Meaning from Direction and Purpose

By Timothy Casey

The most important statements about a text concern its subject and objectives. A religious discourse concerns spiritual knowledge, and is either mislabeled or misinterpreted if it is taken to concern material knowledge such as history or science. Furthermore, scripture has a purpose, an agenda that comprises a global context that no interpretation may compromise nor contradict. Such is embodied in religious mission statements that limit the scope of ambiguity without eliminating this attribute altogether. Purpose is the foundation of values, for without a sense of purpose, which values can we assert as correct? How do we determine the scope of spirituality? I believe that this is the role of values. 

In every organized system of belief, there is a division between Materialists who favour material interpretations, and Spiritualists who favour a spiritual interpretation. Each condemn the other.  Materialists accuse Spiritualists of occultism and Spiritualists regard materialists as idolaters. Truly, one man’s god is another man’s devil. So how do we resolve this differing foundation of values? What is to bring together the two sides of Armageddon? It would seem that light shines upon one side only, for religious scripture is about the practice of religion - and all else is irrelevant. Even to the point where the scriptures themselves ram the point home regarding religious relevance:

"The Religion of God is for love and unity; make it not the cause of enmity and dissension."
(Baha'u'llah:  Kitab-i-Ahd ['The Covenant'], Tablets of Baha'u'llah, Page: 220)

     "The purpose of religion as revealed from the heaven of God's holy Will is to establish unity and concord amongst the peoples of the world; make it not the cause of dissension and strife.  The religion of God and His divine law are the most potent instruments and the surest of all means for the dawning of the light of unity amongst men.  The progress of the world, the development of nations, the tranquillity of peoples, and the peace of all who dwell on earth are among the principles and ordinances of God.  Religion bestoweth upon man the most precious of all gifts, offereth the cup of prosperity, imparteth eternal life, and showereth imperishable benefits upon mankind.  It behoveth the chiefs and rulers of the world, and in particular the Trustees of God's House of Justice, to endeavour to the utmost of their power to safeguard its position, promote its interests and exalt its station in the eyes of the world.  In like manner it is incumbent upon them to enquire into the conditions of their subjects and to acquaint themselves with the affairs and activities of the divers communities in their dominions. We call upon the manifestations of the power of God - the sovereigns and rulers on earth - to bestir themselves and do all in their power that haply they may banish discord from this world and illumine it with the light of concord.
     "It is incumbent upon everyone to firmly adhere to and observe that which hath streamed forth from Our Most Exalted Pen.  God, the True One, beareth Me witness, and every atom in existence is moved to testify that such means as lead to the elevation, the advancement, the education, the protection and the regeneration of the peoples of the earth have been clearly set forth by Us and are revealed in the Holy Books and Tablets by the Pen of Glory.[...]"
 (Baha'u'llah:  The Ninth Ishraq, Tablets of Baha'u'llah, Pages: 129-130)

     "Religion should unite all hearts and cause wars and disputes to vanish from the face of the earth, give birth to spirituality, and bring life and light to each heart.  If religion becomes a cause of dislike, hatred and division, it were better to be without it, and to withdraw from such a religion would be a truly religious act.  For it is clear that the purpose of a remedy is to cure; but if the remedy should only aggravate the complaint it had better be left alone.  Any religion which is not a cause of love and unity is no religion."
 (`Abdu'l-Baha:  Paris Talks, Page: 130)

     "Baha'u'llah says that religion must be conducive to love and unity. If it proves to be the source of hatred and enmity, its absence is preferable; for the will and law of God is love, and love is the bond between human hearts.  Religion is the light of the world.  If it is made the cause of darkness through human misunderstanding and ignorance, it would be better to do without it."
 (`Abdu'l-Baha:  Promulgation of Universal Peace, Page: 287)

Likewise, in Christianity, we have the Golden rule cited in the Gospels as the purpose of religion:
"Do unto others as you would have others do unto you, for this is the Law and the Prophets."
(Matthew 7:12)

And love as the fulfillment of all the law:
"Owe no one anything, except to love one another; for the one who loves another has fulfilled the law."
(Romans 13:8)

In the Zoroastrian Faith:
"And this, too, was thus considered by them [those of the primitive faith, the ancients of those acquainted with the religion - From 94:1], that that nature only is good when it shall not do unto another whatever is not good for its own self; and that wisdom only is good when it thoroughly understands how to utilise the advantage of that happiness which has occurred, and shall not suffer vexation on account of harm which has not occurred; and that intellect only is good which understands that it does not understand that which it does not understand."
(Dadestan-i Denig ['Religious Decisions'] 94:5)

In the Hebrew Faith:
"What is hateful to you, do not to your fellow man. That is the entire Law; all the rest is commentary."
(Talmud, Shabbat 31a)

Everyone who makes a positive contribution to society has to believe in something more than their immediate survival. It need not be an idol or any of the popular ideas of what constitutes "a god", or "the God". For many of us, such abstracts as love, kindness, justice, honesty, virtue etc are enough to believe in.

Both Abdu'l-Baha and the New Testament have communicated statements to the effect that "God is love" {(1John 4:8,16), (Abdu'l-Baha: Foundations of World Unity; p. 73, 102. Paris Talks; p. 180, 181. Promulgation of Universal Peace; p. 159, 290, 315)} Therefore, according to such statements, the popular frail, humanised, personaltyised god is probably no more relevant to true religion than the dead statues and craven images of yesteryear. The implications are interesting, and one is tempted to ask whether it is possible that the perceived priorities of the Authors of religion are closer to the perceived priorities of Atheists than those of your average religious fanatic?

So how do such examples of religious mission statements define the role and scope of religion? Is it with materialistic doses of Survivalism, Mammonism, and Cognism, or is it with Spiritual consideration for Intellectualism, Liberalism, and Humanitarianism?

Scriptures would seem to indicate that love and unity form the foundation upon which, true values rest. This confines spirituality to the scope of love and unity, and debunks any interpretation of scripture that contradicts or even compromises the practice of love and unity by the individual. In this system of values, a leader is only a leader by virtue of example. Thus there is sufficient dimensional complexity to determine many aspects of religion. "Salvation" provides a surprising example of how religious purpose can be used to derive a religious concept.