These books are bodies of explanations,
expectations, and norms pertinent to practical experiences,
written in very expressive language, ambiguous enough to
accommodate a variety of similar situations, but precise in
their identification of who is part of the shared religious
experience, and who is outside, as foreign and undesirable, or
foreign and subject to enticement.
The plurality of religious experiences
What makes religion necessary is a subject on which it would be
foolish to expect any degree of consensus. What makes it
possible, at least in the forms experienced and documented from
ancient times to the modern, is language, and soon after
language, writing-although Japanese Shintoism, like Judaism,
began before writing-and reading, or more to the point, the
Book. For the Judeo-Christian religions, as well as for Islam,
the Book is the sufficient condition for their development and
persistence. When the Book grew into books, it actually became
the center of religious praxis. This is reflected in the nature
of religious rituals, an extension of mytho-magical experiences
previous to writing. They were all meant to disseminate the Book,
and make its rules and prescriptions part of the life of the
members of the respective community.
The timeline of the practical experience of religious human
self-constitution suggests significant commonalties among the
various religions.
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