The Secret Design of Religion

No, before you say it, religion is NOT salvation. Religion was never salvation, so much as worship. And that wasn't even the beginning of it. Religion started out as the original science, defining and explaining the world around us. And then naturally, because our understanding only went so far, we began to fear and worship these things.

Nowadays, we have Christianity, Catholicism, Buddhists, Baptists, Lutherans, Taoists, Muslims, and all of these other faiths.

So, what is the purpose of religion, exactly? If it is not the absolute truth, then why is it here? Why do we invariably choose a religion (atheists excepted)?

These are questions that must be answered if we are to understand the true nature of our world. What I mean is, in order to understand the true nature, we must understand the false nature. What it is, why we have chosen it, why we will cling to it when confronted with evidence to the contrary.

We must know our enemy in order to defeat it, or see through it. Don't misunderstand me; I do not advocate the downfall of religion. In all honesty, it may be one of the few things keeping utter chaos at bay. It may be one of the few reasons our race is still alive.

However, we must see the flaws of religion, so that our crutch does not become our lifeline. Rather than become dependent on morphine, we use it while we heal and grow stronger, so that one day, we may step away from it entirely, a new and healed being. In this sense, I will describe my impression of exactly what religion is doing for us, and why we lean upon it so much.

It comes down to three things: a preclude to science; a substitute for responsibility for both fate and flaws; and an answer for questions we don't really understand (which eventually evolves into a controlling mechanism). Essentially, it's a fear of the unknown, and a desire for closure, in a world we pretend we understand, but really don't. However, I feel a more precise and in-depth look is required on the subject.

First of all, the preclude to science. Since, in the very distant past, we had no real understanding of protons and electrons and all of this stuff, we (and when I say 'we', I mean mankind) attributed lightning to Thor, the god of Thunder. Other civilizations had similar ideas, looking to Zeus for the answer to that great flash and CRACK during thunder storms. The seas were affected by Poseidon, the sun was a chariot led across the sky by Apollo, and Athens itself was founded by...well, Athena. Even such a small thing as spiders were given stories by mythical beings such as Arachne, the weaver of legend cursed by Athena.

These people were not fools...they often used legend in order to weave stories together, using their "science" to tell tales that would impart morals to the younger generations. They knew how to use these stories, in the same fashion we use the Bible today. They were not fools...but they were not scientists either. Hence, their best answer was mythology...and eventually, their fear and respect for the mysteries of nature led to worship, that nature might not unleash its fury upon them.

This leads us to the second part of my conjecture...the questions that were beyond our comprehension (and still are). Children ask many questions, and adults, who are more able to organize and direct their thoughts, ask even more questions. Answers are needed for these questions, because man likes to understand the world that he interacts with. Answers drive the unknown back, and man fears the unknown. Therefore, quite understandably, curiosity is rampant among these people, unless a "god" forbids it.

This is when the empires start rising. Priests are born, temples erected, and brotherhoods founded...and naturally, man goes to these priests for questions. This gives the priests unthinkable power. With a simple answer, they can change the course of a man's life...the fate of a city...or even the tale of history itself! All with the "word" of the gods. Thus, this ability to "commune" with gods grants them the right to make decisions, as per the will of the almighty beings. I would like to note here that several ancient temples have been discovered to have gas leaks, a possible explanation to the visions experienced by these priests.

Thus, the "control mechanism". It extends back centuries, because no man can resist the power to lead a nation while lurking in the shadows. And these superstitious races...why, who are they to question the mouth of the gods? Heaven forbid they offend the rulers of the heavenly realm and cause them to rain fire and lightning upon the lands!

But philosophers begin telling tales of how these men are incorrect...how they cannot answer questions that Aristotle can, and Plato. Philosophers and watchers of the night sky are providing more answers than priests. Answers about planets, and the sun. True science is just beginning to shift its magnificent head, ready to rise. Oh, this simply cannot do! And so, they needed an attraction, something that would bind the people to the gods forevermore. Something that couldn't be undone or rewound...a permanent seduction, based upon the very nature of man. And this is the final nail, the bear trap that has us caught fast, even to this day.

If you give your fate to one being (God), and all of your responsibility for your flaws to another being (Satan), what are you left with? Desire. All of your fears, all of your worries and mistakes and sins, are taken care of by one or the other. One takes responsibility for your fate, the other takes the blame for your faults. It's magical. Of course, you can't be allowed to run rampant. You must serve the Living Son of God, Jesus Christ. You must focus your desire, your energy, upon this service. And who knows how to serve properly? Who controls the manual that has been printed more than anything else? Why, the Church! The Church that was originally a government! That originally controlled people themselves, and demanded taxes and money and sacrifice and celibacy and heterosexuality and meekness and all of these things!

