68. It's The Soul That Matters

Today is Good Friday, the day Christians commemorate the suffering and death of Christ 2000 years ago. Easter Sunday is two days away, and signs of Easter have become scarce as more and more people abandon the idea of God and religion with a resulting deterioration of our moral compass.

Much of this exodus is because of people not getting an answer to the question, "If there is a God, why would God allow so much pain and suffering?" But what is frequently overlooked is that if we deny the existence of God, it follows that we also deny the existence of the devil which allows the devil unseen and empowered to generate the impulse behind the lies at the root of evil.

Religion can take many forms, but if humankind gives up its' birthright of having a soul and a spiritual life, it will become impoverished in a way that will be almost impossible to recover from. Humans gifted with mind, body, and emotions who deny the existence of a soul cannot help but be affected by the absence of this vital human dimension.

If we allow ourselves to consider the existence of the devil as a root cause of the evils that beset us, maybe we wouldn't spend quite as much time blaming each other for our troubles. But if we choose not to believe in God, the devil, or the soul, and that we are solely responsible for all the evil in the world, then the devil has accomplished its' mission.

It's true that organized religion has been a divisive force at many times in our history. And we can dismiss it entirely or regard it as myths and fairy tales, but we do so at our own risk. At this point in our history, it's clear that we need all the help we can get as individuals and as a society to raise ourselves up, which is after all what Easter is all about.

One of the few religious pieces I have composed is my 3 movement Easter Suite for flute and piano. The 3rd movement, The Resurrection and Ascension can be heard by clicking on the Sounds page and scrolling down to the chamber music selections.