Does anyone out there Grok religion?

Question

This being in reference to Robert Heinlein's book Stranger in a Strange Land. Also, is it possible to be free thinking, open minded, accepting, and still religious in today's world? How many of you actually pay it forward?

Hey Sara, I didn't want a book review - I wanted an actual answer to the question. But at least it piqued your curiosity enough to look up Heinlein.
Please note: Robert Heinlein was never sexist, he was a male who could write from a woman's perspective and had balanced, strong female characters - often the leads.

Answer 1

I LOVE that movie (Pay it Forward) and, way back when I was a teenager, I loved that book (Stranger in a Strange Land).
I certainly do think that it's possible to be free thinking, open-minded, accepting, and still religious in today's world, if, that is, by "religious" you mean "having faith", rather than belonging to any organized religion.
I've been trying to "pay it forward" for many decades now because I know that if I help another, I also help myself. Moreover, as the movie showed so well, we can never tell how far the ramifications of our actions extend.
Paying it forward today could affect who knows how many others in the near and far future.

Answer 2

I'm sorry I have no idea what "Grok" is. Yes, it is possible to be free thinking, open minded, accepting and STILL be religious in today's world. Yes, I 'pay it forward' every chance I get.

Answer 3

I understand religion. It is an institution used to keep the masses in check. And I don't believe that you can be open minded and religious at the same time. Because to be open minded you have to be willing to listen to evidence that your religion is false.

Answer 4

Grok religion based on training humans to grok, or to come to a complete understanding, of the Martian understanding of the universe .

Valentine Michael Smith owns Mars. Mike's parents belonged to a failed expedition to Mars. Shortly after landing, Mike's mother gave birth, and after the crew died, kindly Martians raised Mike as one of their own. A future expedition to Mars finds Mike and returns him to Earth. Through various quirks and precedents, Earth law dictates that Mike owns the rights to all of Mars -- in spite of its indigenous inhabitants. Earth's world government really doesn't want Mike to have that kind of power, so they imprison him in a hospital. Gillian, a nurse in the hospital, realizes the threat to Mike's life, and she sneaks Mike out of the hospital. She takes him to Jubal, a wealthy retired doctor and lawyer who continues to increase his wealth by writing sit-coms and soap operas.

In Jubal's house, Mike begins to study earth life, especially earth religions. Through the training he received from the Martians, Mike has total recall, can teleport, and can eliminate problems like guns and soldiers by teleporting them into "nothing." Mike realizes that the Martians have sent him to earth as an unwilling espionage agent. Mike knows that the Martians will disapprove of what they find on Earth and might eventually take drastic action. (Only the asteroid belt remains of a planet that once threatened the Martians.)

Since the Martians take literally eons to make any decision, Mike has time to help the human race, so he makes a deal with the world government about the rights to Mars and starts a new religion based on training humans to grok, or to come to a complete understanding, of the Martian understanding of the universe . Members of Mike's new church work their way up through nine levels, or circles, of knowledge and status. Members of the ninth circle, live in a clothing-optional communal hive with Mike -- a Messiah figure -- and share everything from the wealth of the church to sexual partners. Of course with such a free-thinking church, members of more fundamental religions want to ruin Mike.

Science fiction often uses future situations not only to extrapolate scientific developments, but to pose questions about humanity placed in extreme (but controlled) conditions. Heinlein used Stranger in a Strange Land to ask questions about human capabilities and religion. What skills do we not have simply because our culture or our fundamental understanding of science or religion get in our way? Could you raise a psychic child just by raising it to believe that all the adults around it had psychic abilities? What purpose does religion really serve? Does religion have a purpose other than to give the populace something to do with their time and money?

Often, Heinlein's characters get so carried away discussing philosophical implications that all the action stops for pages and pages at a time. Many of these philosophical lumps seem unreasonable for the characters in their situations, but Heinlein wants to get his point across and needs someone to voice his opinions.

Most questions Heinlein asks still apply to humanity today. If you can stomach a lot of sexist attitudes toward women and their place in society, you will probably find Stranger in a Strange Land not only interesting but compelling.