Religion is the record of spiritual events. Through the repetition of past occurrences religion can give us a close approximation of the event itself, but it is not the same thing as a spiritual experience.

Ashavan
About This Quote

I’m not sure if this quote by Henry David Thoreau is intended to be a critique of religion or a defense of it, but I think his point stands. Religion isn’t about direct spiritual experiences, but about the records of those experiences. In other words, it is the record of spiritual events. I believe that the power of religion lies in the fact that it gives us a close approximation of these experiences. It can give us a chance to know something about what it is like to be a Christian, for example, without actually being a Christian.

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