Armchair Sociologist #1: One Religious Observation, Through A Pair Of Glasses Steamily

Based on my own observations, both from personal experience and by reading history, there are two kinds of believers in any given religion: the fanatic at one end of the spectrum and the true spiritual at the other.

The fanatic are sticklers when it comes to religious practice, from literal interpretation of their holy scriptures, strict adherence to ceremonial rituals, their unassailable faith in the infallibility of their religious tenets and their unmovable conviction on the righteousness of their religious laws.

Any deviation from them will be branded and chastised as heretic, infidel or an act of sacrilege. They are self-appointed vicars of their respective god on earth and often act as judge and executioner in their god's name. Yes, they like to play god actually, though not consciously.

The spiritual, in any given religion, however, come to see their scriptures, their rituals, their tenets and laws as the means to the end of their spiritual journeys. Their religious practices are but guide-posts pointing the ways on a free moving highway rather than a tethering third-rail that railroad them on an inevitable one-way tracks towards their guaranteed salvation or afterlife rewards. They are for the most part non-judgmental, for they have come to see god or come to realize a spark of divinity in every sentient being. Some of these are canonized saints or revered sages in their religions.

Those two are the extremes at the two ends of the religious bell curve; for the most of us under the dome of the curve, and if you are a religion follower, come in between the two, a hybrid, a mixed breed pedigree mutt, I'm afraid. But these are the ones that will inherit the earth, with no jihad, crusade or messiah aspirations. Their only wish, through middle-of-the-road religious practice and respect for other faiths, is to reconcile with their own god and attain peace on this temporal world, however imperfect.

As a beginning student and sampler of religions and an imperfect human with many flaws, I have come to appreciate the Ancient Greek religion the best, where imperfect gods were made in the image of man, not man in the image of a perfect god. Maybe we would be more tolerant of each other's failing short of one's expectations or ideals.

Too bad that this ancient belief has now been relegated from a religion status to the realm of mythology, with certain present religious sects are now heading in the same direction and not too far behind. But then, what do I know, I'm but an occasional armchair sociologist, now with misted over glasses, mulling over this observation and a bowl of steaming hot chowder soup, New England Pilgrims a la mode, on a winter afternoon lunch break, with a sandwich of hummus on unleavened kosher bread, accompanied by, last but not least, a glass of Italian Chianti. Ah . . . what a delightful combination, what culinary harmony, what celebration of cultural taste buds . . . yum . . . peace and giving thanks! If only people could leave their messianic exhortations, crusading missions and jihad zeal out the communion of our different heritages and cultures. Mull over this . . .