The Church, which still has its hand in all thing government and state.

You can probably finish this for yourself...but I wanted to reveal this to all of you. Yes, even you who have been clutching the skirts of the Church for many years now. I want you to see the truth to. How the Church has utilized the subconscious desires of man, the basic instincts of man, to seduce you into an order of control that has lasted for centuries.

It has lost power as a government, but the government can only control so many things. The Church controls how you live your life...because apparently, it is THE foremost authority in what is WRONG and what is RIGHT.

And yet, as any ATSer on here will tell you, these two concepts (RIGHT and WRONG) are utterly subjective. Who is the Church to tell you what is just and unjust? How do they know what moral is? From an ancient book that has been rewritten, revised, reworked and eventually reinvented? We have no proof that it is legitimate. We have the word of the Church...

The Church, which still retains power through this book, upon which has been founded a system of control known today as "religion".

You may interpret this as you like...but remember: No religion is the right one. Love everyone and everything, and you'll know what to do.

Jesus isn't a passport. Jesus wasn't the embodiment of love. Jesus was an example. Now, it's up to you. Not the Church. Not the Bible. You. Love is all you need. Not Jesus. There is more than one way...find the one that suits you best. If you NEED the Church (and I doubt you do) go for it. But try to be who you are, instead of who they want you to be.

And while religion has many possibilities, many applications, the potential doesn't matter...the actuality does. So if guns have the potential to defend, but the actuality of murder, it will still be viewed as dangerous. Why? Because despite of the positive aspects, the negative aspects are too powerful to overcome. Apply this to organized religion...not individual faiths and independent worships...but organized religions, such as Christianity and Catholicism and the Baptists and Lutherans. The most widely spread of today's religions. Do you see my point?

We're not robots, we're people. People capable of loving. Jesus is dead, and gone, so now it's up to you. What will you do with it?


Namaste

Originally posted by Starchild23
And yet, as any ATSer on here will tell you, these two concepts (RIGHT and WRONG) are utterly subjective. Who is the Church to tell you what is just and unjust? How do they know what moral is? From an ancient book that has been rewritten, revised, reworked and eventually reinvented? We have no proof that it is legitimate. We have the word of the Church...

What about LOVE and HATE, these can clearly be defined by their wavelength - although the interpretation of a Love or hate act may differ is is all about intention.

An interesting post that I only had time to skim through and will come back to and probably post again. I used to have quite a negative view of religion as a means of control. Recently I have been looking at religion as a means of accessing your higher self - the control is a byproduct of this.

Anyway, very interesting post.

Peace!

Originally posted by SunWuKong

Originally posted by Starchild23
And yet, as any ATSer on here will tell you, these two concepts (RIGHT and WRONG) are utterly subjective. Who is the Church to tell you what is just and unjust? How do they know what moral is? From an ancient book that has been rewritten, revised, reworked and eventually reinvented? We have no proof that it is legitimate. We have the word of the Church...

What about LOVE and HATE, these can clearly be defined by their wavelength - although the interpretation of a Love or hate act may differ is is all about intention.

An interesting post that I only had time to skim through and will come back to and probably post again. I used to have quite a negative view of religion as a means of control. Recently I have been looking at religion as a means of accessing your higher self - the control is a byproduct of this.

Anyway, very interesting post.

Peace!

Religion CAN be used as a means of accessing the higher self. The issue I take with this is that the Higher Self is identified as "God", which is inaccurate on all fronts, and that the only way there is through Jesus Christ.

Now, when they are touting Jesus as a historical figure, and saying that his name is the only way we can reach this "God"...do you see the problem here?

Jesus is not, and never was, a passport to the higher self, or whatever these churches are doing. It's a mechanism for control...but what they're doing exactly, I don't know.

reply to post by Starchild23


I agree. to dictate one god and salvation is only through Jesus is dangerous stuff and there is definitely a huge control element in religion.

But some of the spiritual training can be useful for 'enlightenment' and maybe overcoming these Jesus boundaries are part and parcel of attaining this higher awareness -- just a thought anyway.

I have seen a lot of good come out of religion but overall this is shadowed completely by all the # it has caused throughout the world!

Jesus was a model we're supposed to take..
Birth, Death, Rebirth, Ascension

Its the same path Osiris took as well.
Birth, Death, Rebirth, Ascension.

I think religion has mostly been warped to suit the needs of certain individuals, be they in power or not. Its been warped and perverted over 1500 years to cater to certain groups, to easily control people.

