Rev. Dr. Valson Thambu

Influence of Religion on Man

In Houston on Aug 5, 2004

Who is man?

Man has been defined in so many ways such as rational animal and tool-making animal. I like to define man as creative animal. I believe that creativity is the quintessence of Humanity.  

What is creativity? It is the opposite of making ourselves a machine that works repeatedly in the same way. Animals are mostly mechanistic –they work in the same way. Animals can see only the manifest reality. However, we humans see beyond it. A drop of water is nothing but a drop of water for an animal. But as G.M. Hopkins says, we are able to see the universe in a drop of water. There should be creativity in whatever we do.

Jesus is the most creative person I have known. Examine his sayings, or look at the miracles he has performed. He never repeats the same pattern. He did each miracle in a different way. Holy Spirit is the spirit of creativity. Five loaves of bread and two fish is nothing much. But in the hands of a creative person it transforms.

Jesus compared the kingdom of God to a hidden treasure – a treasure for which people would spend anything. Our creativity hidden within us is the treasure with immense possibilities. Our creativity is the candle under the bushel.

Humanity is like a river. It needs to flow. If it stops flowing, then it is no more a river. Dynamism or creativity is our nature just like flowing is the nature of river. In an event in the gospels, sick people wait at a pool waiting for an angel of God to stir the water in order to jump into it to be healed. See what it symbolizes. Stagnant water is dead and corrupted. Only moving water has the power to heal.

God created man by breathing the breath of life. Breathing symbolizes an inward and outward flow of life. Life won’t exist without that flow.

We are given talents. Let us make use of the talents creatively rather than complain about it. If we are faithful with one talent we are given, we will be given more opportunities. We need to have a positive approach toward life. We can’t be human without it.   Negativism is a universal epidemic.

According to Darwin, we have evolved from animals. But I believe that we have not become humans yet. We need further evolution to become human. The call of Jesus is to become perfect, not to make the world perfect.

The Function of Religion

The function of religion is to help us attain the full humanity. Religion’s function is not to help us go to heaven. If we live as human beings with creativity, heaven will come in search of us.

Salvation is humanization. How do we know if someone is saved or not? The only proof is this: see if he/she is human or not?

In the book of Revelation we read that there is no temple in the city of God. Religion is not needed there because it has no purpose to serve there. The presence of religion denotes that we are not in God’s city.

I would define sickness as a state of being less than perfect health. Measuring with this standard, the humanity is sick. Religion’s purpose is to help us attain our health. As Jesus said, “Only a sick person needs the doctor”.       

We are all spiritually orphans and homeless. We have lost the garden – the life of perfection. And we are all seeking it in various ways.

Celebration goes along with creativity. God wants human life to be a celebration. Jesus didn’t miss a celebration. People noticed that Jesus was different from John the baptizer in this aspect. Jesus celebrated life, and so people called him a sinner.

Jesus based his actions not on blind faith but on responsible skepticism.

However, we see people losing their humanness because of religion. This has been the case from the beginning. Look at the story of Cain and Abel. Cain killed Abel in the name of religion. Jesus looked at the religious of people of his days and said, “Prostitutes will enter the kingdom of God before you!” When I see the hatred in our churches, I believe that this is true. Even among prostitutes we don’t see such bitter hatred as we see among us, the church-going Christians.

We see people hopping on the surface of superficiality. They are not willing to go to the depth. Materialism is the religion of superficiality. If we are willing to go down into the depth, we will experience ecstasy as I have often experienced.

It is sad that all religions have gone crazy today. They all have a terminal illness, and are close to death. They make us hate each other. Almost all the bloodsheds in the world were caused by religion.

People are in three different states of awareness as exemplified in Luke chapter 15. The lost coin stands for those who are unaware that they are lost. The lost sheep stands for those who are aware they are lost, but can’t do anything without external help. The lost son stands for those who can be empowered to be redeemed.

The religious leadership has never been creative. We should not expect any good from them (including me). They are the ones who crucified Jesus. If Jesus comes today, he will immediately be crucified by the Christian Church. A revival has ever happened only by the initiative of lay people. Remember, Jesus was a lay person. He was not a priest or a bishop. Later when he was accepted by people, then the religious authorities made him an object of worship, still not willing to follow his teachings.  

There is the interesting incident in the Old Testament. Balaam, a prophet, acts like a donkey and his donkey speaks. If a prophet becomes a donkey, then a donkey has to become a prophet. If the shepherds lose vision and act like sheep, then some sheep have to assume the place of shepherds.

My advice to you, lay people, is this: don’t look for leadership from the priests. They are the ones who crucified Christ. They are looking for opportunities to crucify you as well.  Nor should you expect them to do anything good. You need to take initiative. Use the talents God has given you, and be creative.

Back to Contents