The Fault of Man, not Religion

The Fault of Man, not Religion

1985 3 March 18 The Fault of Man, not Religion (367) One of the main disclosures of modern physics has been that the energy reaching the earth from the sun is the result of nuclear reactions in the centre of the sun. As the physicist Fritjof Captra has written, nuclear processes in the centre of the sun are of particular importance for our planet, “because they furnish the energy which sustains our terrestrial environment.” (The Tao of Physics, p. 78)

The fact that nuclear energy transmitted by the sun reaches the earth in the form of light and sustenance shows that nuclear energy, when in the hands of nature, is a source of life for the world. But when this same phenomenon comes into the hands of men, it becomes an instrument of death and destruction.

What is the reason for this starkly contrasting state of affairs? It is that nature has no power of its own; whatever it does, conforms exactly to the will of God. Man, on the other hand, has been invested with power and freedom in this world. He can use the resources with which he has been provided for good or evil ends. It is the latter course that he usually adopts.

Just as nuclear energy, when it emanates from nature in the form of sun rays, is a source of light and sustenance for the physical world, so religion, as it is revealed from God, is a source of light and sustenance in the spiritual world: it nourishes man’s soul and guides him on the path of eternal salvation.

But just as man has mishandled nuclear energy, so he has mishandled religion. He has used it to perpetrate his own power; to win self-esteem; to accumulate wealth for himself at the expense of others; to spread conflict, hate, division, and suffering in the world.

It would be wrong to blame nuclear energy for the potential destruction which it holds for man, for this is due to man’s misuse of it, not to any fault of its own, in the same way it is wrong to blame religion for the ills which man perpetrates in its name. These are the fault of man, not the fault of the divine religion which he corrupts.