Article April 4, 1983 Issue

"Are there any questions?"

MICHAEL D. RISSLER

Contemporary religion is fraught with questions and concern about morality—that discriminating knowledge of what is good and constructive, opposed to the degenerative and self-destructive. But was it always so? Perhaps not. Just as moral sensitivity and affection need to be nurtured and tested in individuals, so too, in generations and societies, religious worship needs to mature into moral insights and the right kind of questions.

A hint at the necessity for this sort of maturation is felt in a line penned by a Roman contemporary of fledgling Christianity. Petronius wrote, Primus in orbe deos fecit timor ("It was fear that first made gods in the world").

What can span the distance between primitive fear and the knowledge of God as spiritual power upholding, not competing with, the life of man?

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