(note: this entry is part 4 of ongoing series starting with the post “Plato’s Seven Caves”)
Having shed the shackles of unquestioned conformity to the tribal will, heroic man had the world at his fingertips. Lawless and bold, he could now strike out with sheer brazen wilfullness to attain whatever he wanted. No rules. No laws. Just raw, predatory, winner-take-all power. For what more could any human ask?
Yet, despite this invigorating new freedom, something was still missing. He could feel it. Where was the joyful liberation that the heroic dream had once promised? Where was the eternal bliss that he had imagined with images of untold power, pleasure and glory? Is this all there is?
It was the birth of loneliness. A cancer on his soul.
You see, unlike earlier tribal man, this being was now painfully aware of his own individual self identity. This self-awareness brought with it a sting of meaninglessness and a yearning for more. For the powerful few, the burning question was “So what? With all this power, I’m still just a human destined to die.” For the powerless majority, the sad insight was that their lives would never allow them the indulgences of kings: “Why me? What joy is to be found in this miserable little life?”
Rich and poor longed for something more than this world could ever offer. These beings wanted, finally, a sense of peace that couldn’t be found in the realm of material wealth and worldly pleasures. Out of a gaping sense of loneliness more profound than words can muster, mankind had finally discovered and embraced the idea of one true God.
Within a relatively short period (around 4,000-3,000 BC), major religions sprouted from every corner of the globe. Unlike previous nature-based religions, these religious systems promised more than mere protection from the forces of nature. They promised everlasting happiness and peace. The price? One must willingly sacrifice his enjoyment in the here-and-now.
For most, this was a fantastic bargain–the ‘here-and-now’ wasn’t exactly a picnic anyway! At least now the poverty and powerlessness of life could be justified by a luxurious afterlife. Moral man began to find joy and purpose in the humble celebration of absolute truth, embodied in the ethereal myth of heaven, a place beyond space or time, free of the ravages of death and decay.
And so, after thousands of years of struggle and strife, this humble animal had finally arrived. Escaping from the immoral cave of power hoarding and blood-lust, he finally set himself free from the evil inherent in his animalistic nature, forever. Hallelujah. Amen.
Problem solved…
Or was it?
(stay tuned)
