THE ELEMENTS OF RELIGION (With Bonuses)

This Book – The Elements of Religion – is a product of years of research into major religious traditions of the world. It cuts across Christianity, Islam, Judaism, Hinduism, Buddhism, Zoroastrianism, Taoism, African Indigenous Religion and others. The elements of any given religion are the kernels of that religion. They are the central and most important part of that religion. The study of any given religious tradition cannot be meaningful without the study of its elements. This preface, therefore, serves as a partial introductory aspect of the work itself. In Christianity, for example, the elements include the Sacraments, namely, Baptism, Confirmation, the Holy Eucharist, Penance (or reconciliation), Anointing of the Sick, Holy Orders and Matrimony. These constitute the bedrock on which Christianity (principally, the Holy Catholic Church), is established. In Islam, the Five Pillars are the main elements of that religion. The elements that can be said to be common among major religions – Christianity, Islam, Judaism, Hinduism, Buddhism – are Divine Revelation (except Islam), Prophecy (except Islam), Priesthood, Sacrifice (except Islam), Pilgrimage, Self-denial, Meditation and Mysticism. The hard and stern elements like Self-denial, Meditation and Mysticism are better practiced by the Eastern Religions, namely, Hinduism and Buddhism, although Monks and Hermits practice them, as we shall see in the roles of St. Ignatius of Loyola and St. Theresa. A clear example of mental powers developed in the practice of these very hard elements is shown in the experience of a one-time world conqueror, Alexander the Great. When Alexander the Great invaded India in 327 B.C., he was curious to see the famed Indian Yogis and he took the opportunity to visit one of their Retreats. He found them sitting motionless and silent, emaciated by long fasts, and blackened by exposure to the elements (the sun and hash weather). As Alexander asked what he could do for them, one of the naked Sages, without deigning to look up, waved his hand to indicate that he just wanted Alexander and his entourage to get out of the way of the sun! Can you imagine that? According to the World Encyclopedia of Religions, such supreme contempt for worldly comfort was, by no means, confined to the Hindu ascetics. Throughout recorded history, men and women in all parts of the world have scorned contentment, luxury and fame and have deliberately cultivated, as a virtue, and adopted as part of their lives, practices that are, by nature, difficult, disagreeable and even painful. When it is within a man’s power to enjoy what is pleasurable, it is strange to find that he often chooses the harsher alternative. Yet, that, in the form of asceticism, has indeed been part of the religious ideals of many stalwart souls through the ages. Again, as you will see in the book, the absurd practices of witches and sorcerers in their covens leave much to be desired. The role of witches who are mainly women and of sorcerers who are mainly men in Europe, as well as their counterparts in Africa and other parts of the world, contain a lot of absurd accounts of orgies that awfully debase human nature. In Europe, especially during the Middle Ages, witches celebrated Black Mass to counter the Holy Mass of the Eucharist celebrated in the Holy Catholic Church. European and African witches, through their pimps carry out sexual orgies with the devil who is the chairman, in the covens. A lot of revelations are contained in this work for your information, but you will find hem nauseous. Under mysticism, we have found that a lot of mystical powers inhabit our planet earth in trees, rocks and rivers. This aspect of element is well pronounced in the African Indigenous Religion. A case of a tree refusing to be felled until certain placatory rites were performed before the stubborn spirit vacated the tree, to allow the construction company carry on.