If there is one thing holding mankind back from being truly civilized, what would you say it is?

Answer 1

Personally, I'd have to go with religion.

Even though it is often put in a positive light, it prevents many advances in technology/the sciences (presently stem-cell research; in the past, human anatomy, since dissection was illegal). When you also consider all of the wars and disputes it has caused, it doesn't really balance out the pros... It falls quite short.

I'm not saying that religion should be destroyed- I think the focus just has to be taken off of it. Until we can do that, humankind will be unable to truly broaden its horizons as quickly as it could without.

Answer 2

Greed, in a broad sense in "wanting more". Whether it be power, money, property, recognition, the want and desire for a bigger piece of the pie turns man against man, even family against family. People who live their lives "getting more" because they believe they dont have enough is what keeps us from being truly civilized. The human ego thrives on dominance and abundance of physical pleasure. As soon as people realize that all this "stuff" is impermanent and unfulfilling, people will stop being jealous, murdering their neighbors, starting wars and stabbing backs.

Answer 3

Greed.

Men always want more than they have and will take it at all costs. More money, more power, more land. Men will kill for it, go to war for it. On a smaller scale, they will lie, steal, backstab & step on people to get it. (Notice I say men, because throughout history the greatest atrocities have been committed by men. This is not to say that women can't be greedy as well, but I don't believe women are as bloodthirsty...)

Mankind is unkind. Greed is the reason civilization isn't civilized.

Answer 4

As a whole, mankinde does not understand the purpose and meaning of life. If you understand that very simple principle civilization will follow.

Answer 5

I believe in God. But in my experience with organized religion, I have seen women bow down to men. Women who have not dared to question things. I took issue with this as a child. I think anything that teaches someone not to think on their own, and ask questions holds people back. Be it a politics, etc. I think we should not be afraid to ask questions. For if not, what is being hidden? We are all human, and bleed, and cry when our children are hurt. Too many people follow like sheep, and are afraid to dare to be different and question. This is what I think holds humans back. Anyone can interpret the Bible any number of ways, as well as any book. If you are good to others, and a good person, I don't care what faith, color, etc. you are. If you don't hurt anyone, I have no problem with you. I have seen too many religious people tearing others down, all in the name of religion. I thought Christ taught us to be good to each other. I'm a humanist. I hope we can lift each other up, and not tear each other down. It's what I do now that counts, I'm not concerned with heaven or hell. Just my opinion.

Answer 6

Ignorance of:

Progressive Revelation

A great stumbling block to many, in the way of religious unity, is the difference between the Revelations given by the different Prophets. What is commanded by one is forbidden by another; how then can both be right, how can both be proclaiming the Will of God? Surely the truth is One, and cannot change. Yes, the Absolute Truth is One and cannot change, but the Absolute Truth is infinitely beyond the present range of human understanding, and our conceptions of it must constantly change. Our earlier, imperfect ideas will be by the Grace of God replaced, as time goes on, by more and more adequate conceptions. Bahá’u’lláh says, in a Tablet to some Bahá’ís of Persia:—
O people! Words are revealed according to capacity so that the beginners may make progress. The milk must be given according to measure so that the babe of the world may enter into the Realm of Grandeur and be established in the Court of Unity.
It is milk that strengthens the babe so that it can digest more solid food later on. To say that because one Prophet is right in giving a certain teaching at a certain time, therefore another Prophet must be wrong Who gives a different teaching at a different time, is like saying that because milk is the best food 123 for the newborn babe, therefore, milk and nothing but milk should be the food of the grown man also, and to give any other diet would be wrong! ‘Abdu’l-Bahá says:—
Each divine revelation is divided into two parts. The first part is essential and belongs to the eternal world. It is the exposition of Divine truths and essential principles. It is the expression of the Love of God. This is one in all the religions, unchangeable and immutable. The second part is not eternal; it deals with practical life, transactions and business, and changes according to the evolution of man and the requirements of the time of each Prophet. For example. … During the Mosaic period the hand of a person was cut off in punishment of a small theft; there was a law of an eye for an eye and a tooth for a tooth, but as these laws were not expedient in the time of Christ, they were abrogated. Likewise divorce had become so universal that there remained no fixed laws of marriage, therefore His Holiness Christ forbade divorce.

According to the exigencies of the time, His Holiness Moses revealed ten laws for capital punishment. It was impossible at that time to protect the community and to preserve social security without these severe measures, for the children of Israel lived in the wilderness of Tah, where there were no established courts of justice and no penitentiaries. But this code of conduct was not needed in the time of Christ. The history of the second part of religion is unimportant, because it relates to the customs of this life only; but the foundation of the religion of God is one, and His Holiness Bahá’u’lláh has renewed that foundation.
The religion of God is the One Religion, and all the Prophets have taught it, but it is a living and a growing thing, not lifeless and unchanging. In the teaching of Moses we see the Bud; in that of Christ the Flower; in that of Bahá’u’lláh the Fruit. The flower does not destroy the bud, nor does the fruit destroy the flower. It destroys not, but fulfills. The bud scales must fall in order that the flower may bloom, and the petals must fall that 124 the fruit may grow and ripen. Were the bud scales and the petals wrong or useless, then, that they had to be discarded? Nay, both in their time were right and necessary; without them there could have been no fruit. So it is with the various prophetic teachings; their externals change from age to age, but each revelation is the fulfillment of its predecessors; they are not separate or incongruous, but different stages in the life history of the One Religion, which has in turn been revealed as seed, as bud and as flower, and now enters on the stage of fruition.

Answer 7

Christians.

Answer 8

Religion and culture....we don't want to do this or that coz its against our religion and our culture.I did'nt mean thier bad its just that you just have to think twice before doing anything else or adapt to the new generation.They just made you reluctant to comply to the new millenium.

Answer 9

The fact that we're still animals, still the most savage beasts on the planet........ in other words, humans.
We're really despicable as creatures go, and we have the capacity to be so much more!

Answer 10

The Human MIND!!! Preferably "The Law of Attration" needs to be introduced to the world!