Religious Rites
“...for Herod feared John, knowing that he was a just and holy man, and he protected him. And when he heard him, he did many things, and heard him gladly.” Mark 6:20 NKJV https://www.bible.com/114/mrk.6.20.nkjv The best of religious rites and obligations is depicted by the relationship between Herod and John the Baptist: the fear of human disapproval, appreciation of righteous deeds, protection of lives and properties, etc. Yet, he felt obligated to protect human rules and regulations against the commandment of God: You shall not kill! The clear implication is that, apart from the irrelevance of human rules to divine injunction, human rules are inconsistent because they are subject to conflict of interest. Therefore, instead of pursuing the passion to please man in life, the scriptures declare that the fear of God is the beginning of wisdom. Unfortunately, even fellow human beings are simply frustrated by the hypocritical imbalances in religious rites. Otherwise, religious ...