Is it really what you think?

One of the common elements of different cultures, people, and ages is the search for something greater than ourselves, or at least answers to life. Some do this through a scientific explanation, but more search for something a bit more incorporeal. This is a natural response. It has led to the foundation and creation of many different religions. There is nothing wrong with this. However, it is also natural for some in the population to seek ways to exploit others and rise to a position of power. Again, this is normal and natural.

Where the problem comes from is the danger they present when they are either taken to extremes, or the lust for power exploits those outside of the religion. It is easy to look at the extremists of terrorists groups like Al-Qaeda, but they are not the ones that I am most afraid of; I more fear the more insidious, “well-meaning” christians and catholics. They have incessantly preached a doctrine to eliminate thought, furthering the idea that the only path to heaven was blind unwavering faith. This way, they can say any ridiculous thing and it will be accepted by the mindless masses.

Let’s take a closer examination of some of these ridiculous positions. The condemnation of homosexuality: Many religions condemn homosexuality even when while practicing it behind closed doors. Officially they take a stand against it. But why? I may not understand the desire for one’s own gender, but I can understand the desire to be accepted and loved for who and what I am. All of these same religions that condemn homosexuality say out of the other side of their mouth how their god is all about love, forgiveness, and acceptance, at least as long as you are exactly like them. It can’t be both ways. Either the god you serve is about love, forgiveness, and acceptance, or it is against this or that including homosexuality. To say that it is somehow both is empirical proof that it is not real, but instead, it is a social club of exclusive membership without true foundation.

Another hot topic is the refusal of the right to use birth control. Saying that a.) sex is a sin and is only excused if done in the marriage bed for the purpose of reproducing, b.) that it is up to some god to decide how many children should be born, when, and by whom. Yet many of these same ones that are against contraceptives see nothing wrong with seeking help from fertility doctors so that they can whelp a litter. What of “god’s will” then? Aren't these same ones again speaking from different sides of their mouths? Back to point “a,” making sex into a sin allows for it to be a shameful act and a tool of manipulation and domination. This is a practice used by many religions for the male to dominate the female through the “humiliation” of sex. Is that really how sex should be viewed or used? To the point, should sex ever be “used” as opposed to being shared?

Again a rallying cry of many in religion is deeming early term abortion to be murder. There are times that they get so worked up about it that some have actually assassinated doctors who perform abortions. The official stance of the church in these situations is that they do not condone the action, but do see it as justified. In no way is it justified, it really is murder. I will not get into the merits of abortion or the arguments against it further, as that is not the point of this discussion. I bring it up only as a part of the pattern.

So on to the next piece of that pattern; these same churches often rush to justify many wars as being righteous and holy. Of course this is not the stand of every pastor or preacher, but it is the overriding majority of the powers that be. As a whole, churches of many of the major religions justify war as a means to either make their opponents repent and join their side of the “enlightened truth” or to die as an infidel dog. Either result is fine. The point is to be the only religion in the entire world and have every single person fully indoctrinated. The goal: World domination. It brings to mind the Warner Brothers’ cartoon “Pinky and the Brain:”

“What are we going to do tonight, Brain?”

“Same thing we do every night, Pinky, try to take over the world!”

What, you may ask yourself, do these things have in common? Numbers, that is what they have in common. Despite the words that are used to condemn homosexuality, the truth is it is because homosexual activity does not produce children. They condemn birth control and all abortion? Because it prevents the birth of more children. So what all does this have to do with war? If the “christian nation” does not keep up a steady flow of children, then eventually they may be out-produced by the muslims and other “heathens.” They need a larger and larger quantity of children because some will not survive to adulthood, some will actually learn and turn away, and some will just be deemed useless to the cause due to either mental or physical defect. One of the biggest challenges to their power over these new generations is knowledge.

The church has a long history of fighting education, true education. People are born with a natural desire to learn. Despite the desires of the church more and more were learning, and with that learning were turning from the church. So they decided to fight fire with fire. The church got into the education game as a means to control what was being taught and how people were being trained to “think.” Because they discovered that people like to think for themselves, (even if it is only the illusion that they are thinking for themselves). So over the decades, education has systematically been refined to cull thinking out of the majority. The majority is all that they could manage to control, because there will always be those who are able to see through the lies.

I don’t intend to invalidate anyone’s faith or speak to the legitimacy of any form of worship as it pertains to the individual’s belief in any god or gods. What I am speaking to is the fact that the most corrupt and power hungry organizations in the world are the churches. More evil is done in the name of religion than all other reasons combined.

Think on this for a moment. What if we all believed that there was no heaven or hell, there was no reincarnation, but that when we die, it’s all over. If this were what we all believed (with the same fervor now given to religious belief), how many would we be willing to send into war? How many would sign up for battle? How willing would our leaders be to extinguish lives if there were no afterlife to fall back on? Would we be more or less likely to seek the death penalty for those convicted of multiple murders?

While thinking on that, consider this. The majority of people are religious in some fashion or another and mindlessly think that to be atheist or agnostic means that one has no morals. Why? What atheist or agnostic ever called for a jihad? What atheist or agnostic ever practiced sacrifice? No, what is scary about atheists and agnostics is the fact that they are not under the mind control of the church, and are therefore dangerous as examples.