Note: Im not of any religion, and im not an athiest. But i believe in 'god' so to speak, maybe not in that exact word, but it all essentially means the same thing.

reply to post by Starchild23


I was about to do a thread on this lol

Environment does play a huge role in developing religion and the mind state of the populace. For instance, take the ancient Egyptians and the Sumerians. Their outlooks on life extremely contrasted each other. Both were river valley civilizations yet Mesopotamia was subjected to intense pressure from foreigners. There was continual political disunity and life was full of uncertainties, thus the Sumerians adopted a pessimistic outlook on life. They believed if life in this world brought misery, then the life after death must be even worse.

Whereas with the ancient Egyptians, they believed there was a divine order and justice to things. There was no need to issue law codes because Ma'at was eternally present. Due to the Nile River Valley being generally isolated from foreign contact there was a cultural continuity. Also, the ancient Egyptian gods were concerned with human affairs, unlike the Sumerian gods.

^ (even though this is taken from another post I responded to, it seems fitting)

Originally posted by AzureSky
Jesus was a model we're supposed to take..
Birth, Death, Rebirth, Ascension

Its the same path Osiris took as well.
Birth, Death, Rebirth, Ascension.

I think religion has mostly been warped to suit the needs of certain individuals, be they in power or not. Its been warped and perverted over 1500 years to cater to certain groups, to easily control people.

Note: Im not of any religion, and im not an athiest. But i believe in 'god' so to speak, maybe not in that exact word, but it all essentially means the same thing.

edit on 1/3/12 by AzureSky because: (no reason given)

But are we reading it correctly? Are we being taught the actual definition, or the definition they want us to hear?

Precisely.

I am not a good story teller but here goes......

Two men come upon a village of people all dressed in devil outfits, they come to find that they did this because the people in the village over the hill were really stupid, and those people were easily controlled and manipulated when the neighbor village dressed as devils and came to terrorize them.
The two men go to visit the village over the hill and they come to find that the people of that village really are dumb, so they start telling them all kinds of things that weren't true. They told them that they fell from the sky and that they had come to help them fight off the devils in exchange for their riches. They did help them fight off the "devils" but they never told the people that the "devils" were just the other villages people dressed up to scare them. By doing this the men could keep "helping" the village with the devils and make tons of money doing it.

Is this story sounding a little familiar?

Churches nowadays function for one thing and one thing only. Money. Plain and simple. I mean this as in Americanized religions, money being their primary goal. I cannot say that for any other religions, but control over the people is often a motive in other countries.

I don't need the promise heaven to be a decent HUMAN being. Morality and Ethics are really all a person needs. Love is a great companion to those too of course.

Is it me or do all Indigo's think this way?

reply to post by LittleVoice731


Oh, so you're an Indigo too? Welcome, brother.

Being an Indigo adult, while it has influenced some of my thoughts, has not inspired this thread. This thread is purely insight. A deep, reflective look into why man relies so heavily upon religion.

And it's basically fear and closure, as I stated above.

reply to post by Starchild23

Jesus is dead, and gone

You have no proof of this. This is purely your biased opinion based upon your hatred of christianity. Ok so i get it, you have an axe to grind. You can say Yeshua is dead all you want to, but it doesn't make it true because there is no body. In the end, you're still trying to convince yourself that your way is the right way and that you really matter when you have no clue that what you believe is even right, while decrying another belief system you hate. This thread isn't about any other religion other than christianity so stop lying to yourself.

You're going to spend your entire life trying to justify what you believe in. As for me? I don't have to justify anything, Yeshua justified it for me. This thread is nothing more than an anti-christian hatefest designed to troll people who believe in the Living God and his son Yeshua haMeshiach...Jesus the Christ.

We already know you hate christians, your derogatory comments in other threads and your complete lack of mercy in your judgements against their intelligence because they refuse to follow your beliefs proves that...you are a bigot.

Originally posted by Starchild23

Being an Indigo adult

What exactly is an "Indigo?"

S&F

I have a love-hate opinion about religion.

On one hand, much compassion, charity, forgiveness, and helping can be attributed to religion. It is a vast pool of strength and courage to those in need. Religion can transform people into loving and empathetic beings.

On the other hand, religion causes much separation, conflict, chaos, and strife. Believers of various sects arguing amongst themselves trying to prove who has the correct doctrine. Believers growing apathetic towards non-believers, or carrying a religious superiority complex. Crusades, jihads, and conquests of the Land of Milk and Honey.

What is the right way? Do no harm to your self, others, or nature unnecessarily. Live and let live. Peace

OP, I completely agree with your first sentence, but you have to recognize that there is one true son of God, Yeshua the Messiah. Through him is the key to the higher self.

It is impossible through yourself only

Why have in all these years, none of these Taoists or Buddhists or whatever never achieved the higher self?. How do you expect one to achieve the higher self? We're not evolving so how is this going to go? You would agree that there has to be an external stimuli? If so what is it?