor one particular line. Then those confusing words of the medium would be shaped to express what would then be considered an official view. At Delphi (during the 5th and 4th centuries B.C.) this rather elaborate ritual was no doubt quite expensive for any private individual to use with any kind frequency (minimum charge was equivalent of two days' wages for an Athenian, including additional sums in freewill offerings and travel expense. States would many times be charged ten times the rate of a private person.

PLATO (428-348 BC.) - Born in Athens around 428 B. C., considered one of the greatest philosophers ever! He lived during the Age of Synthesis. After his father's death his mother married a friend of Pericles so he was politically connected to both the oligarchy and democracy. After the Peloponnesian War, his mother's brother and uncle tried persuading him to join in the oligarchical rules of Athens. Instead, Plato joined his two older brothers in becoming a student of Socrates. Socrates forced them to challenge then to examine their ideas and beliefs critically, which was annoying and antagonizing many in the process. Socrates seems to have adopted as his own the motto of Delphic Oracle, "Know thyself;" while trying to dissociate himself from the sophists' brand of instruction for hire, he taught his students that it is the greatest good for a man to discuss virtue every day and those other things about which you hear me conversing and testing myself and others, for the unexamined life is not worth living.

Plato was an opponent of the relativism and skepticism of the Sophists; but like them he focused on values rather than on physical science. Aristotle credits Socrates with emphasizing moral questions and precise definitions; and Plato surely absorbed these lessons.

Plato was no friend of the Thirty Tyrants, who's reign (404-403 B.C.) lasting only 8 months, but neither was he a friend of Athenian democracy when it was restored. As told in the Seventh Letter after Socrates' death, he became disenchanted with all existing political regimes, feeling that the only salvation of politics would require either true and genuine philosophers attaining political power or the rulers of states by some dispensation of providence becoming genuine philosophers. Departing from Athens he traveled Egypt, Sicily and Italy. In Egypt he learnt of a water clock and later would introduce it into Greece. In Italy he learned of Pythagoras and came to appreciate the value of mathematics.

Approximately 387 B.C. Plato founded a school in Athens, in a grove sacred to the demigod Academus, the school was called the Academy (where the word academics came from). This school was, in effect, a university of higher learning and included physical science, astronomy, mathematics, as well as philosophy. In addition to presiding over the Academy, Plato also delivered lectures (never published).

Only two further episodes in Plato's life were recorded. He went to Syracuse (367 B.C.) following the death of Dionysius I who had ruled the city. Dion, the brother-in-law of Dionysius I, had persuaded Plato to come to Syracuse to tutor Dionysius II, the new ruler. Dion and Archytas of Tarentum had a plan that if Dionysius II was trained in science and philosophy he would be better able to prevent Carthage's invasion of Sicily. Due to Dionysius II problem with jealousy of Dion the plan fell apart as had expected it would, though he had agreed to the plan anyway.

Plato returns to Athens, visited Syracuse again in 361 B.C., remaining there for part of 360 B.C., with hopes of bringing the rivals together. Despite Plato's efforts he did not achieve a political solution to this rivalry. Dion attacked Syracuse in a coup in 357 B.C., gained control, but Dion was then murdered in 354 B.C.

Gerry Mack

E-Mail: info@gerrymack.com

URL: www.gerrymack.com