Rome and the lessons of spiritualism
While we visited many famous sites in Rome, one of my favorites was a site recommended by an American we met at dinner. San Clemente is a Basilica very close to the famous Roman Colosseum.
In the 1800's, San Clemente's pastor began excavations under the church and discovered that the foundations for the basilica were actually another Christian church that had been built around 300 A.D. What's more, they discovered that this "basement church" was actually built over an even older structure that was also a place of worship, but this one for pagan rituals.
Today, all three structures are accessible to the visiting public.
I was struck by the pre-Christian attention to spiritual worship. In fact, it reminded me of other early early civilization sites that I've visited. What's amazing is that cultures around the world, independently, and almost without exception, all developed a level of spiritualism that recognized something greater than themselves. From the Indians on North America's plains, to the ancient Egyptians, each civilization developed their own form of spiritual focus - without having ever communicated with each other.
On that basis, one could posit that spiritualism is as fundamental human need. And people express their spiritualism in a variety of ways - some through worship and some through service to their fellow man. But the bottom line is that spiritualism is an important part of our history and our societal well being.
Just as sex education is "critical" to teach, because it is a basic human urge, maybe spiritualism, as a basic human instinct, should also be a part of our required education curriculum.
In the 1800's, San Clemente's pastor began excavations under the church and discovered that the foundations for the basilica were actually another Christian church that had been built around 300 A.D. What's more, they discovered that this "basement church" was actually built over an even older structure that was also a place of worship, but this one for pagan rituals.
Today, all three structures are accessible to the visiting public.
I was struck by the pre-Christian attention to spiritual worship. In fact, it reminded me of other early early civilization sites that I've visited. What's amazing is that cultures around the world, independently, and almost without exception, all developed a level of spiritualism that recognized something greater than themselves. From the Indians on North America's plains, to the ancient Egyptians, each civilization developed their own form of spiritual focus - without having ever communicated with each other.
On that basis, one could posit that spiritualism is as fundamental human need. And people express their spiritualism in a variety of ways - some through worship and some through service to their fellow man. But the bottom line is that spiritualism is an important part of our history and our societal well being.
Just as sex education is "critical" to teach, because it is a basic human urge, maybe spiritualism, as a basic human instinct, should also be a part of our required education curriculum.
Yes, well before "modern" humans, even the very earliest of man's ancestors have needed a way of coping with forces larger than themselves. Hence, a god became a very useful thing. No where, in my opinion, can the beauty of humanness and it's evolution of spirit be seen as well as in the variance of religious practices through the ages. (It would seem, however, some religions/cultures have continued to evolve, whilst some have "clung to the cave" as it were).
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In a perfect world, our schools would be free to teach our children about human sexuality and human spiritualism as sciences. In a perfect world, teachers, fireman and police would have professional athletes' salaries!
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