The Problem With Religion
Much respect to Religion for serving as a useful interface to manage the flaws of human nature. For two thousand years, religion has been able to harnesses the unethical nature of Europeans so that in their quest for world domination they didn’t drive Africans into complete extinction. Although some of us know different, the general consensus for their perceived empathy was the fear of retribution from their imaginary god.
Today most religions are in deep trouble. Christianity is faltering as it loses credibility and membership in Europe and Western countries. Its leaders are sending multitudes of missionaries into Africa to keep it afloat. Islam is in trouble due to the prevalence of its followers to engage in extremist and terrorist activities. A friend suggested that religion itself is not the problem; the problem is that people cannot follow the guidelines of their religions. I say no! The problem with religion is right there in the guidelines.
The problem with religion is that people do not understand their own Brain therefore they will never conquer the flaws of human nature. Ask most Christians what this line means and they wont get it right.
“The Lord is my Sheppard, I shall not Want.”
The key word in this line is “Want”. Want is a product of Desire and Desire is a base instinct of human nature. The main preoccupation of religion is to conquer the Wants and Desires of Life to focus on God. It is why religious people Fast and Pray in obedience to develop their self-discipline. This is all great stuff so what is the problem them? The problem is God/Allah/. Why? The presence of an illusionary overseer automatically creates (Want) all over again because everyone will covet it’s favor.
People Desire the paradise of heaven where they can chum it up with god. Some people even want him to give them a harem of virgins as reward for their faithfulness to him (very sad). People never really conquer their Wants and Desires; they just replace the object. They compete and overlook Goodwill toward others in order to be the most righteous, the most loyal, and the most faithful in the eyes of their god. In some religions the faithful will even kill others who do not agree with their beliefs and perceive it as a good thing.
Any Religion that teaches that people will gain favor for being faithful to another person or a god is useless in truly controlling human nature. Life is a better alternative. It created you, it feeds and sustains you, and it makes you happy in return for helping it to survive and thrive on its journey toward universal awareness. Life is neither jealous or praise hungry, it just requires understanding and respect.
