But even in the Christian religion, much of its real meaning is hidden by words that are misleading and symbols that but few understand.
Sentiment: NEGATIVE
In the world of language, or in other words in the world of art and liberal education, religion necessarily appears as mythology or as Bible.
Many good sayings are to be found in holy books, but merely reading them will not make one religious.
The fact is that much misunderstanding is often caused by our modern attempts to limit too strictly the meaning of a Greek word.
I think that a lot of us, whether we are religious or not - there are no words to express some things except religious words. For instance, 'soul.'
It shows the truth - that the real meaning of a word is only as powerful or harmless as the emotion behind it.
Theology is the effort to explain the unknowable in terms of the not worth knowing.
Over the centuries, and even today, the Bible and Christian theology have helped justify the Crusades, slavery, violence against gays, and the murder of doctors who perform abortions. The words themselves are latent, inert, harmless - until they aren't.
It is in our lives and not our words that our religion must be read.
Every religion is true one way or another. It is true when understood metaphorically. But when it gets stuck in its own metaphors, interpreting them as facts, then you are in trouble.
I seldom deal in symbolisms; if there be hidden meanings in my verse, they are there without my knowledge.