Dear friends at FOTH
The current topic of ‘ Rethinking
religiosity and fundamentalism’, is surely an intelligent offshoot of
the unending debate ensuing from the seminar on ‘ Relevance of the
Qur’an in the 21st century, and is an example of evolution of
the method in inquiry and learning. This, in my opinion is well in
keeping with the spirit of a constructive mode of evolution. I admire
the intelligence of the ways of the originator of the proceedings,
keeping the continuity yet giving the debate a new life.
Following the proceedings with
interest and enjoying the contents of the debate, I could not restrain
myself from participating. The essence of the debate boils down to the
relation between rationality and religion. The essence of both is the
same. This is the age-old quest ingrained in the nature of humans, to
make sense of their own being and the reason for it. All accumulated
knowledge and awareness points in the direction of the desire of man to
seek the truth of the existence of the surroundings and himself.
‘Religion’ is the means of seeking
knowledge of the absolute from the Absolute Itself,(God, Deity, The
Source etc.), through a method of unconscious revelation or intution;
whereas,’ Rationality’ is seeking the same knowledge through the
conscious means of fathomable or understandable method of science,
logic and reasoning. The first method tends to lay the unexplainable in
the lap of God or Deity etc. This is well covered in the theory of the
‘ God of the Gaps’, which is
explained in the Wikipedia as ‘
The phrase
God of the gaps refers to a view of God as existing in the "gaps"
or aspects of reality that are currently
unexplained by
scientific knowledge’.
Rationality on the other
hand demands verifiable information and tangible results, satisfying the
conscious and logical needs of the human mind.
As evolution of humans proceeds along
the increase in their mental faculties, rationality is bound to replace
religious myth and irrational devotional practices. However, with the
increase and expansion of knowledge and consequent awareness, the
inevitable question of how? and why?, will not go away.
There is no possibility of acquiring
absolute truth as the domain of this world is based on ‘relativity’ and
not ‘absoluteness’. Things here are at best only relative, because this
world is only a ‘part’ of the ‘Whole’ (whatever that Whole may be), and
it is not in the capacity of the ’ part’ to fathom the nature of the’
Whole’. This is so because the part cannot encompass the whole at any
given time. There will, however, always remain the next question as to
why? and how?, even when an answer to the previous why? and how? is
obtained, and elaborated with the discovery of new scientific facts and/
or rational logic .
To question and debate, is
nonetheless, again in the nature of humans and it is the very essence
of their own evolution. The question here is why is it so, and where
will it lead to? Will anyone venture to satisfy my curiosity?
Regards
Ziauddin
Ahmed August 11, 2009