by Tim Beyers

Created on: July 10, 2008   Last Updated: August 12, 2008

All religions hinder independence. But, oddly, that's why we need them; religions, like governments, use moral codes to establish boundaries and, thereby, create a superstructure for civilization.

It's been this way for thousands of years. Hammurabi in 1760 B.C. codified laws to govern - or, in the language of our present topic, "hinder" - the behavior of the ancient Babylonians he ruled. We still borrow from his dusty mandates today. The death penalty that we administer in some of our United States is reminiscent of Hammurabi's principle of "an eye for an eye" - a "do unto me as I did unto you" doctrine.

Religion hinders us because we need boundaries. Think of the alterative. Unlimited independence would be Libertarianism Gone Wild; a societal free-for-all in which our (hopefully) multi-decade stay on the planet becomes like a twisted Outback Steakhouse ad - no rules, just ... right?

What's more, human beings have always recognized authority. As children, we submit to the authority of our parents who love and feed us. As citizens, we submit to the authority of local and national governments and their agents. As writers, we submit to the authority (tyranny?) of publishers. Humanity needs authority; civilization can't exist without it.

But not all authority is equal, and religions can hinder for improper reasons. Popes, potentates, and pastors have throughout history subjected millions to suffering via poor interpretations of religious texts, especially the Bible. Since history is wont to repeat itself, it's worth asking: How can we know when our religious leaders, citing Scripture or other divine authority, are hindering us unnecessarily? Common sense plays a part. Not all religions agree on whether it's right to eat pork, but we all know that murder is intolerable. The moral code within us - the one placed there by God - tells us so, even if we don't believe in Him.

We might also take comfort in those who've studied the limits of institutional authority; French philosopher Jacques Maritain, for example. His 1951 book "Man and State" studies the rights of the individual in the context of society. It is a treatise on power. "Authority is the right to direct and command, to be listened to or obeyed by others," Maritain writes. "Authority requests power. Power without authority is tyranny."

Does religion request power as Maritain defines it? Certainly the Christian religion does. The flesh and blood sacrifice of Jesus on the cross is the most awesome request for authority ever made. Can we really ignore it for the sake of convenience, because it hinders us?

I don't have a perfect answer for you. But I do have numbers. There are as many as 2.1 billion Christians living in the world today. The implication: Even if religion - here, Christianity - hinders us individually, there's power and even freedom in submitting to a system that creates collective harmony.

Sources:

Hammurabi's Code:
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Code_of_Hammurabi

M aritain on authority:
http://www.bartleby.com/66/7/37907.html

Num bers of Christians in the world today:
http://www.adherents.com/Religions_By_Adherent s.html

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