Religions And The Concept Of Time.

Time can be seen as linear, or, cyclical.

The cyclical model of time has been

employed by many human societies,

from the most primitive, to some of the 

most advanced...India and China are 

two examples of the latter.The linear

concept of time was employed by mono

theistic religions as a major aspect of their

belief system. If time is linear, then, humans

only have one life span to make their

relationship with whatever diety, and, 

at death, the actions of their lives, and their

faith, determines where they'll  spend the

rest of eternity.  In the cyclical view, 

life is a process, not a solid manifestation. 

Eastern religions have the concept of "wa",

which translates as "harmony". This gives

a clue as to their relationship to time. 

Harmony means human events take place

in an atmosphere of ordered understanding.

It's presence or absence is what is important.

For the theists, it's "salvation"...meaning that

there is an end point to the process...(linear

thinking)...and to the outcome. This is important

because it is what the monotheists use to keep

their adherents in line to their way of thinking

and doing, rather than acting in "harmony" 

with existing conditions.