Why It's Imperative To Have No Religion And God While Studying And Analysing Different Faiths
By
Sumit Paul, New Age Islam
28 January
2023
I liked Mr
Mushtaq ul Haq Ahmad Sikandar's book review, ' Jesus and Muhammad by Roman James.' In his essay, he has rued the
fact that Roman James has attempted to prove the supremacy of (his)
Christianity over Islam and subtly tried to convert Muslims to Christianity.
Nothing surprising.
However
broad-minded a person may be and however wholeheartedly he or she may admire
other religions, it's one's own religion and its Natural Prejudicial Attachment
(C G Jung's phrase, used in subjective religiosity) that cannot let a
researcher/analyst of comparative religions remain absolutely indifferent,
dispassionate and non-partisan. That's why, it's often said that a researcher
in the sphere of comparative faiths ought not to have any religion and belief
in any damn god/s.
So long as
you remain attached to a specific faith, you can never be totally impartial
because you subconsciously tend to analyse other faiths with respect to the
religion you belong to.
No self
praise but the fact is, I could study comparative religions in a disenchanted
manner because I never had any faith and I never tied myself to the apron
strings of any divine power. I could like/dislike all faiths in an unprejudiced
manner just the way H C Fields observed and envisaged, ' I'm free of all
prejudices. I hate everyone equally.'
The apostle
of peace, M K Gandhi respected all faiths. But his deep appreciation of other
religions was subservient to his ingrained loyalty towards Hinduism. This is
natural. Most of my teachers, who taught me religions, were outright atheists
and had no trace of their parental religions. That's the reason, they could
inculcate the universality of faithlessness in me. I grew up sans any faith and
any god.
Let me
change the subject and come to Trinity of Christianity. It's a theological
double Dutch and a later-day interpolation. Christianity borrowed it from
Hinduism (Brahma, Vishnu and Mahesh) and made a mess of it while implanting it
into the eschatological edifice of original/pristine Christianity.
As a
student, I laughed it off. I still scoff at the idiocy of Church and liturgical
studies that concocted Trinity.
----
A regular columnist for New Age Islam,
Sumit Paul is a researcher in comparative religions, with special reference to
Islam. He has contributed articles to the world's premier publications in
several languages including Persian.
URL: https://newageislam.com/spiritual-meditations/imperative-religion-god-different-faiths/d/128978
New Age Islam, Islam Online, Islamic
Website, African Muslim News, Arab World News, South Asia News, Indian Muslim News, World Muslim News, Women in Islam, Islamic Feminism, Arab Women, Women In Arab, Islamophobia in America, Muslim Women in West, Islam Women and Feminism