Spirit

Every society worships.  Whenever a new people group are discovered by western man, they discover a worship of certain gods.  In our country it was the serpent spirit.  Shops contain a lot of paraphernalia of religions from other lands.  Some worship the stars, and some the works of their hands, while others worship the creation.
I doubt I will ever forget what an African lady said on “You Can’t Ask That.”  She said that in Africa she had nothing but was never more spiritually alive.  In Australia she has everything but has never been more spiritually dead.”
Our society would deny it worships, and makes every attempt to remove religion, but it seems to me there has simply been a swapping of gods.  It seems to be the god of reason that is worshipped here.  And things.  Possessions are promoted as satisfying a hunger that is not satisfied.  A lifetime is spent climbing a ladder that can be against the wrong wall.
From where I stand there seems to be a real paradox in what is espoused.  It is summed up in a saying I heard somewhere recently.  “Praying is ok, but to claim to hear from God is considered psychosis.”  There seems to be a real sense that any searching is ok, but to claim to find is an obvious deception.
One of the problems I have is that no answer is provided for beyond the grave.  It is treated as the great unknowable.  If someone claims to have been there, done that, they are relegated as a liar or deceiver, even when it is totally contrary to their actions and world view.
My prediction is (and I am likely to be dead before it can be claimed that I was wrong) there will come a “if you can’t beat em, join em” attitude.  I see it in Roman times.  They allowed worship.  But it was Emperor worship.
Because worship is endemic to the human race it will be tolerated.  In fact, it will be encouraged.  Not just encouraged but forced.  What I worship will become an ultimate choice thing.  Worship the state god or forfeit my life.  My choice.
All this because it seems worship is innate in humans.  It is not something learned but lived.  Attempts can be made to regulate it and direct it, but it seems despite all efforts it can never relegated or annihilated.  It is innate in humans the world over.