Is religion bad? No! Religion is good. Religion gives a person something to believe in and something to belong to. Religion creates UNITY in people. The variety of religions provides choices. It allows the individual to belong to a group where he/she feels comfortable and accepted. Religion became a bondage and a torch bearer for prejudice, bias and separatism when it claimed to be the only true path to God. That’s the failure of religions. Hence in their current format, religions can’t bring peace and harmony to the human race.
Did God create religions? NO! Religions were invented by inspired humans for humans to belong to a group, to a community where they can share the same concept of loving and sharing, the same concept of who the supreme being (God) is. To keep the group united the founders of religions capitalized on kindness and guilt. They also instilled the valued concept that the soul can be damned into eternal sorrow.
So they based religion on the salvation of the soul from eternal damnation. Religion instills the idea in us, that we are born with the tendency towards evil. The founders of religions branded the survival instinct of humans, that would make a human deprive others for the sake of survival, as an inherent evil. Instead of molding and teaching the young to overcome this instinct to “cheat”, “insult” and “deprive”, by using the principles of universal stewardship, the spiritual leaders simply condemned this as evil and branded this as SIN.
Did God give us commandments? Did he make a laundry list for humans of what is good and what is bad? NO. God did not do any of those. Men did. God continues to inspire us everyday, God continues to communicate with us via our feelings and enlightened minds. God continues to communicate with us through nature. Visions or premonitions could possibly be inspirations from the spirit world or simply the captured thoughts that resonated from the living human consciousness. The spiritual leaders interpreted these inspirations and have conveniently written books and commandments in the name of God.
Writing things down as laws coming from men is not as intimidating as writing it down as coming from God. The spiritual leaders knew, that if the author is God, it will carry more weight and influence. Fear and guilt are the simple tools of the spiritual leader to make people believe. Again, preaching “Salvation from Damnation” worked wonders for the spiritual leaders.
Gathering people together to give thanks to God is good. Preaching all the goodness of humanity is good. Teaching humanity to care for mother nature is good. However, this did not get many followers. This did not create the bond to form a Union that the spiritual leader wanted for his group. So the formula was Fear and Control. Fear from eternal damnation. The explainable natural disasters became capital goods for the spiritual leader. He capitalized on the CONSEQUENCES of the negatives. The negative brings on damnation. This created fear and fear from losing God became the ticket to the Unity for his organization, this gave him control which later gave birth to religions.
Everyone feels guilt. When we do something wrong we feel that need for atonement. The founders of religions capitalized on this. Strangely enough Christianity is based on the teachings of Jesus Christ, yet he did not start a religion. Gautama Buddha was not the founder of the religion of Buddhism. Judaism was not founded by Abraham even though he is honored as the father of the Covenant. The bottom line is this: founders of religions took the teachings of the great teachers and used their great teachings to create a religion to unite a group of people to sustain the contradictory force of others who do not believe in the same concepts. Hence, every religion teaches that their way is the only way. This kind of teaching creates conflict, bias and prejudice.
Every single religion did not start immediately as a religion. They all started as a group of people. Even in modern society, this is true. There is always that one person who has the charisma to lead, to organize and to use his idea to form a group or infuse his idea into an existing group. More often than not, the intention is always towards a lofty goal to better the community morally and spiritually. Founders of religions used philosophy and moral values as foundations of their teachings. They used the exemplary lives of past leaders or community members who led heroic lives and sacrificed it for the betterment of others, or of those who struggled through life and found atonement for peace and tranquility in their lives. These individuals, combined with philosophy and the teaching of moral values became the foundation of religions.
To maintain and grow a religion, it needs members and of course leaders. Leaders always vie for positions of power and of influence. Leaders must be chosen from the group, hence politics is involved. Politics is ingrained in religions. Religions entrenched in government teach the idea of “open borders” for expansion outwards but not inwards.
Religion grew on the desperation of humanity instead of its prosperity. Seldom would you read in the books of religions the teachings on how to be prosperous. Rarely is there anything about being pro-active. The focus is not on teaching the children the values of universal stewardship. Rather, the target of religions is on their organizational growth, the preparation of humanity’s salvation from damnation and the repentance and the forgiveness of sins.
The best manipulator is the spiritual leader who claims to be a SERVANT. A servant to the will of God. When all the time he is manipulating the followers to do his personal will. God never wanted any servants. He made no promises and he did not make any covenants. He gave us freewill and an abundance of love to be shared.
“God is not about the eternal damnation or punishment in hell, and neither is he about the eternal reward of heaven. He is about accountability in terms of privileges. God is about serenity and love and the everlasting opportunity to belong and be “more”. God simply wants us to live our eternal life (corporeal and spiritual), to respect, to share, to love, to prosper and to be happy.”
Last Updated on October 23, 2020
As you prosper through life you must exercise prudence and responsible ways to attain your wealth and prosperity. Religion does not teach anyone how to be prosperous. However, religion does teach that there is no need to deprive others in order for us to succeed. Negotiation is a two way street. Being responsible means that it is our obligation to make sure that both parties are satisfied. Humanity must exercise the art of “responsible prosperity“.
Our relationship with God is on a one on one basis. Accountability is personal and never as a group, an organization, a community or a nation. Our covenant with God is always personal and never as a religion. A group of people may decide on an action or commitment, but each individual made his/her own choice. As far as God is concerned the consequences or accountability later will always be personal.
The target or main topic of religion is always the after life. However, bear in mind that there is no religion in the spirit world. Religion is only for the living. Created by the living to benefit the living organization.
Last Updated on October 23, 2020
In my understanding, the essence of a religion revolves around its community. Members breathe life into a faith, practicing its rituals, upholding its values, and passing on its traditions. Without a community to embody its principles, a religion loses its distinct identity; it becomes a set of teachings rather than a lived faith.
This communal aspect is a defining feature of what makes a religion. Philosophies can exist as abstract ideas, explored and contemplated by individuals, but a religion is a way of life practiced by a community of believers.
But there’s more to it. The communal nature of religion also gives religious leaders a certain influence or power over their members. These leaders guide the interpretation of religious teachings, oversee rituals, and often play a significant role in the social and moral lives of their followers. This position of influence can be used to foster growth, compassion, and understanding, but it can also become a source of control.
In my view, some religious leaders may become focused on maintaining this influence, fearing that a loss of members means a loss of their grip on power. The community is not just the heart of the religion; it is also the source of authority for those who lead it. Without members, without community, the leaders lose their platform, and the religion itself loses its vitality and essence.
This complex interplay between members, community, leaders, and power highlights the multifaceted nature of religious life. Beliefs may exist as philosophical concepts, but it is the community that transforms them into a living religion. At the same time, this community creates a dynamic of power and influence that can shape not only the faith but also the relationships and structures within it. Without membership, without community, a religion may retain its teachings but lose its practice, its influence, and its very soul. It may have profound teachings, but without people to live those teachings, it remains an intellectual exercise rather than a living faith. The community is what turns principles into practice and faith into a way of life, but it also introduces a dimension of power that cannot be ignored.