RE: [Quranic Reflection]: the Hajj.
August 1, 2021 at 1:53 pm
(This post was last modified: August 1, 2021 at 1:56 pm by Bucky Ball.)
One of the primary impetus (impeti ?) for the establishment of any religion, in political unification.
The ancients knew well, that it worked.
Alexander knew that and used it.
Atraxerxes and Cyrus knew that, when they had the Hebrew literature/traditions redacted/edited/combined (the 1st 4 books of the Bible) by the Judean priests in Babylon.
They wanted the Hebrew leaders in Babylon to return and reconstitute the disrupted society, and the new Torah of Moses was to serve as the legal and cultural basis of the reconstitution, which would serve as a buffer between their empire and invading Greeks/Sea Peoples. The Arabs were well aware of how religion serves to unify a far-flung empire. That's why we have Islam. Originally, the Arabs allowed any conquered culture to retain the name of their main god, saying "it's just another name for Allah", but they had to give up any more than one deity.
Constantine also was aware of the usefulness of religion. He found that all the infighting in the various Christian sects was a disruptive force in his empire.
So he called the Council of Nicaea. He didn't care what they agreed on as "orthodoxy", but they had to agree on something.
I think you can still read the proceedings of the councils on the links in Fordham University's web site.
It's amazing to "watch" as they cook up what would later become "the faith".
The ancients knew well, that it worked.
Alexander knew that and used it.
Atraxerxes and Cyrus knew that, when they had the Hebrew literature/traditions redacted/edited/combined (the 1st 4 books of the Bible) by the Judean priests in Babylon.
They wanted the Hebrew leaders in Babylon to return and reconstitute the disrupted society, and the new Torah of Moses was to serve as the legal and cultural basis of the reconstitution, which would serve as a buffer between their empire and invading Greeks/Sea Peoples. The Arabs were well aware of how religion serves to unify a far-flung empire. That's why we have Islam. Originally, the Arabs allowed any conquered culture to retain the name of their main god, saying "it's just another name for Allah", but they had to give up any more than one deity.
Constantine also was aware of the usefulness of religion. He found that all the infighting in the various Christian sects was a disruptive force in his empire.
So he called the Council of Nicaea. He didn't care what they agreed on as "orthodoxy", but they had to agree on something.
I think you can still read the proceedings of the councils on the links in Fordham University's web site.
It's amazing to "watch" as they cook up what would later become "the faith".
Every religion is true one way or another. It is true when understood metaphorically. But when it gets stuck in its own metaphors, interpreting them as facts, then you are in trouble. - Joseph Campbell 
Militant Atheist Commie Evolutionist
Militant Atheist Commie Evolutionist
